4 MISC. PUBLICATION 247, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



relief, and drought relief. And in all this, the Forest Service took 

 the lead. Its projects were started promptly after the funds were 

 allocated and they have employed a high percentage of direct labor. 

 During the 12 months which ended June 30, 1934, better than 70 

 percent of all work projects on Federal, State, and private lands — 

 which engaged the C. C. C. with an enrolled strength that exceeded 

 350,000 men, were planned and supervised by the Forest Service 

 working in part through State conservation agencies. Within this 

 period the national forests and national-forest purchase units in 37 

 States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico furnished more than 26,000,000 

 man-days of planned work. Figures for the fiscal year which ended 

 June 30, 1935, indicate that the Forest Service planned and super- 

 vised a total volume of work — on and outside of the national forests — 

 in excess of 43,000,000 man-days (pi. 1). 



FORESTRY HELPS TO BUILD PERMANENT ECONOMIC 



PROSPERITY 



But forestry's contribution, distinctly helpful in the present emer- 

 gency, goes deeper than this. For the national-forest emergency- 

 work program forms part of a comprehensive plan made long before 

 the depression struck. Forest projects are so planned and executed 

 that the work is essentially an investment. Noncompetitive with 

 industr}^, that work is constructive and worth while. Rebuilding 

 men, it contributes to human welfare. Rebuilding forests, it does 

 more than assist during the emergency period ; it helps to lay founda- 

 tions for permanent economic prosperity. 



Those foundations are broad. For in the continental iTnited 

 States there are some 615,000,000 acres of land which are more valua- 

 ble for forest and allied uses than for any other purpose. They make 

 up almost one-third of our total land surface. And since forests are 

 products of the soil, they need not be mined. Like crops, they are 

 susceptible of renewal and management in accordance with known 

 sciences and practices. Treated thus, forest lands need not be de- 

 vastated; need not create ghost towns or rural slums. They may, 

 instead, be kept productive and be so managed that they will always 

 contribute to the permanent support of their fair share of the country's 

 population. 



THE FOREST PROBLEM IS A SOCIAL ONE 



Our forest problem has to do, it is true, with trees and the soil from 

 which they spring. But through forestry, trees are no longer an end 

 in themselves. They are crops; their real function is to add continu- 

 ously to the permanent welfare of individuals, families, and com- 

 munities; the people of the Nation. This is the real purpose of public 

 conservation policies. It is the objective toward which the Forest 

 Service is directing ever-increasing efforts. So in normal times, as in 

 emergency periods, forestry and the work of the Forest Service have 

 definite meanings for all of us. For example: 



THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



The national-forest system, established in 1891, is now familiar to 

 many people. There are today about 154 individual national forests 

 and purchase units, located in 37 States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico. 



