National Forest and Other Public Land 
Management 
Most timberlands in the South have long been privately 
owned by a wide variety of people and agencies, and the 
forestry programs described in this chapter have consequently 
been largely aimed at these ownerships. National forests 
and other public holdings contain only 10 percent of the total 
area of timberland in the South; nevertheless, they have 
played a significant role in watershed protection, the devel- 
opment of forest fire protection, rehabilitation of cutover 
and eroded lands, demonstration of forestry opportunities, 
furnishing sites for outdoor recreation, and providing habi- 
tat for wildlife including endangered species. 
The first southern forest lands to come into Forest Service 
hands were limited areas of public domain in Arkansas and 
Florida that were reserved as national forests in the period 
1907-13. Essentially, these consisted of unpatented public 
lands of low site quality. With passage of the Weeks Act of 
1911, lands were also purchased for national forests in the 
headwaters of navigable streams, for watershed protection. 
In addition, these lands provided demonstration areas, 
where private owners could see forest practices in action— 
techniques they could use to protect and better manage 
their own lands. The Clarke—McNary Act of 1924 author- 
ized the acquisition of land for national forests for timber 
production as well as for watershed protection. 
The national forests in the South contain 
only 10 percent of the timberland area. 
Nonetheless, they have played an important 
role in developing forest fire protection, 
rehabilitating cutover and eroded lands, 
demonstrating forestry opportunities, 
furnishing sites for outdoor recreation, and 
providing habitat for wildlife, including 
endangered species. 
Very little land was acquired for some years under these 
authorizations, but with the onset of the Depression, Con- 
gress empowered the Forest Service to undertake a major ac- 
quisition program in the South, as well as in other regions. 
Much of the extensive cutover area in the South was tax 
delinquent, and many States and private owners welcomed 
the opportunity to sell land to the Federal Government. Dur- 
ing the New Deal and subsequent years, some 35 national 
forest units, administered by 15 forest supervisors, were 
established in the South. By 1985, they included 10.8 mil- 
lion acres of timberland, or 6 percent of the total timber- 
land in the South. 
Under the Bankhead—Jones Farm Tenant Act of 1937, the 
Resettlement Administration acquired sizable areas of worn- 
out farmland in the Southern States in order to assist farm- 
ers in relocating to better jobs. Initially these lands were 
managed by the Soil Conservation Service, but in 1950 
some acreage was added to the national forests. Other parts 
of this land were transferred to the U.S. Fish and Wild- 
life Service for refuges, and more than 300,000 acres were 
transferred to State agencies for management as parks or 
forests. 
Much of the land acquired by the Federal Government for 
national forests was obtained from timber and land-holding 
companies after logging. Some purchases were from other 
private owners of large or small tracts of cutover forests 
or idle and eroding cropland and pasture. Federal acquisi- 
tions were typically mixed with private holdings. Most 
areas had also been repeatedly burned by wildfires and were 
either nonstocked or poorly stocked with timber-quality 
trees. 
For many years, management of these national forests was 
mainly custodial, with fire control of primary importance. 
Construction of roads and trails, campgrounds, and other 
facilities also opened up the forests for recreation and other 
public uses. In the 1930’s, the Civilian Conservation Corps 
contributed in a major way to rehabilitation of some of 
these lands by stand improvement work, planting of non- 
stocked areas such as idle and eroding cropland and pasture, 
and protection of forests from fire. The Civilian Conserva- 
tion Corps work was the first effort to replant significant 
acreage in trees. 
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