18 MISC. PUBLICATION 249, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 
States, or 359 million acres, is in private ownership. This fact alone clearly 
indicates a large and fruitful field in private work for the trained forester. 
Private owners may be classified in a general way as industrial, including 
lumber, pulp and paper manufacturing companies, and other large manu- 
facturers of wood products; public-service corporations, such as railroads 
and water companies; recreation and hunting clubs; mining companies; 
owners of large private estates; and farmers and other small woodland 
owners. 
Private owners provided some of the earliest examples of professional 
forest management in the United States, and some have handled their tim- 
berlands carefully for many years. In recent years, many more, especially 
among the larger industrial owners, have been adopting measures for con- 
tinuous timber production. ‘The Forest Service has set up as a permanent 
activity a project to work with the States, lumbermen’s associations, and 
timberland owners to the end that improved woods practices may be ex- 
tended. Lumbermen’s and pulp and paper manufacturer’s associations 
are also encouraging good forestry practice on industrial forest lands. In 
the past few years, several million acres of industrial holdings have been 
included in a “tree farm” program sponsored by industry associations. Re- 
cent State regulatory laws in several States look to increased attention to 
good forestry practice on private timberlands. All of these movements 
point to new opportunities for employment in private industrial forestry. 
Forest Products Industries 
Until recently, most of the industrial concerns employing graduates of 
forestry schools have used them mainly in logging engineering and allied 
work. Before World War II only about 1,000 foresters were employed by 
the forest products industries in forest-land management. As forestry 
practice has expanded and intensified on industrial holdings, private in- 
dustry has employed several times this number. 
The forester who enters the lumber, pulp and paper, or other forest 
products industries may be required to estimate standing timber, appraise 
stumpage, determine the best methods of cutting, estimate future growth, 
lay out logging roads or railroads, reduce waste, increase utilization, or 
participate in actual logging and milling operations. Experience for such 
work often must be gained by entering the business at the bottom and 
learning its practical and administrative details in a long and exacting 
apprenticeship. Many foresters find opportunities in this field, with 
possibilities of advancement to important managerial positions. 
There is a growing field for specialization in industrial forestry. Some 
of the large operators conduct reforestation activities and other silvicultural 
work on their cutover lands. Many operators or associations maintain 
their own fire-control organizations. Industrial forest research is increasing, 
particularly in wood utilization. ‘The growing use of wood in all sorts of 
products, as in the manufacture of plywoods, wallboards, plastics, and rayon, 
and the increasing use of such equipment as dry kilns and preserving plants 
to procure better utilization of lumber products, are creating opportunities 
for specialists in the industrial phases of wood use. Industry is also attempt- 
ing to find new uses for little-used species and to create byproducts and new 
products which will broaden markets and utilize materials now wasted in 
the manufacture of primary products. 
