Evening star., 1947-08-04
By Lyle F. Waffs
Chief. Forest Service. Department Of Agriculture.

A realistic, comprehensive, and progressive
INSTRUMENTATION program must aim at keep
ing our forest lands productive, building up
our growing stock of timber, and making the
one-third of our country that is forest land
contribute its full share to the prosperity,
security. and well-being of the American peo-
pie. What will it take?
Where organized, intensive fire protection
has been applied 1t has amply demonstrated
that forest-fire losses can be greatly reduced.
Yet l36,000,0O0 acres of forest land in the
United States still lack organized protection
And fire control forces and facilities in most
of the protected areas fall short Of the needs.
We have no way of stopping lightning from
starting fires. But 80 per cent of the forest
fires are started by man. largely through
thoughtlessness, ignorance, or carelessness.
Ninety per cent of our forest fires therefore
can be prevented, If and when every citizen
can be made to realize the values at stake
and the necessity for his individual co-opera-
ton.
Science has developed methods of combat
ing some of the most destructive forest insects
and diseases-the white pine blister rust and
the pine bark beetle, for example. Research
is giving promising leads to the control OF
others. Our combat forces out on the front
line IN the war against the pests and parasites
Of forest trees, however, are far from adequate
The drain on our forests caused by losses
from fire. insects and diseases is pure waste.
1t should be reduced to minimum.
Considers Burden Of Waste.
We are carrying millions of acres of good
potential timber growing land as dead weight.
This is land which repeated fires or destructive
cutting have reduced to status of virtual
nonproductivity. Some OF the poorly stocked
or deforested land may some day come back
to fair degree of productivity by natural
means. For much of it, the best way to restore
the land to usefulness in any reasonable time
will be to plant trees. We need to step up
our planting program tremendously, for a full
scale attack on the huge reforestation problem
Less than half of the wood volume in the
average tree cut now goes into usable products.
Tops and limbs trimmed from feled trees,
broken trunks and Gull logs are left in the
woods. More waste occurs through the various
steps of manufacture to the finished product
Many species of trees are not harvested because
they are poorly suited In form or properties to
present uses or present manufacturing methods.
We need intensified research and experiment to
develop methods for profitable utilization of
these wasted materials.
oHIy per CenC OF all private forest landS
are receiving good management. On nearly
two-thirds, cutting practice is poor to destruc-
tive. The general level of forest practice will
have to be raised materially, if We are to stop
the downward trend of our forest resource and
start growing more timber for the future.
We must put q stop to destructive practices
We must encourage wider adoption of really
good management practices. Technical forest
ers have developed proved methods Of manag-
ing forest lands for continuous production. The
technical know-how must be carried out into
the woods.
Four Recovery Steps Proposed.
These are the things we need to put our all.
ing forest resource on the road to recovery
more protection more planting, less waste. bet
ter forest practices. We can get these things
only by positive and aggressive action on a ma
tional scale Here are the measures which the
Forest Service believes are essential to an ade-
quate program of forest conservation:
Regulation of cutting practices.-For several
years, the Forest Service has advocated that