2 MISC. PUBLICATION 290, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



During the 15 years, beginning with 1890, the trend toward public 

 forestry moved swiftly, culminating in 1905 with the creation of the 

 United States Forest Service in the Department of Agriculture. The 

 forest reserves, as national forests were then called — areas withdrawn 

 from the remaining timbered regions of the western public domain — 

 were placed under the management of the Forest Service. 



The Secretary of Agriculture at that time commissioned the Forest 

 Service so to manage these Federal properties that they would pro- 

 vide the greatest good to the greatest number of people "in the long 

 run." This cardinal principle has been steadily adhered to in their 

 administration through the years. 



Forestry, as applied by the Forest Service, is concerned with the 

 perpetuation and development of forests that they may continue their 

 many benefits to mankind — furnishing wood and other products for 

 man's use ; preventing erosion of soil and regulating stream flow and 

 water supply for irrigation, for power, for domestic use, and for 

 control of floods; harboring wildlife; providing abundant oppor- 

 tunity for outdoor recreation. All of these contribute to what is 

 perhaps most important of all — steady, gainful employment for a size- 

 able portion of the country's population, resulting in stabilized 

 communities. 



Instead of being handled under scientific methods as a crop, timber 

 is often "mined." When forestry is practiced in timberland manage- 

 ment, the mature trees are used as "earned interest," while younger, 

 growing trees are left intact as the "capital stock." The economic 

 and soil-protective values represented by a forest in a healthy growing 

 condition are thus permanently maintained. 



Since 1905 the area of the national-forest system has more than 

 doubled and has been extended to the Lake States, and the East and 

 South. Equally important to placing this increased area under in- 

 tensive protection and administration, is the work of the Forest Serv- 

 ice in cooperation with States and private timberland owners in the 

 spread of forest protection and practice of sound forestry; research 

 operations in forestry, range management, and wood utilization ; and 

 the provision of employment on a large scale in times of economic 

 depression. 



There still remains a vast amount of forestry work to be done in 

 addition to managing the national forests already established. Ke- 

 cent studies indicate that more than 200,000,000 acres of timberland are 

 so depleted, or so located, or of such value for public services that 

 private management reasonably cannot be expected to meet the re- 

 quirements of public interest therein, at least not without undue 

 subsidy. Public acquisition and management of these lands, there- 

 fore, appears to be the most feasible course. A fair share of this job 

 for the Federal Government, considering the financial ability of the 

 States, appears to be a little more than half of the entire job. 



Moreover, it becomes increasingly clear that Federal aid to State 

 and private forest owners, and perhaps some degree of regulation, are 

 needed to meet, adequately, the interest of the Nation as a whole in 

 the management of other forest lands as well. 



Throughout the forest areas there is a large task of making the 

 forests contribute more fully to the solution of the problem of rural 

 poverty and to the development and maintenance of a satisfying rural 



