Preface 



THROUGH the McSiveeney-McNary Act of 1928, Congress authorized the Secretary 

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

 States. The purpose of this survey is (1) to make a field inventory of the present supply 

 of standing timber; (2) to find out how fast this supply is being increased through growth; 

 (3) to find out how much it is being diminished through industrial and domestic uses, fire, 

 insects, disease, and other causes: (4) to determine the present consumption of and the 

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

 relate these findings to aid in the formulation of private and public forest policies. 



This report covers the first complete and comprehensive inventory of the forests of 

 Kentucky. Its statistics, based on a scientifically designed sampling procedure using both 

 aerial photographs and ground plots, provide reliable data on a statewide basis. The esti- 

 mates of timber volume reported here are higher than estimates compiled for the 1945 

 reappraisal project by the Forest Service in cooperation with the American Forestry As- 

 sociation. Some part of this increased volume is probably due to the inclusion in the Forest 

 Survey estimate of relatively low-quality logs that were not considered merchantable in 

 the earlier estimate. The greater part of the increase, however, is due to the fact that the 

 1945 figure was based on the best general information then available and not on a sam- 

 pling survey covering all parts of the State. 



