Fires are cutting down the size of our forests each year.  During a recent five-year period, 160,000 forest fires burned over 56,488,000 acres, an area as large as the state of Utah, and destroyed or damaged timber and property valued at $85,715,000.  Year by year, fires and bad timber practices have been increasing our total areas of waste and cut-over land.  We are facing a future lumber famine, not alone because we have used up our timber, but also because we have failed to make use of our vast acreage of idle land adapted for growing forests.  We must call a halt and begin all over again.  Our new start must be along the lines of timber planting and tree increase.  The landowners, the States and the Federal Government must all get together in this big drive for reforestation.

It is impossible to make National Forests out of all the idle forest land.  On the other hand, the matter of reforestation cannot be left to private owners.  Some of them would set out trees and restore the forests as desired.  Others would not.  The public has large interests at stake.  It must bear part of the burden.  Proper protection of the forests against fire can come only through united public action.  Everyone must do his part to reduce the fire danger.  The public must also bring about needed changes in many of our tax methods so that private owners will be encouraged to go into the business of raising timber.  The Government must do its share, the private landowner must help to the utmost and the public must aid in every possible way, including payment of higher prices for lumber as the cost of growing timber increases.

France and Scandinavia have solved their forest problems along about the same lines the United States will have to follow.  These countries keep up well-protected public forests.  All the landowners are taught how to set out and raise trees.  Everyone has learned to respect the timberlands.  The woods are thought of as treasures which must be carefully handled.  The average man would no more think of abusing the trees in the forest than he would of setting fire to his home.  The foreign countries are now busy working out their forestry problems of the years to come.  We in America are letting the future take care of itself.

Our States should aid generally in the work of preventing forest fires.  They should pass laws which will require more careful handling of private forest lands.  They should pass more favorable timber tax laws so that tree growing will be encouraged.  Uncle Sam should be the director in charge of all this work.  He should instruct the states how to protect their forests against fire.  He should teach them how to renew their depleted woodlands.  He should work for a gradual and regular expansion of the National Forests.  The United States Forest Service should have the power to help the various states in matters of fire protection, ways of cutting forests, methods of renewing forests and of deciding whether idle lands were better adapted for farming or forestry purposes.