60 BULLETIN" 14 9 7, XL S. DEPAETVIEXT OF AGEICULTUEE 
A REFORESTATION POLICY 
Every year that the 20.000.000 acres of unproductive forest land 
in the Lake States remains idle means a loss to the region which may 
be placed conservatively at s20.000.000 a year. The present rate of 
planting these lands to trees will not reforest them within any 
reasonable period. Xeither the region as a whole nor the States nor 
the individuals directly concerned can afford to continue to accept 
this enormous annual loss merely for the lack of an adequate policy 
to prevent it. What are the essentials of such a policy '. 
A TIMBER SURVEY 
First, as a basis for a policy, a survey should be made of the idle 
lands in each State to determine their extent, location, present con- 
dition, and potential value. The formulation of a reforestation 
policy is logically a State function, and. therefore, the surveys should 
be made by the States. The cost of a survey as a preliminary to the 
formulation of a reforestation policy could be kept very low. prob- 
ably to not over 1 cent an acre. 
A survey would confirm or modify the estimate of 20.000.000 acres 
in need of planting in the region and determine the correct apportion- 
ment of the area between the three States. A survey would settle 
also the contention sometimes raised that planting is unnecessary be- 
cause with protection from fire the idle lands are reforesting natu- 
rally. Such detailed and accurate information is essential in defining 
the problem in each State and in determining a planting policy. 
The distinction between areas in need of planting and those with 
sufficient natural tree growth depends on the number of established 
trees of valuable kinds per acre. Areas with more than 300 trees to 
the acre would not need to be planted. The planting of areas with 
50 to 300 trees per acre could be postponed until areas with less than 
50 trees per acre had been planted. 
The locations of areas thus classified according to need of planting 
should be shown on maps in relation to wood-using industries, cities 
and towns, transportation facilities, and other economic factors. 
A survey of the present condition and potential value of the lands 
should include at least a rough classification of soils and topography 
to indicate whether the lands are of sufficient fertility and accessi- 
bility to justify their early development for agriculture. Large areas 
may undoubtedly be needed for the production of agricultural crops 
100 years from now which until then can be made highly productive 
through forest planting. The quantity and character of the present 
forest growth should be noted, together with the soil conditions, since 
these should indicate the kinds of trees to be planted, enable an esti- 
mate of the cost of the planting, permit a rough prediction of the 
returns from planting trees, and give an index of the fire risk. Notes 
should also be taken on the taxation of the land, as a basis for evalu- 
ating this factor in the cost of planting. Finally, the survey should 
enable the classification of the idle land on the basis of its value for 
timber growing. 
It has been suggested that there may be parts of the cut-over area 
in the Lake States which have been burned repeatedly until the natu- 
rally poor soils have become so sterile that they will not produce 
