prevent reproduction and growth, impair and damage values, and 

 disrupt uses. 



The total growth impact on sawtimber from destructive agencies 

 in the continental United States and coastal Alaska in 1952 was 

 estimated to be equal to 92 percent of the net sawtimber growth. 

 Cause of the impact on sawtimber growth was distributed 45 percent 

 to disease, 20 percent to insects, IT percent to fire, and 18 percent to all 

 others. 



These destructive forces also have a seriously adverse effect upon 

 the watersheds and their life-supporting waterflows, and upon the 

 other renewable forest resources. 



The long-range objective is to hold the damage from destructive 

 agencies below the level which would seriously interfere with intensive 

 management of the national-forest system under principles of mul- 

 tiple use and high-level sustained yield of products and services. This 

 can be accomplished substantially by a continued trend toward better 

 facilities and techniques for fire control and more resources to cope 

 with critical fire periods, and a more intensive application of a 

 program of prevention, detection, and control of insect and disease 

 infestations. In addition to direct protection measures, more intensive 

 management of timber resources will result in reduction of losses from 

 insects and disease. 



Protection From Insects and Disease 



In the short-term period, it is proposed that insect and disease 

 control on the national-forest system be stepped up to a level of pre- 

 vention, detection, and control of insect and disease infestations that 

 will substantially reduce the occurrence of large infestations toward 

 the end of the initial period. This will require about a 50 percent 

 increase over the present level of protection. The work will consist of — 



1. Intensification of present activities through (a) quicker, more 

 extensive, and more thorough surveys to detect incipient outbreaks ; 

 (b) more reliable evaluation of the potential of initial outbreaks to 

 cause widespread damage; (c) quicker and more effective control 

 action in the initial stages to prevent a large-scale epidemic. The 

 initial suppression activities would cover about twice the acreage 

 currently being treated. 



2. Continuation of present blister rust control work plus exten- 

 sion of control to 250,000 acres not now protected but which should 

 be managed for white pine production. The objective is to achieve 

 sufficient effectiveness of control on all of the area now under treat- 

 ment plus the additional acres so that after the initial period only 

 maintenance control will be needed. 



3. Initiating a program to control dwarfmistletoe on several 

 hundred thousand acres of selected better stands of young softwood 

 sawtimber on better growing sites. 



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