forest practices for the forest industries, including fire 
control, selective cutting, and reforestation. 
The Clarke—McNary Act 
The Weeks Act of 1911 recognized that forest fire protec- 
tion was the essential first step in conserving and manag- 
ing timber resources, but funding was limited and many of 
the Southern States were slow to establish forestry agen- 
cies eligible for the matching funds that were available. 
The “‘Capper Report’’ of 1920, compiled by the USDA 
Forest Service in response to a Senate request, described 
continuing forest depletion and pointed out the need for 
more forest protection and management. This report and 
other efforts led to the Clarke-—McNary Act of 1924, which 
authorized increased funding for cooperative Federal—State 
fire protection programs. 
In addition, the Clarke-McNary Act provided for new 
programs of assistance in tree planting on private lands, 
expanded acquisition of lands for national forests outside 
watersheds of navigable streams, increased assistance to 
farmers in forest management and utilization, and a 
comprehensive study of problems of forest taxation. The 
Clarke-McNary Act set a pattern, followed in subsequent 
legislation, for cooperative Federal—State programs of 
education and assistance to forest owners and operators. 
Reforestation and Wildlife Habitat Improvement 
The movement to reforest cutover lands in the South con- 
tinued to grow in the 1930’s, especially with the programs 
of the Roosevelt administration. The widening of the 
government role in the South also included early efforts to 
protect wildlife. The Civilian Conservation Corps began to 
improve habitat for wildlife by replanting forests, con- 
straining soil erosion, and reducing siltation. Some Corps 
camps made a direct effort to establish wildlife refuges in 
North Carolina and Florida. Some State Governments also 
began to establish wildlife refuges and control hunting. 
The work of conservation writers such as Aldo Leopold 
and Robert Marshall was influential in establishing the 
need to preserve and manage all wild resources. These and 
other wildlife conservationists and writers laid the founda- 
tion for later efforts to designate wilderness areas and 
adopt wildlife management policies in the South. 
4] 
