OWNERSHIP OF FOREST LAND AND TIMBER 



313 



Table 178. — Productivity of recently cut lands in j arm and other private ownerships in the continental 



United States, by section and region ' 



Section and region 



Farm ownerships — proportion of 

 area by productivity class 



Other private ownerships — propor- 

 tion of area by productivity class 





Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



Upper 



Medium 



Lower 



North: 



New England 



Middle Atlantic . ... _ . . . _ . 



Percent 

 42 

 62 

 59 

 45 

 6 



Percent 

 39 

 29 

 29 

 42 

 28 



Percent 

 19 

 9 

 12 

 13 

 66 



Percent 

 74 

 47 

 66 

 44 



Percent 

 19 

 32 

 25 

 34 



Percent 



7 

 21 



Lake States 



9 



Central 



22 



Plains 













Total - - -. ... ... 



52 



35 



13 



59 



27 



14 







South: 



South Atlantic ... 



45 

 35 

 18 



38 

 34 

 51 



17 

 31 

 31 



60 

 46 

 32 



32 

 28 

 34 



8 



Southeast . . 



26 



West Gulf . .- -. 



34 







Total - - -- ... 



34 



38 



28 



44 



30 



26 







West: 



Pacific Northwest . . . . 



46 

 61 

 15 

 56 



42 

 33 

 61 

 33 



12 



6 



24 



11 



62 

 79 

 53 

 61 



27 

 19 

 34 

 27 



11 



California . . . _ ... 



2 



Northern Rocky Mountain . .... 



13 



Southern Rockv Mountain 



12 







Total . .... 



46 



42 



12 



62 



27 



11 







Total, continental United States 



41 



37 



22 



52 



28 



20 



• Recently cut lands (or operating area) in an ownership 

 is the area of forest types in which there was some commer- 



cial cutting in the period 1947-54. 



public and private owners. Since most of the 52 

 million acres of plantable land is in farm and 

 "other" private holdings, however, it is evident 

 that even tree planting is relatively limited in 

 terms of need. 



As in the case of industrial holdings, financial 

 factors affect the forestry efforts of farm and 

 "other" private owners. Federal income tax cap- 

 ital gains provisions afford favorable treatment to 

 proceeds from sales of timber, but are often less 

 well known to the smaller owners and therefore 

 of less advantage to them. The impact of gen- 

 eral property taxes on forest land and timber, 

 while in general less burdensome during periods 

 of rising prices, varies widely because of differences 

 in local assessment practices. There is frequently 

 a tendency for cutover lands and the poorer stands 

 to be overassessed and for merchantable timber 

 to be underassessed relative to other types of 

 property. Yield taxes and other special forest 

 tax laws designed to encourage the practice of 

 forestry have proved effective in varying degree. 



The credit needs of the smaller forest owners 

 are being met only in part. Certain of the Fed- 

 eral Land Banks are active in making farm loans 

 secured by forest land and timber for terms up 

 to 40 years, and in areas where conditions are 



favorable such credit is increasing rapidly in vol- 

 ume. National bank loans on standing timber for 

 terms up to 10 years, first authorized in 195.3, are 

 likely to be used by farm and "other" private 

 owners to an increasing extent as this type of 

 credit becomes better known. 



Various Reasons Given for 

 Poor Management 



Many reasons have been advanced to account 

 for the relatively poor management of the 4^2 

 million farm and "other" private holdings. These 

 include a lack of knowledge of forestry opportuni- 

 ties and procedures and lack of interest in timber 

 production. Many owners lack investment and 

 operating funds for stand improvement, protec- 

 tion, taxes, and other carrying charges in the 

 years when no sales are made. 



The need for cash income often results in pres- 

 sure to liquidate timber prematurely. Absentee 

 ownership is associated with problems of super- 

 vision and risk of losing timber values. Relatively 

 infrequent cutting is characteristic of most small 

 holdings and long waiting periods for income are 

 often necessary where properties are small or re- 

 sources are depleted. Good markets for low qual- 



