timber; that throughout the country some 25 million acres or more need 

 to be planted; and that the gains from fire protection can be offset by losses 

 through destructive cutting. 



Nevertheless, progress has been made in recent years. In every forest 

 region of the country some private timberland owners and operators are 

 harvesting their tree crops with an eye to the future productivity of the 

 forest, thus demonstrating that good forestry is practicable and economically 

 sound. But these far-sighted owners and operators are in the minority, 

 since, according to recent estimates, some 80 percent of all cutting on private 

 lands is done without conscious regard for future forest crops and a large 

 part of this cutting is of a very destructive character. This may be due to 

 lack of knowledge, business reasons, or indifference. Regardless of the 

 cause, we cannot afford to allow destructive forestry practices to go on. 



A 4-Point Program 



To protect the public interest, the Department of Agriculture and the 

 Forest Service have recommended a 4-point Nation-wide forest-conserva- 

 tion program: 



1 . Expansion of public aid to private forest landowners for fire protection, 

 insect and disease control, research, etc. 



2. Sufficient public regulation of cutting and other forest practices on 

 private land to stop deterioration and destruction of the forest resource and 

 to keep the land reasonably productive. 



This would require basic Federal legislation setting up broad standards of 

 forest practice, such as prohibiting premature or wasteful cutting in young 

 stands, and clear cutting except under special circumstances. If the States 

 did not, within a reasonable time, enact and carry out satisfactory measures, 

 the Federal Government would be authorized to do the job. The basic 

 standards need not be as high as those which generally obtain on national 

 forests or are followed by many progressive private owners, but they should 

 be high enough to stop further destructive exploitation of our forests. 



3. Purchase by States, communities, and the Federal Government of tax- 

 delinquent, submarginal, critical watershed, and other forest lands which 

 otherwise cannot be kept productive or adequately protected. A necessary 

 corollary of public ownership, of course, is adequate provision for the 

 restoration, development, and utilization of the public forests. 



4. A comprehensive post-war national program of forestry. 



The Nation's forests offer opportunities for the employment of many 

 thousands of veterans and war workers. Useful and needed work in forest 

 restoration and development includes improvement and expansion of facili- 

 ties for forest protection and management; fire hazard reduction; measures 

 to improve timber growth; reforestation; range improvement, including 

 revegetation of depleted ranges; watershed improvement and flood control: 

 new forest recreation facilities; wildlife development; and development of 

 forest research and administrative facilities. 



With a sound forest conservation program, this Nation can eventually be 

 assured of an ample supply of timber and other forest products for all its 

 prospective needs and a margin for export as well. 



The Southern States offer an important example of the need for extending 

 sound forestry management to private lands. In this region there is a capi- 

 tal investment of approximately $150,000,000 in pulp and paper mills 

 dependent upon forests for raw material. There are more than 10,000 

 sawmills and a tremendous naval stores industry in the area, while such 

 forest byproducts as telephone poles and railroad ties add to the timber 



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