6 MISC. PUBLICATI0:N- 8 2, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



In the study made by the Forest Service, Government timberlands 

 and grazing lands were classified and assessed by the same system and 

 tax rates effective in the counties in which they were located. The 

 result is as follows: 



Probable annual tax returns on 4,179,148 acres of national-forest 

 land if in private ownership, based on assessment rates applying 

 to similar private land in county concerned SI, 168, 770 



Total annual contributions by the Government from 25 per cent fund, 

 10 per cent fund, road and trail appropriations, and indirect con- 

 tributions 1, 515, 174 



Difference in favor of national forest administration 346, 404 



The actual situation is, therefore, that the national forests, under 

 the administration of the Forest Service, are not only paying their full 

 share of taxes but are actually contributing $346,404 more than if the 

 same lands were taxable under private ownership. 



FUTURE RETURNS FROM THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



Conservative estimates, m_ade on the basis of present timber 

 stumpage prices, grazing fees, and rental of Government lands show 

 that the present annual returns from the national forests to the State 

 and counties will be double when the national forests are fully 

 developed. 



National-forest timber resources are managed on the sustained- 

 yield plan, which means that cutting in each locality is no faster than 

 the replacement by growth. At present the annual cut is far below 

 the potential cut. This is due chiefly to the relative inaccessibility 

 of the national-forest timber. The bulk of the timber cut in Cali- 

 fornia (about five-sixths of the total) comes from private holdings, 

 which, having been acquired before the creation of the national 

 forests, are the most accessible and bear forests of the best quality. 

 So far, sales of national-forest timber have mostly been on tracts 

 intermingled with private holdings, and the Forest Service has not 

 pushed the sale of Government stumpage in the face of a general 

 overproduction of lumber. With the exhaustion of private stumpage 

 will come a gradual increase in the sale of national-forest timber. 



CONCERNING THE PROPOSITION THAT THE NATIONAL FORESTS 

 ARE LOCKED UP OR RESTRICTED IN USE 



As has been repeatedly asserted in the regulations and policies 

 governing the national forests and demonstrated in practice for more 

 .than 20 years, all products and resources of the forests are available 

 for use. 



In the national forests of California more than 300,000,000 feet of 

 lumber are cut annually by about 580 operators; 500,000 head of sheep 

 and goats and 200,000 head of cattle and horses are grazed by over 

 2,000 permittees. In 1928 nearly 2,500,000 persons used the national 

 forests of the State for such recreational pursuits as hunting, fishing, 

 camping, and picnicking. The Federal Government spent $20,000 in 

 that year to provide sanitary camp grounds. The public freely 

 enjoys recreational advantages on Government lands in the high 

 country, and on lakes and streams, for which they would have to pay 

 many thousands of dollars annually if these lands were privately 

 owned. 



