their forest lands for easier administration. Ex- 

 changes between States, connties, and private own- 

 ers liave been iew. 



Adjustments of this kind cannot be accomplished 

 over night, but an accelerated program of consolida- 

 tion would gieatly facilitate reaching the proposed 

 forestry objectives. 



Integratiyig management plans.— 'Most public 

 agencies and a nimiber of private owners have or 

 are in the process of preparing plans for forest 

 management, including a forest inventory, a cutting 

 schedule, and a definite system of logging. To be 

 fully effective in the present situation, individual 

 plans need to be correlated. That is, each land- 

 owner in making his cutting budget shoidd give 

 attention to the plans of adjoining owners and to 

 the needs of tributary industries. Other-wise the 

 annual production of forest commodities ^vill fluc- 

 tuate widely \vith tmfavorable effects on prices, local 

 employment, and industrial stability. 



Public agencies and industrial owners can inte- 

 grate their plans by agreement, formal or otherwise. 

 Farmers and other small owners may be able to 

 function better through a producer cooperative 

 or similar form of organization. 



Remoxnug obstacles to good manageijient.— Taxes, 

 ^vhere they interfere ^vith private forest manage- 

 ment, should be adjusted, possibly by some further 

 legislation, but mainly by clearing up local mis- 

 understandings and maladjustments, and establish- 

 ing more ctjuitable tax assessments. 



Financial problems, as where counties have too 

 small a tax base and too high administrative costs 



to permit them to proceed with desirable forestry 

 measines, may call for additional State aid. 



Taking adimntage of all available rt/c?.$.— Full ad- 

 vantage should be taken of all Federal. State, and 

 private programs ^vhich will in any ^vay help to 

 accomplish the forestry objective. Useful tools will 

 be found in county farm forestry and extension 

 programs, local agricultural and soil conservation 

 activities, county zoning and planning ^vork, pro- 

 grams of State conservation departments and pri- 

 vately sponsored groups, and research programs of 

 the Federal Government and of educational institu- 

 tions in each State. 



5. Measures to adapt general remedies to local 

 conditions. Forest conditions and economic condi- 

 tions vary too much from place to place to permit 

 applying the proposed measures broadly to entire 

 States or to a large subdivision. Most of the pro- 

 posed steps will have to be worked out for small 

 areas such as counties or natmal working circles, 

 according to the conditions found in each localitv. 



The forest survey information used in this report 

 has been sufficient to show the general regional situ- 

 ation and to indicate along broad lines what needs 

 to be done. However, to pro^'ide a basis for detailed 

 forestry programs that will implement the general 

 program already outlined, there is need for more 

 detailed information. Cotmty surveys, financed 

 jointly by States, counties, private landowners, and 

 the Federal Government, are being made no^v in a 

 number of counties in the Lake States region. Such 

 sinveys will help provide the basis for localized 

 programs of forest management and development. 



Forest Resource Report No. 1, U. S. Department of Agriculture 



