Forests are the principal economic support of hundreds 
of communities. When the trees are gone, the mills shut 
down, pay rolls stop, homes are lost, and towns decay. In 
the past some of the worst areas of unemployment, tax delin- 
quency, and business shut-downs have been areas where all 
the timber was cut out. 
FOR THE FUTURE 
16. Can our forests be made to supply all our timber 
requirements? 
In the long view, the potential timber-producing capacity 
of the forest land in the United States is sufficient to supply 
all our prospective needs for timber, with a margin for export 
and for security. 
One-sixth of our commercial forest land, however, is now 
virtually nonproductive. Other millions of acres are pro- 
ducing only a fraction of potential capacity. America’s 
forest lands can assure ample and continuous forest products 
only if sound forest practices are applied. This means that 
avery material improvement over the general level of present 
practices must be achieved. 
17. How can all forest lands, regardless of ownership, 
be kept productive? 
The most urgent need is to stop destructive cutting. The 
public has the right and duty to insist that our forest land, 
regardless of ownership, be kept in productive condition. 
Public regulation to prevent destruction by forest fire has 
long been in effect. Public control to prevent destruction by 
improper cutting and other destructive practices on private 
land is equally essential. Action along this line has been 
recommended by the Department of Agriculture. 
Under such recommendations, adequate regulation of 
timber cutting and related practices would be accomplished 
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