34 



MISSISSIPPIS FOREST RESOURCES AND INDUSTRIES 



F-460517 



Figure 34. — On a poor farm, the ownefs constant need Jar cash may be as significant as lack oj knowledge in causing the mismanagement of his forest. 



Nevertheless, they are quite real to the owners them- 

 selves, and it must be realized that even a full knowl- 

 edge of timber-producing potentialities will not always 

 erase these obstacles to good timber management. 



Miscellaneous Influences on Timber 

 Management 



There are several influences, largely beyond the con- 

 trol of the landowner, which are commonly thought 

 to have a strong bearing on private timber manage- 

 ment. These are, mainly, forest land taxes, length of 

 tenure, and distance of owner's residence or place of 

 business from the forest. 



The range in forest land taxes is from nothing to 

 35 cents per acre, and sometimes more (the median is 

 12 cents) . Length of tenure shows a very wide range, 

 with 24 percent of the forest land held by their present 

 owners for more than 25 years (the median is 13 

 years )-. More than half the forest land is held by 

 people who live on their properties, but 8 percent is 

 held by people who are more than 25 miles distant. 

 Yet despite the wide ranges in each of these factors, 

 none of them affects management decisions enough to 

 show a definite pattern of relationship with manage- 

 ment practices. This lack of relationship does not 

 vary by classes of owners. 



