and other forest resource 

 benefits. 



That management of the 

 lands acquired for timber 

 production under the 

 authority of the Weeks Law, 

 as amended in 1 924, has 

 met and is meeting this 

 purpose is evident from the 

 productive forest condition 

 of those lands and the 

 quantities of timber they 

 are providing. 



A third purpose of national 

 forest establishment and 

 management was the 

 demonstration of proper 

 forest and land resource 

 protection and 

 management. In its final 

 report in 1977, the National 

 Forest Reservation 

 Commission said: 



When the Weeks Law 

 acquisition started, 

 there was no organized 

 forest protection in the 

 Eastern United States 

 and land conservation 

 and rehabilitation 

 programs had not been 

 devised. For the most 

 part these programs 

 had their inception on 

 National Forest land 

 and achieved 

 acceptance and 



widespread adoption 

 by virtue of their 

 demonstrated benefits 

 on the public lands. 



From a public-use 

 standpoint, probably the 

 most significant impact of 

 the southern national forests 

 on the South's timber 

 resources and future 

 management of those 

 resources has been and is 

 the demonstrated capability 

 of properly managed forest 

 lands to produce large 

 volumes of high-quality 

 timber in combination with 

 other forest resources. 

 Providing over 23 million 

 visitor-days of recreation 

 annually for hunters, 

 fishermen, sightseers, 

 hikers, campers, and other 

 users of the forests' 

 nontimber assets; the critical 

 habitat for several 

 threatened, endangered, 

 and sensitive plant and 

 animal species; wilderness 

 and natural areas; research 

 areas; water for domestic 

 and industrial uses; forage 

 for domestic animals; and 

 timber, these forests are 

 examples of successful 

 multiple-use, 

 sustained-yield forest 

 resource management. 



51 



