FOREST PROTECTION 



199 



Table 122. — Ovmership of commercial and non- 

 commercial jorest land ' requiring protection jrom 

 fire, and area protected during 1952, United States 

 and Coastal Alaska 





Total 

 area 



requir- 

 ing 



protec- 

 tion 



Pro- 

 tected 



Unprotected 



Ownership 



Area 



Propor- 

 tion of 

 owner- 

 ship area 

 requiring 

 protec- 

 tion 



Private 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 424, 694 

 140, 268 



39, 661 

 18,013 

 5,933 

 11, 253 

 33, 523 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 346, 080 

 140, 268 



39, 528 

 17, 476 

 5,933 

 10, 473 

 31, 197 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 78,614 

 



133 



537 







780 



2,326 



Percent 

 18. 5 



National forest 



Bureau of Land Man- 

 agement 





 . 3 



Indian 



National park 



3. 

 



Other Federal- 



6. 9 



Other public 



6. 9 



Total 



673, 345 



590, 955 



82, 390 



12. 2 



' Includes approximately 175 million acres of noncom- 

 mercial forest land and 10 million acres of nonforest land 

 in California and North Dakota. 



Table 123. — Class of protection on all lands pro- 

 tected from Jorest fire during 1952, United States 

 and Coastal Alaska 



Ownership 



Protected land 





Class 1 



Class 2 



Class 3 



Total 



Private 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 



52, 043 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 199, 926 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 94, 111 



Thou- 

 sand 

 acres 

 346, 080 







Federal; 



National forest 



Bureau of Land 



Management 



Indian- _ _. 



22, 501 



9,087 

 635 



3,399 

 364 



102, 734 



25, 306 

 7,276 

 2,508 

 4,893 



15, 033 



5, 135 



9, 565 



26 



5,216 



140, 268 



39, 528 

 17, 476 



National parks 



Other Federal 



5,933 

 10, 473 



Total 



35, 986 



142,717 



34, 975 



213, 678 



Other public 



11,593 



14, 008 



5,596 



31, 197 







All ownerships 



99, 622 



356, 651 



134, 682 



590, 955 



It is not only of interest to examine where fire 

 control funds are spent but also to analyze who 

 foots the bill. In 1952, Federal sources paid 43 

 percent of the total cost, State organizations 40 



percent, and private groups 17 percent. Actual 

 amounts were as follows: 



Percent of 

 Source of funds: Eipenditures total 



Federal $27,211,000 43 



State 25,505,000 40 



Private 10,497,000 17 



Total $63,213,000 100 



The States are shouldering a substantial part 

 of the burden of protecting State and private 

 lands. However, in addition to the expenditures 

 listed above, many private agencies are raising the 

 level of protection for selected high-value areas. 

 They are financing hazard reduction along rail- 

 roads, logging areas, and other dangerous places. 

 The outstanding progress that has been made in 

 expanding fire control over the years is due in 

 large measure to the efforts of State, private, and 

 Federal agencies in attacking the job coopera- 

 tively. The protection job remaining to be done 

 can best be accomplished by a continuation of this 

 joint effort. 



Current Trends Toward Better 

 Fire Control 



The growth of fire control in the United States 

 emphasizes the increasing support given by all 

 agencies to this important activity. Nowhere in 

 the world has such an extensive and highly skilled 

 fire organization been developed. But there are 

 still many places where improved protection is 

 desirable and essential. Current trends indicate 

 the extent to which better fire control may be 

 achieved in the near future. 



Man-Caused Fires Can Be Reduced 



Cooperation, especially in forest fire prevention, 

 has developed amazingly in recent years. The 

 Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention pi'ogram, 

 under the sponsorship of the National Advertising 

 Council, illustrates how effective the combined 

 efforts of Federal, State, industrial, and other 

 private organizations can be. The "Keep Green" 

 programs in 36 States are outstanding examples of 

 industrial and State cooperation. A multitude of 

 other organizations and groups are working 

 toward the common goal of reducing the number 

 of .man-caused forest fires. 



The 7-percent reduction in number of fires in 

 the decade ending in 1952, as compared to the 

 previous decade, indicates major progress, but 

 the gains are far greater than this percentage 

 would indicate. During this time, the recrea- 

 tional use of the forests increased manyfold. 

 Timber harvesting and other industrial uses both 

 increased, so that large areas of high -hazard 

 logging slash and more high-risk industrial areas 

 were created. 



