Desirable objectives for future management in- 
clude several aspects of forest management. De- 
pending upon population growth and other influ- 
ences, there will probably be a need to increase the 
utilization of the forage resources in the South to 
meet rising demands for food throughout the Na- 
tion. Also, management needs to reduce continually 
the fire hazard on forest land, especially on young 
plantations; provide rural community stability; and 
provide efficient, economical alternatives for forest 
land management on public and private lands with 
flexibility for landowners to survive poor markets for 
any one of the forest land commodities--timber, live- 
stock, or wildlife. We also need to realize that most 
forest lands are currently producing forage below 
their potential. Good forest management, including 
periodic timber thinning, prescribed burning, and 
other practices, will improve forage yields and help 
reach the resource potentials for timber, range, and 
wildlife. 
Policies 
The principal statutes that provide guidance for 
range policy on Federal lands are the Multiple-Use 
Sustained Yield Act of 1960, the Forest and Range- 
land Renewable Resources Planning Act of 1974, 
the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 
1976, the National Forest Management Act of 1976, 
the Public Rangelands Improvement Act of 1978, 
and the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- 
sources Research Act of 1978. The present policy 
on Federal lands is to develop, demonstrate, and 
promote sound and practical range management. 
Implications of this policy include research and de- 
velopment of compatible livestock practices for Fed- 
eral and private lands; protection and/or im- 
provement of timber, wildlife habitat, soil and water 
quality; and enhanced fish and wildlife habitat. Po/- 
icy on other lands parallels Federal policy with a 
greater emphasis on economics, employment, and 
community stability. The principal statutes that pro- 
vide guidance on other lands are the Resources 
Conservation Act of 1976, the Renewable Re- 
sources Extension Act of 1978, and the Cooperative 
Forestry Assistance Act of 1978. Also, an increased 
interest in conservation of soil and other resources 
on private lands was provided and supported 
through the Food Security Act of 1986 (the Farm 
Bill). 
138 
The current policies regarding range- 
management programs are probably adequate for 
accomplishing appropriate multiple-use goals. 
However, emphasis needs to be placed on imple- 
mentation of these policies. On Federal lands in the 
South, the expertise to administer range programs 
on the forest range is greatly inadequate. A dearth 
of expertise in range programs also exists for pro- 
viding assistance on private lands. There is need to 
provide support or incentives to implement the cur- 
rent policies regarding multiple use on both Federal 
and private lands. For instance, people with expert- 
ise and program direction to accomplish multiple- 
use goals must be included in the work force. Policy 
and program support is needed to achieve the po- 
tential forage productivity and use. Emphasis will 
need to be placed on maximizing economical for- 
age productivity and use compatible with other mul- 
tiple uses, including timber, wildlife habitat, and 
recreation on forest lands. Support for these pro- 
grams should include (1) developing multiple-use 
range-management alternatives through research 
with sound economic approaches and vegetation 
management for multiple-use enhancement, (2) 
promoting sound and practical range management 
through technical assistance and technology trans- 
fer, and (3) demonstrating sound and practical 
range-management practices on strategic Federal 
or State lands in the South to illustrate new and 
practical techniques for public and private lands. 
Research and demonstrations can best be con- 
ducted on Federal (Forest Service) lands because 
of the long ownership tenure, Concentrated sup- 
port, and administrative control. However, most of 
the promotion and application of practices must be 
conducted on private lands because forest industry 
or other private land owners hold most of the forest 
land in the South. 
Considerations 
Several positive steps could be taken to en- 
hance the overall multiple-use productivity and co- 
ordination of the South's fourth forest. These steps 
involve research and development efforts, active 
technology transfer programs, reevaluation of in- 
centive and protection programs, and active sup- 
port of the multiple-use concept of forest lands in 
the South. 
Research and development efforts should be 
supported and coordinated through Federal and 
