Following the Dixie Crusaders, various educational pro- 
grams have been carried on by private groups and govern- 
ment agencies. One of the most successful is the Smokey 
Bear program of the National Advertising Council, the 
USDA Forest Service, and State forestry departments, 
which was started during World War II as a way to publi- 
cize the danger of human-caused forest fires. The Keep 
Green and Tree Farm programs of industrial and other pri- 
vate owners and efforts of organizations such as the Tall 
Timbers Research Station in Florida have likewise helped get 
across the message of wildfire prevention. 
Since 1956, fire protection efforts have also included a se- 
ries of regional compacts between groups of States and the 
Federal Government. Two multi-State fire compacts in the 
Southeast and the South Central regions have served well in 
coordinating efforts and resources among all the State and 
Federal agencies concerned in fire protection. The mecha- 
nism for cooperation in use of personnel and equipment 
under emergency conditions worked well in the destructive 
fire season of 1985. 
As a supplement to general fire protection on forest lands, 
the Rural Development Act of 1974 provided Federal funds 
for use by State foresters in organizing, training, and equip- 
ping volunteer fire companies to protect communities in ru- 
ral areas. These fire companies also have been integrated 
into the first line of attack on nearby forest and brush fires. 
In summation, it can be fairly said that fire protection is the 
most widespread and most effective timber management ac- 
tivity practiced in the South. It made possible the natural re- 
generation of much of the South’s second and third forests. 
In addition, controlled fire or prescribed burning has be- 
come a widely used management practice. With application 
in the reduction of fire hazard, site preparation for stand 
regeneration, and control of undesirable vegetation, pre- 
scribed fire has become an important tool in regenerating 
pine after harvest. 
It can be fairly said that fire protection and 
the use of prescribed burning are the most 
widespread timber-management activities 
practiced in the South, and the most 
effective. Controlled fire has made possible 
the natural regeneration of much of the 
South’s second and third forests. With the 
decline in random and destructive wildfires, 
controlled fire or prescribed burning has 
become an essential, relatively inexpensive, 
and effective management tool in pine 
forests. 
47 
