gram might for a time cause financial loss to forest- 

 land owners who have been clear-cutting on a short 

 rotation for mine timbers. Credit would enable 

 them to carry their operations over a period of 

 curtailed cut. A source of cheap credit might also 

 obviate the need of clear-cutting by farmers in hard 

 times. 



Forest Research 



Research is largely a public responsibility. The 

 complexity of modern research techniques, the 

 length of time necessary to achieve results when 

 dealing with a slow-growing crop like trees, the con- 

 siderable expense entailed, and the far-reaching 

 benefits to be derived — all point toward the public 

 support of forest-research undertakings. 



One of the greatest needs is for information on how 

 best to manage the forests. Specific problems in 

 need of study are: Rates of growth of species in the 

 several forest types under various systems of man- 

 agement; methods of appraising the income value of 

 timber stands; costs of growing timber and the re- 

 turns therefrom; costs of various methods of felling 

 and bucking trees and of skidding logs; methods of 

 planting scrub oak barrens, mine waste banks, and 

 other areas in need of planting; the relation of forest 

 cover to mine-water control, flood control, and land- 

 slide stabilization. The Northeastern Forest Experi- 

 ment Station has established a work center in the 

 Anthracite Forest Region to study some of these 

 problems. 



Extending Public Ownership 



Thousands of acres in the Anthracite Forest Region 

 cannot be operated continuously at a profit under 

 private ownership. Such areas could be acquired 

 and managed either by the counties or by the State 

 for watershed control, recreation, game management, 

 and timber production. Public purchases might 

 include: Areas of submarginal farm land in northern 

 Susquehanna and Wayne Counties; many of the 

 scrub oak areas, especially in the western Poconos; 

 chestnut oak ridges; and some of the other oak stands 

 of low productivity. In many cases the first use for 

 these areas would be the production of game; there- 

 fore, in many instances the game commission would 

 be the logical purchaser. 



The gradual depletion of the anthracite deposits 

 presents one specific problem: What will the coal 

 companies do with their present holdings when the 



coal is gone? Some of these areas can be built up for 

 commercial timber production. But most of the 

 holdings of the coal companies are comparatively 

 poor sites for forestry, and it would seem logical for 

 public agencies to take them over. Only long-range 

 management can restore these lands; only a public 

 agency will have a sufficient long-range interest to 

 see it through. Public recreation areas, public 

 hunting grounds, and public forests can be built for 

 future generations in the coal-field area. 



Minimum Standards for Private Management 



All these measures and aids will fall short of the 

 goal of fully productive forests if private landowners 

 continue current practices of clear-cutting immature 

 timber. Some landowners will voluntarily adopt 

 sound management practices in their own long-time 

 interest; others, more shortsighted, are likely to 

 continue current practices. Some form of public 

 control would seem wise. Such control could be 

 given through county authorities in Pennsylvania. 

 The State, however, should set up minimum standards 

 to be applied throughout the State. The Federal 

 Government in turn might establish national stand- 

 ards by which performance in various sections may 

 be judged. 



Expansion Required 



Both public and private agencies are already active 

 in the Anthracite Forest Region, but they are insuffi- 

 cient to do the job that needs to be done. The public 

 agencies are all understaffed, and one of the greatest 

 needs of the region is an expansion of these agencies. 

 Similarly the existing private agencies do not nearly 

 cover the field that falls within the sphere of private 

 responsibility. 



Public Agencies 



The extension service of the State College is at 

 present limited in the forestry field. There is an 

 extension forester with one assistant for the entire State. 

 Necessarily the amount of personal educational and 

 demonstrational work these two men can do in the 

 Anthracite Forest Region is not great. The auxiliary 

 labors of the county agents cannot accomplish much 

 more, since a large part of their time is given over to 

 other agricultural problems. 



More articles should be published locally in news- 

 papers and periodicals to make generally available 

 information on woodland management and market 



32 



Miscellaneous Publication 648, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



