Preface 



J. HROUGH the McSweeney-McNary Act of 1928. Congress authorized the Secretary 

 of Agricukure to conduct a comprehensive survey of the forest resources of the United 

 States. This \vork was assigned to the Forest Service. The purposes of this forest survey 

 are (1) to make a field inventory of the present supply of standing timber; (2) to ascertain 

 its current rate of growth; (3) to determine how much it is being reduced through industrial 

 and domestic uses, fire, and other causes; (4) to estimate the present consumption and the 

 probable future trends in requirements for forest products; and (5) to interpret and cor- 

 relate these findings so that they may be useful in formulating private and public forest 

 policies. 



Results of this first comprehensive survey of the forest resources of New Hampshire 

 are reported here. However, other estimates of the State's forest inventory have been 

 made in the past, the most recent being the "Reappraisal" of 1945, which was made by 

 the Forest Service in cooperation with the American Forestry Association. These previous 

 estimates were based largely on general knowledge and on the judgment of informed 

 persons; the present survey is based on a scientifically designed procedure using aerial 

 photographs and ground plots. Furthermore, some specifications used in this report 

 are diff^erent from those used in previous studies. For these reasons changes in forest 

 conditions in New Hampshire cannot be determined by comparing this report with previ- 

 ous estimates. Valid comparisons of changing forest conditions in New Hampshire \vill 

 be possible when the same area is resurveyed in the future. 



Most of the fieldwork in New Hampshire was carried out in 1947 and 1948. Addi-, 

 tional information on timber quality and timber cut was obtained in 1952. 



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