vate ownership and acquired by the Federal Government during the 

 1930's for purposes of conservation and rehabilitation. The lands are 

 administered under Title III of the Bankhead- Jones Farm Tenant Act 

 of July 22, 1937, and with the same general sustained-yield and 

 multiple-use objectives as the national forests. 1 



NATIONAL FORESTS IN A CHANGING WORLD 



Kapid change in the United States is everywhere evident. Highway 

 construction, housing developments, and expanding urban areas are 

 prevalent throughout the land. The two foremost economic indicators 

 of these and other changes are population and gross national product. 



In the 13 years since the end of World War II population in the 

 United States has increased 32 percent, An estimate of 332 million 

 persons by the end of the century is more than double the 1950 census. 

 In the same half century, gross national product is expected to increase 

 more than 5 times. Furthermore, in the West, where most national 

 forests are located, population growth is even more phenomenal. The 

 estimate for the 11 Western States is for a tripling of population in 

 the last half of the 20th century. 



Another indicator of special significance from the standpoint of rec- 

 reational impact on the national forests is the increase in leisure time. 

 The average individual today has about 50 percent more leisure time 

 than in 1920. By the turn of the century an individual may have a 

 third more leisure time than he has today. 



The impact of this national growth upon the national forests already 

 has been tremendous as evidenced by recent trends in use. The impact 

 will be even greater in the future. No longer are the national forests 

 the inaccessible and distant hinterlands they were when the system was 

 first established. No longer can the Forest Service be primarily a 

 custodian whose principal function is protection of national forests 

 from fire. Barriers of time, distance, and inaccessibility have been fast 

 fading, especially in the last two decades. The people have found 

 the national forests; and their vast resources are in great demand. 

 Management must become progressively more intense and more ade- 

 quately supported by research findings if the national forests are to 

 keep pace with economic needs and national growth. 



The role of the national forests in the national economy, and 

 especially in that of the Western States, cannot be discounted. Nearly 

 half of all softwood sawtimber in the Nation and more than half the 

 commercial forest land in the West is found in the national forests. 

 About one-fourth of the timber cut in the West comes from the national 

 forests. 



1 The statistics used in this report relate only to the national forests unless 

 otherwise specified; but the objectives and program presented apply to both 

 the national forests and associated land-utilization projects. 



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