And as the lift capacity of 
helicopters has increased, 
they have been used more 
widely in the aerial firefighting 
role. The buckets for 
helicopter use can be hooked 
up in a few minutes, making 
any available helicopter a 
potential firefighter yet leaving 
it unrestricted for its principal 
use, unlike most fixed-wing 
aircraft. 
On the ground, improvements 
in tractors, plows, and 
transports have increased 
the mobility and effectiveness 
of fire crews. Wetting agents 
and retardants have made 
water more effective in 
quenching fire. Recent 
progress has been made in 
the use of heat-sensing 
instruments to help personnel 
map fires at night and locate 
hotspots for special attention. 
Undoubtedly some of the 
most important developments 
have been in 
communications. Radio is 
now the standard 
communications link in 
fire-control programs, and 
repeater stations and base 
stations provide statewide 
coverage among all 
personnel. 
56 
Aerial surveillance also has 
been broadly applied to the 
detection of insect and 
disease outbreaks. Periodic 
flights with and without 
photography are routinely 
-used to detect and measure 
the rate of spread of 
epidemics of insects such as 
the southern pine beetle and 
the forest tent caterpillar. In 
the 1950’s, when annosus 
root rot was being widely 
detected in thinned old-field 
plantations, aerial observers 
quickly detected potential 
infection centers for 
subsequent ground checks. 
Finally, pesticides for 
defoliators and certain seed 
orchard insects are applied 
principally from the arr. 
Nurseries and Regeneration 
Nursery programs in all 
Southern States have gone 
through several stages of 
development and expansion. 
In most States the nurseries 
built by the Civilian 
Conservation Corps were 
the mainstay of production 
immediately after the war. As 
demands increased, 
nurseries were expanded or 
new ones built. The Soil 
Bank Act of 1956 (P.L. 540) 
——EEE 
