Show A National Forest F rest Policy Policy By Frederic J. J Haskin A m measure asure which is designed to put all of the forest in the United States whether owned o by the state by the nation or by hy private individuals in a ca of maximum maximum maximum maxi maxi- mum productivity is s o be oe strongly urged upon the present presen by hy bythe bythe hythe the industries of this country which are dependent upon forest products Their first effort is to bring home to the American citizen the fact tact that although he lives in one of or the finest linest timber growing countries in the world his domestic timber Umber supply is being rapidly exhausted He is paying higher prices every year for paper lumber and all other wood products More and more of them are being imported every year Our forest lands are producing only a fraction of what they might produce and the amount of ot employment they afford is correspondingly limited A national forest policy is to the Interest Interest interest Inter Inter- est of ot everyone In the country in industries industries industries in- in The various great wood-using wood are supporting the Snell bill which embodies exactly what they want in the W way of th timber l er conserva e tion Strangely enough Strangely enough the experts Ya-i Ya of of- the the forest forests forest s service th the r American Forestry ass association ana many others interested in cons conservation seem to be equally satisfied with this measure In a word the business men and the scientists for once seem to agree upon what is needed And the business busIness business bus bus- iness interests for once seem to have perceived that their interests will best be served in the long run by a policy of ot conservation not one of oC unplanned unplanned unplanned un un- un- un planned exploitation The trouble is to arouse public Interest interest interest In in- terest in the measure Roosevelt years ago aroused public interest in forest conservation to a high pitch when he succeeded in having the national national national na na- na- na forests created The creation and use of the national forests has been one of the few indisputable triumphs of American legislation and administration The average man thinks s it solved the forestry problem problem problem lem for all time As As- As Asa a matter master of fact while it helped greatly it could not in the nature of ot the case solve It The national forests are all allbut allbut 1 r but a few small areas In the west The act came too late to the government to get large timber Umber areas I in the east Hence the forests protect only afew a afew y few varieties of tre trees s and not t the e i most Important By car the greater I 1 part of the national forests are timbered timbered tim tim- I only with pine spruce and fir fir I soft soft woods of relatively low value I The oak maple walnut and other valuable hard woods are scarcely protected by them at all Furthermore Furthermore Further Further- j more the government is limited by bythe bythe I Ithe the act in Its acquisition of forest i lands to those that protect water water- 4 sheds This bas has kept the me forest se service set ser vice protection away from important areas Timber Wasted asted It is the vast timber areas areas and C areas that might be covered with timber in private te ownership that that are being wasted Fire for one thing is destroyed billions of dollars' dollars worth of timber Nearly all of It could be prevented In the second pla lana which e. e many lany are are admirably fitted for r growing g ot of aim go vi um-vi ber her and are not not useful used for tor A anything else havel Navel long lain waste waste J IIi IIi- and must be reforested In the third place owners of timber Umber lands and especially small owners have no I conception of ot using a forest as a permanent per- per manent source of to be cropped cropp- cropp t cropp-t a 1 aed ed at intervals American landowners landowners land land- I owners as a whole have not learned I even the rudiments of To cut timber Umber in this country still means to wipe a valuable natural re resource resource resource re- re source out of existence The Snell bill is designed to remedy remedy reme- reme dy iy all of these evils It provides a federal appropriation to be used in cooperating with the states in protecting protesting pro pro- testing and renewing their forests forests' t The rhe states are requires required to put up as much money in each instance as the t r federal government This part of oC the r measure would mean the introduction introduction f tion Uon of uniform efficient methods of at fire Eire protection and reforestation In i Continued on Last Page I i NATIONAL FOREST T POLICY 0 Continued from Page Pago Ono One every very state The need it may play may b be 1 r rg g gauged from the fact that experts d pronounce renounce our forest forest are protection system only 25 pel per cent efficient L There here are about acres of f forest in ln this country which a are ro not ot protected from fire at all and this his means wealth going tip ilp In smoke just as surely if it as you touched a match natch to It Only twenty-six twenty of t the states tales have forest fl M e protection systems at a all l. l New ew York and Penn Penn- Pennsylvania sylvanIa have to import about 90 per cent ent of the timber they use because of the depletion depiction of ol their forests V A Forest Survey Suney The bill ill also provides for a complete complete com tom survey of our forest resources This is one of its most important provisions in the eyes of the for for- esters No one knows what we have in ln this line or just where it is Is Equally Equall important from the technical cal point of view Is ls the appropriation of a million dollars a year for five flue years ears to be spent in studying the utilization of wood and also the i problems of forestry taxation The forest products labor laboratory tOry at Madison Madi Madi- Madison son 1 W Wis is has already demonstrated the great possibilities of new methods methods methods meth meth- in its the use of wood For example ex ex- V ample It s saved ved box manufactures a devel- devel developing million dollars a year It is developing developing devel devel- ways ways of seasoning wood in kilns which promise to save mill miU- mill mill- ions It 0 has demonstrated repeatedly repeatedly repeat repeat- edly that scientific research in this line pays immediate and lage loge re re re- turns The taxation of forest is a matter requiring much study It should be beso so arranged the foresters say that the planting and and growing of timber V crops will pay The bill would also appropriate a million a year for five years to tobe be used in reforesting denuded lands in ht national forests There are a million million million mill mill- ion and a half acres of or burned over oer overland land laud in national forests that must be Ten million dollars is asked for Cor buying new areas to be he put into national na ua- forests There are areas in inthe inthe the Alleghenies and elsewhere In the fibs east which can be purchased by the the government now at relatively low loin prices They will cost more in m inthe the future and the timber upon them will be scarcer National forests in is inthe inthe the east should have been acquired long ago This section of the bill should should should-b b of special interest to the public b because be- be cause of the great value and ana merest which the national forests in the west have developed as playgrounds In the east all of the finest camping and fishing and hunting country is ts privately owned but in me tue west oy op reason of the national forests a poor poorman poorman poorman man can have a summer home hom in the best mountain country in ln th the t t orld The measure would also Increase e ethe the size of the national forests forest b by authorizing the exchange of timber in national forests for lands outside of them This means that an individual individual i indi indi- vidual or company owned deforested deforested de de- reforested forested timber land outside of or but to a national forest could exchange it ft for tor so many board feet of ol timber on nati nal forests This timber would or ot course bi Iw cut under directions of ot the forest tores service so as not to injure th the stand Meanwhile Meanwhile Meanwhile Mean Mean- while the forest service could re- re lorest forest the denuded lands lauds acquired lJ by this thit method The Snell bill seems to be regarded regard regard- P ed bj by all authorities as a model conservation measure It calls for tor a good cod deal of money out mosey money ex- ex fended ended 1 in its conserving national resources re reo sources und and and in now how to use nse them is ib money that makes a return to the taxpayer ta It mikes the things thing he uc eds s dl cheaper and lr provides vides opportunity for employment and in investment in- in vestment It is the tax mossy mo paid for armies and navies and the chinery of government and in fn loan loann ito i- i to foreign that really leaves us liS forever |