reation and with forests. Virtually all forest land 
supports some wildlife. It is one of the most valu- 
able products on a great deal of that classed as 
noncommercial. 
Properly managed, the wildlife resource seldom 
interferes with other forest uses; but in some in- 
stances grazing and timber-cutting practices require 
modification to assure wildlife food and habitats. 
Additional forest land should be reserved primarily 
as game refuges to provide sanctuary and to restock 
surrounding territory. However, in aggregate, 
these reserves would include only a very small part 
of the total forest land. 
5. Timber supply.—It is to the 461 million acres 
of commercial forest land that America must look 
for timber products. ‘Three-fourths of this is in 
the populous North and the South (table 1). The 
West, with 40 percent of the total land area, has 
only 23 percent of the commercial forest land. Not 
all of it can yet be worked economically. 
In the three southern regions and the Douglas- 
fir subregion of the Pacific Northwest climate and 
other factors are especially favorable for renewal 
and rapid growth of forests. ‘These regions have 
45 percent of the commercial forest land. 
Seventy-five percent of the commercial forest 
-land, generally including the more productive and 
accessible, is privately owned (table 2). ‘Thirty 
percent, 139 million acres, is in farms;* nonfarm 
ownership accounts for 206 million acres, of which 
about 51 million are held by the basic wood-using 
industries—lumber and pulp companies. 
TABLE 2.—Ownership of commercial forest 
land, 1945 
Ownership class base North | South West 
Private: Million Million Million Million 
acres acres acres acres 
Farm sk 139.0 61.0 69.0 9.0 
Industrial 
and other....... 206.0 78.6 98.0 29.4 
pRotaliea: tees 345.0 139.6 167.0 38.4 
Public: : 
National forest. 73.5 9.5 10.1 53.9 
Other Federal... 15.4 1.8 3.9 9.7 
State and local. 21 19.4 2.1 5.6 
Totalijev. eo 116.0 30.7 16.1 69.2 
All owners -fe.i028 461.0 170.3 183.1 107.6 
‘This estimate was derived from the 1935 census. The 
1945 census was not available when reappraisal data were 
compiled. Estimates of farm woodland may vary widely 
depending upon how “farm” is defined. 
Only a small part of private land is in medium 
and large holdings of 5,000 acres or more; the 
greater part is in small holdings—261 million acres 
in some 414 million properties, which average only 
62 acres. These small holdings predominate in all 
the major sections of the United States (table 3), 
and from them stem many of the problems in 
American forestry. 
Private holdings furnish about 90 percent of the 
timber cut. They will continue to be our main 
source of timber, although the relative contribution 
of public lands, particularly the national forests, is 
increasing. 
Publicly owned commercial land makes up only 
one-fourth of the total. Federal agencies adminis- 
ter 89 million acres of this land; State and local 
governments, 27 million (table 2). National for- 
ests are the major Federal category, with about 73 
million acres, chiefly in the West. National-forest 
land, for the most part, is in rough, often remote 
back country. Much of it, bearing old-growth 
timber, still awaits development. The bulk of 
the other Federal lands are in Indian reservations, 
the public domain and grazing districts, and in 
Oregon and California revested lands.® 
Timber growing will always be a major function 
of commercial forest land. ‘Today, timber needs 
are in the spotlight. The Nation needs ample, 
dependable wood supplies in its bid for peacetime 
prosperity. ‘The outlook, now and in the years 
ahead, depend greatly on the condition of the tim- 
ber growing stock—how it is handled and improved. 
The forest land is ample—the challenge lies in its 
management. 
TaBLe 3.—Distribution of private commercial 
forest land, by size of holding, 1945 
: All Small+ |Medium®*}| Large * 
Section holdings 
Million Million Million Million 
acres acres acres acres 
Norther 140 118 6 16 
SOUL Ieee eee 167 122 22 23 
Westatie b0 sauna 38 21 5 12 
United States. 345 261 33 51 
Less than 5,000 acres. 
25,000 to 50,000 acres. 
3 Over 50,000 acres. 
5 The last-named, some 2 million acres of high-quality tim- 
berlands in western Oregon, are of more importance than 
their relatively small acreage would imply. 
16 Miscellaneous Publication 668, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
