was Austin Cary, well known 

 as a sort of roving extension 

 forester and then recently 

 retired from the Forest 

 Service. Cary's main 

 criticisms and the Forest 

 Service responses were 

 summarized in the Girard 

 memorandum cited above: 



1. Cary: Areas of forest 

 land of low producing 

 power are passed by, 

 and tracts of superior 

 types are sought from 

 individuals who, now 

 hard-pressed 

 financially, would have 

 held on had some 

 reasonable form of 

 credit been extended 

 to them. 



Forest Service 

 response: It is true that 

 the government has in 

 several cases in the 

 South purchased some 

 of the better tracts. 

 When large areas of 

 both good and poor 

 forest lands are offered 

 for sale, it is just plain 

 good business to pass 

 up the poorer tracts 

 and purchase the better 

 ones. The primary 

 reason for purchasing 

 the better tracts is to 

 establish units in which 

 immediate sustained 

 yield will be feasible 

 and to use these areas 

 primarily for 

 demonstration forests 



by putting sustained 

 yield operations into 

 effect. 



2. Cary: The Federal 

 Government will 

 compete with private 

 owners, thus 

 discouraging the 

 practice of forestry by 

 such owners. 



Forest Service 

 response: In no case 

 has the Federal 

 Government tried to 

 purchase areas that 

 are now under 

 sustained yield 

 management. In the 

 regions of the United 

 States where the 

 government now owns 

 a very large percentage 

 of all forest land, the 

 timber sale policy 

 followed by the Forest 

 Service in these regions 

 has not resulted in any 

 general complaint from 

 private timber owners. 



3. Cary: The purchase 

 program has been 

 characterized in some 

 cases by haste, 

 extravagance, and 

 ruthlessness. 



Forest Service 

 response: . . . There 

 may be a few isolated 

 cases where Forest 

 Service acquisition 

 officials over-stepped 



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