Forests are generally considered as chiefly valuable 
for timber production; yet they provide other services 
which in total may oftentimes equal or exceed their 
value for timber products. Among these are recrea- 
- tional use, watershed production, game and fish pro- 
duction, and grazing use. It is perhaps a unique at- 
tribute of forests that in many cases several or all of 
these services can be combined successfully with com- 
mercial timber production without seriously depleting 
the growing stock or the soil. 
Virginia’s tourist trade is “big business.” In 1941, 
income from tourist and vacation trade exceeded 100 
million dollars. Just how much was spent by visitors — 
to the State’s forests and forest parks is unknown, 
but the Shenandoah National Park attracted, in pre- 
war years, an average of 1 million visitors annually. 
The recreational facilities established by the George 
Washington and Jefferson National Forests were 
visited in 1941 by 336,000 people. Use decreased 
during the war, but even in 1945 these 2 national 
forests had 93,000 visitors. The 6 State parks and 4 
State recreation areas attracted another 100,000 or 
more people in the last prewar year. Postwar use is 
rapidly increasing. Hence, the forests are an impor- 
tant attraction for recreation seekers and tourists and 
aid materially in augmenting the income from these 
sources (fig. 10). 
F-441896 
Ficure 10.—Forest land and waters are an important asset 
to Virginia’s 100-million-dollar tourist business. 
Watershed protection is a valuable function of forest 
land, particularly in the mountains and also on the 
more rolling land of the Piedmont. The two national 
forests were established under the terms of the Weeks 
law of 1911, authorizing the purchase of forest land 
on the headwaters of navigable streams. Forest land 
on their steep slopes and those -of the Shenandoah 
NT 
National Park helps to reduce erosion, decreases rate 
of storm runoff and resulting flood crests, equalizes 
the flow of streams, and maintains a higher level of | 
ground water for wells and springs. 
forests provide domestic and industrial water for nu-— 
plants (fig. 11). Several municipalities in both the 
&-441843 
Figure 11.—WNational forests protect the headwaters of 
streams providing hydroelectric power and municipal water 
supplies. 
TABLE 2.—Ownership of forest land, 19451 
. Commer- Total 
Ownership Area cial forest forest 
Commercial areas: 
Public: 1,000 acres\| Percent Percent 
National forestsi22 22a ee 1,266 8.8 8.5 
Statesforests so saes Ge eres aimee 60 4 4 
Orhempublicesewiiee oe ena 234 1.6 1.6 
RO ta leaps Sea ares eine 1,560 10.8 10.5 
Private: 
Farm: woodlands= 222 {22-25 2s 7,621 53.0 51.4 
Nonfarm: 
Under 5,000 acres___-______= 4,248 29.6 28.6 
Over 5,000 aéres____-________ 2948 6.6 6.4 
PD Ota ee nies Seen ree RFE 12,817 89.2 86.4 
‘Allecommiercial ao ee re ae ies 314,377 100.0 96.9 
Noncommercial areas: 
Public reserved: 
Nationalsforestss-2e = Se ae oes gj ASIN Weeeaehe a ot Se) 
Wationaljparks2e ae sens ee D4) | SRS See 1.4 
ESTATE Tp ai kes gee pt nares 26S|ste Re Les 2 
A Wo fer jes Seb asin e e 3695 | =e 2.5 
Other noncommercial 4____ -_--__--__ B6n/Ee ores -6 
All noncommercial ________-_---__- ASS ac See tiee st oleene 3.1 
All ownerships_____ Sheps sid AI 14,832 pre siren tee 100.0 
1 Based, unless otherwise noted, on 1945-46 Reappraisal by U. S. Forest 
Service. 
2 Estimated by State forester, 1944. 
3 Commercial forest area decreased between 1940 and 1945 because 35,000 acres 
on national forests were withdrawn for recreational use. 
4 Land too poor to support commercial timber stands. 
Miscellaneous Publication 681, U. S. Department of Agriculture 
Both national | 
i 
merous communities and for many hydroelectric | 
