on farms, mostly in small parcels. Generally the level of production 

 from small private ownerships is low. Improvement of the manage- 

 ment of these lands and the marketing of forest products from them 

 is the key to the success of many aspects of the Nation's future resource 

 program and to an increased and stable rural employment. 



Forest Service research is performed at the national headquarters 

 in Washington, D.C.: at the Forest Products Laboratory, Madison, 

 Wis. : at 10 regional forest experiment stations which carry out pro- 

 grams at other locations throughout the various States; and at an 

 Institute of Tropical Forestry in Puerto Rico. These research activ- 

 ities, located close to the problems on the ground and for the most 

 part close to colleges and universities which are also engaged in 

 forestry research, are effectively coordinated to represent a strong and 

 balanced attack on all of the problems of forest resource production, 

 protection, and utilization. 



Basic authority for the development of the research work of the 

 Department of Agriculture is the McSweeney-McNary Forest 

 Research Act of 1928. This act authorizes and directs the Secretary 

 of Agriculture to conduct a forestry research program of broad scope 

 and to cooperate with individual agencies and organizations in carry- 

 ing it out. The Whitten Act (Public Law 473 of Apr. 6, 1956) 

 authorizes cooperative aid financing at research institutions for work 

 on selected projects. These laws and other statutory authorities are 

 adequate for carrying out most of the program planned for the 10- 

 year period. Other legislation will be recommended as needed. 



RESEARCH IS ESSENTIAL TO FOREST 

 DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS 



In recent years, every knowledgeable citizen has been impressed 

 with reports of scientific breakthroughs and he is aware of the im- 

 portance of research as the driving force behind progress. He has 

 seen evidence on every hand of research that has been responsible 

 for rapid technological achievements. Research is an equally essen- 

 tial key to progress in forestry. In fact, research is necessary to the 

 achievement of the major objectives of forestry : to manage and utilize 

 the renewable forest resources on a permanent and highly 'efficient 

 basis with the maximum benefits to landowners, to forest industry 

 employment, and to the forest resource users. Some forestry research 

 is underway today and the accomplishments of past efforts have been 

 of significant value to forestry activities. Such accomplishments 

 will l>e even more important to the future development of sound 

 forestry programs everywhere. 



Past Accomplishments of Forestry Research 



Past progress in forestry has been due in large measure to achieve- 

 ments based on systematic research. The body of silvicultural knowl- 

 edge on which successful timber harvesting and forest regenerating 

 practices are now based is the product of research. Techniques for 

 airplane seeding of some species of pines are now being applied in 

 the South and are saving half the costs incurred in planting seedlings 

 by ordinary methods. Devised by research, a technique of terracing 

 and planting severely eroding "sore spots'' has successfully stopped 

 destructive mud-rock floodflows in the Wasatch Mountains of Utah. 



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