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Show F0BEST FACTS The Nation's Forests are not being grown as fast as they are being depleted. Timber cut or destroyed in 1943 was 50 percent more than total growth. One third of the area of the United States is forest land. Of the some 630 million acres of forest land, approximately 168 million acres is of noncommercial noncom-mercial types not good timber growing land. 77 million acres is virtually nonproductive as a result of destructive de-structive cutting and fire. Of the remaining area (385 million acres) all but about 100 milion acres has been cut over. It is estimated that during the past 30 years the volume of standing saw timber in the U-nited U-nited States has been reduced 40 percent. The present stand of timber is generally much inferior to that of the original stands. Wood has become a critical war material. Of the 630 million acres of forest land in the Nation, 196 milion acres are in public ownership. owner-ship. The balance is in private ownership. A major portion of the publicly owned forest land is in the national na-tional forests administered by the United States Forest Service. On these lands scientific forestry is being applied and the forests are being managed for a sustained sus-tained yield. More than a million workers and their families obtain their livin" directly from the forests n wSrk in woods, inlumbei . and paper mills, and in wood using inHe!piepSrotect the forests from flre- Forest Ranger. |