will have to be worse before public opinion will spon- 

 taneously and automatically mobilize to order decisive 

 action. Such a course is too slow and uncertain. Public 

 support for action now must be gained while the forest 

 economy can still be kept from thudding on rock bottom. 

 T'ederal and State agencies can appropriately take the 

 lead. 



The Federal program in northern Idaho should be 

 broadened along six general lines. The Federal Govern- 

 ment should: 



1. Acquire such forest land as is unlikely to be ade- 

 quately managed for continuous production by private 

 or other public owners. 



2. Appropriate more money to protect public forest 

 lands from fire, insects, and disease, and to cooperate in 

 furnishing the same protection to private lands. 



3. Insist on certain minimum forest practices from the 

 private owner in return tor Federal cooperation in all its 

 phases. 



4. Pass legislation to permit noncompetitive sales of 

 national-torest timber where such sales directly contribute 

 to community stability. 



5. Establish a policy ot holding back, as far as practi- 

 cable, the cutting of national-forest western white pine 

 wherever the private cutting is exceeding the total pro- 

 ductive capacity ot an operating unit. 



6. Investigate the possibilities ot increasing the markets 

 tor the less-used species, and continue research along other 

 lines such as silviculture, forest economics, products, 

 influences, and range. 



While there has been an unfortunate tendency to let 

 the Federal Government take the initiative in conserva- 

 tion effort, the principal opportunities for improving the 

 situation lie in local and State action. This form of action 

 has the advantage ot preventing any lag in public opinion 

 elsewhere in the United States from hindering progress 

 in northern Idaho. The people of Idaho should: 



1. Place the State torests on a managed basis and hold 

 back, as much as practicable, the cutting of western white 



pine timber in State ownership wherever private cutting 

 is exceeding the total producing capacity of an operating 

 unit. 



2. Urge private owners to cut western white pine con- 

 servatively and make proper provision tor its regeneration. 



3. Appropriate sufficient funds for adequate administra- 

 tion of those State laws regulatinc private forest practice 

 and strengthen these laws whenever necessarv to keep 

 private forest land productive. 



4. Provide legislation permitting noncompetitive sales 

 of State timber where such sales contribute directly to 

 community stability. 



5. Establish better fire protection on certain private and 

 county lands. 



6. Explore the possibilities of permanent private forestry 

 through local planning boards and public forest agencies. 

 Furnish results to timberland owners and increase forest 

 extension service. 



7. Effect economies in county governments through 

 zoning tor proper land use, and by other means. 



8. Adjust taxing procedure so that taxes will not be 

 an unduly heavy burden on the owner wishing to engage 

 in permanent forestry. 



9. Adopt a policy of transferring to the State tax-fore- 

 closed forest lands unsuited for agricultural development 

 if the State is prepared to protect and administer them, or 

 if not, to the F'ederal Government. 



10. Help the blocking out of public forests through ex- 

 change and donation. 



These points outline no easy program, but it is a pro- 

 gram which every farmer, laborer, and businessman 

 should have tucked in his hat band. The day of new 

 frontiers is gone. The day ot three more jobs around the 

 corner has passed with it. Northern Idaho is faced with 

 the task of preserving the standard of living that it 

 has achieved. 



Forest conservation preserves more than trees; it pre- 

 serves jobs, homes, and happiness. 



61 



