(The statement requested is given below:)

Detailed statement showing distribution of classes of improvement and location of projects included in the item of $301,613 for the construction of nonstructural improvements

The unit cost of firebreaks varies by the character of work required and is influenced by the topography, cover and climatic conditions and other factors in the various sections of the country. The width of the firebreaks, for example, varies from 10 to 300 feet, causing the unit cost to vary from $10 to $1,500 per mile. Total requirements for this class of work on national forests are $8,050,000. For 1937, $113,898 are required.

Hazard reduction consists of the removal of unusually inflammable material from dangerous fire areas. In some sections, the felling of snags is the major requirement. In others, the disposal of wind-thrown trees and other debris is necessary. Where travel is heavy and fire danger conditions are high, roadside clearing is of major importance. Total requirements for this class of work on the national forests are $58,031,000.

For 1937 $62,975 are requested.

Erosion control work which lies entirely within the national forest boundaries is a Forest Service responsibility. This does not duplicate or conflict with the work of the Soil Conservation Service. The total requirements for this class of work are $7,606,000. For 1937 $45,332 are requested.

Stream improvement work consists of the placing of simple barriers in streams and other inexpensive, improvements to improve fishing on the 70,000 miles of streams on the national forests. Technical advisse is furnished by the Bureau of Fisheries. Actual improvement work is done by the Forest Service. The total requirements for this class of work are $7,582,000. For 1947, $79,408 are requested.

GENERAL SURVEYS AND MAPS

Mr. TARVER. The next item is general surveys and maps, showing an increase of $50,000 which, however, is a reduction in P. W. A. and E. R. A. allotments transformed into a final decrease of $25,601.

Mr. SILCOX. That is an item for keeping current our maps on those vast areas.

That involves no conflict with the Geological Survey or the General Land Office. We use all of their maps. But there are large areas that are not touched by either one of those organizations. More use of the forests, new additions of great size, and changes of boundaries require boundary surveys, and other surveys, together with maps for use in detecting the location of fires and for laying out nurseries, recreation areas, administrative sites, and so forth.

Mr. UMSTEAD. Mr. Silcox, I believe that that completes the items under that heading except as to the total.

Mr. SILCOX. Yes; and such supplements to the general record by break-down of that maintenance item.

COMPARISON WITH EUROPEAN FORESTRY

Mr. BUCKBEE. Mr. Silcox, in Germany, with their efficiency in the handling of lumber and its allied industries, do you think for a single second that they would spend even 5 percent of what we have in taking care of their forests? Why cannot we do that?

Mr. SILCOX. Of course, they have a very intensive population in Germany. You have timber tied into their national economy much more intimately than we have here. The German has a sense of trusteeship for his property. He wants to pass it on in better shape than when he got it. Whereas you have an attitude in the United States of taking a bite out of the apple and throwing the rest of it away. That has been the way that we have handled our resources. Mr. BUCKBEE. You would be willing to include several other European countries in that, wouldn't you?

Mr. SILCOX. Yes.

Take Norway and Sweden. Their forests have been on a basis of sustained yield and management for a long time. They are a formidable competitor to American forest products in the European market.

I happened to be on a commission following the war to see about getting southern yellow pine and douglas fir over into the French market as against Swedish lumber; and I found a situation where their lumber was kiln dried and they put wax over the ends of the boards, cut them according to the metrical system, and they cut the boards according to specifications the same as the manufacturers are using. They are putting their material into the French market at a higher price, but the French are willing to pay the higher price than for the American material because of the way it is manufactured and the treatment that it gets.

In addition to the way they manufacture their lumber, Sweden has placed a limit on the construction of any more pulp mills, because they already have pulp mills up to the capacity of what they are cutting.

The whole attitude of the management of forestry properties in Europe is to maintain continuous production. There are some properties in Europe that have been in continuous forest management for 700 years.

Down in the Landes region of France there is one such section. It is down there in the sand dunes. They said that Napoleon was

crazy when he talked about planting trees there. Now there are little French settlements there which, although they are not wealthy, the residents are not on relief. They keep the timber turpentined. They use the forest for forest products and raise their food products on the land.

FIGHTING FOREST FIRES

Mr. UMSTEAD. We come next to the item of fighting forest fires, as follows:

Fighting forest fires: For fighting and preventing forest fires on or threatening the national forests and for the establishment and maintenance of a patrol to prevent trespass and to guard against and check fires upon the lands revested in the United States by the Act approved June 9, 1916 (39. Stat., p. 218), and the lands known as the Coos Bay Wagon Road lands involved in the case of Southern Oregon Company against United States (numbered 2711), in the Circuit Court of Appeals of the Ninth Circuit, $100,000, which amount shall be immediately available.

Mr. SILCOX. The following statement is presented for the record:

WORK DONE UNDER THIS APPROPRIATION

This appropriation is used primarily for the suppression of forest fires, with the exception of the amount required to give the lands known as the Coos Bay Wagon Road and Oregon and California railroad lands the same protection from fire which is given adjacent national forest or privately owned lands protected by associations of private owners. Otherwise administrative restrictions placed upen the use of the appropriation by the Forest Service provide that expenditures shall not be made from it until forest fires have actually started. An exception is made to this rule, however, when fire conditions become so critical that the regular protective organization which is financed from "National Forest Administration" is unable to cope with the situation and when, therefore, the temporary employment of additional guards clearly will reduce expenditures for fire fighting. Expenditures are made for the employment of fire fighters and their transportation, equipment needed on going fires when not available in stocks of equipment previously purchased from the "National Forest Administration" appropriation, or in connection with fires of previous years. The appropriation is used for travel expenses of fcrest guards when going to or returning from fires and for the travel expenses of regular employees of the Service when the travel performed extends beyond the boundaries of the units to which they are regularly assigned, or when the activities to which men are regularly assigned do not include fire fighting.

The amount appropriated ($100,000) is nominal because it is impossible to predict in advance what the expenditures for such an uncertain activity may be. Supplemental estimates are submitted each year for the deficiency bill to cover expenditures in excess of the amount appropriated in the regular appropriation act. Mr. UMSTEAD. Will you discuss that item?

Mr. SILCOX. It is impossible to make an estimate of what kind of a fire season we are going to have. For several years we have carried a small item for fighting fires, and have had to come in under a deficiency appropriation for the balance when the cost of fighting forest fires can be more closely estimated.

Mr. UMSTEAD. I believe you have referred to that orginally in your general testimony?

Mr. SILCOX. Yes. That has been in effect for a great many years. Mr. UMSTEAD. There is no way to tell in advance what the cost of suppression will be?

Mr. SILCOX. No. We varied here from approximately $100,000 up to $4,260,000. It depends upon our preparedness, the weather, and other things.

47432-3624

SUMMARY-GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSE IN WASHINGTON AND PROTECTION AND ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL FORESTS

Mr. SILCOX. With the consent of the chairman, I am inserting here brief digests of the supporting statements for each increase requested among the projects listed under "General administrative expense" and under "Protection and administration of national forests." For greater details see the foregoing testimony. General administrative expense.-In summary, the net increase of $232,500 is justified as follows:

(1) The very immensity of the Forest Service job which might be overlooked is indicated in part by

(a) Ten percent of the land area of the continental United States is within the boundaries of the national forests and purchase units, and is thus under the direct supervision of the Forest Service. As blocked out on the map shown to the committee, copy of which was placed, at the request of the chairman, in the booklets furnished each member of the committee, this area for which the Forest Service has administrative responsibility is greater by far than the total combined area of 15 of the States. There are single national forests, under one supervisor, which are larger than States the size of Connecticut, and ranger districts half the size of Rhode Island.

(b) Thirty-two percent of the land area of continental United States is primarily of value for forestry purposes. The Forest Service has been authorized and directed by various acts of Congress to promote the best use of this area through technical advice, research, cooperation in fire protection, cooperative planting of trees, etc. On an average, 40 million acres of this are are still burned over by forest fires each year.

(c) Thirteen million head of domestic livestock graze on the national forests. (d) Seventy-five percent of the big-game animals west of the Great Plains graze on the national forests.

(e) Seventy thousand miles of fishing streams are located within the national forests.

(f) Excepting the telephone system of the A. T. & T., the Forest Service with its more than 50,000 miles of lines has, it is believed, the largest mileage of telephone communications in the country.

(g) The total stand of timber on the national forests is estimated to be 552 billion board feet.

(2) Only 3 percent of the total regular appropriation is allotted for the overhead cost of the Forest Service in Washington at present. The request is to raise this allotment to 3.48 percent of the regular Forest Service appropriation recommended by the Budget for the fiscal year 1937. There is critical need for this sum to provide adequate inspection, supervision, technical direction and general administration. Other bureaus doing roughly comparable classes of work have had for years, and have no doubt needed, a higher percentage of their regular allotments for this purpose.

(3) The Forest Service overhead problem differs from that of many other agencies, because much of its work can only be done properly in the field. In order to make this possible, supervisory officers must absent themselves from desks in Washington and get out in the woods where they belong for extended periods each year. They must, therefore, in order to keep the work going have assistants who can alternate with them in office and field.

(4) The appropriation for this purpose was greater 14 years ago than the $358,300 available for 1936 (in 1923, $373,750; in 1925, $396,168). But, despite the decrease in these funds during this period, a tremendous increase in the work load and responsibilities-has been caused by such items as the following: (This is not an all-inclusive list.)

(a) Sixteen million acres have been added to the National Forests during this period. This is 91⁄2 percent of the total net area of the national forests todaya very high percentage compared with the 32 percent of the total appropriation which is requested for the Washington office.

(b) The above increase in acreage has been accompanied by a corresponding increase in field personnel; the increase being made by devoting during these years all increases in regular operating funds to the strengthening of the field forces. The small Washington force is now attempting to plan and supervise the activities of some 23,000 field employees, including 2,819 regular employees, 4,236 regular and emergency fire guards, and 15,982 employees engaged in supervisory, technical and facilitating work under the emergency program, but exclud

ing more than 225,000 Civilian Conservation Corps enrollees and Emergency Relief Administration, transient and other classes of temporary laborers working under the jurisdiction of the Forest Service. These increases both in National Forest area and in field personnel have not been accompanied by any corresponding increase for Washington administrative expense.

(c) The economic pressure of the times, accentuated in the range country by the cumulative effect of subnormal rainfall for some 15 years, has increased the work load by its effect on National Forest range and grazing_administration problems: (1) It has greatly increased the demand for National Forest range by old established local communities-and such demands must be met insofar as possible if the communities in question are to survive; (2) combined with this situation, the drought has made range management more difficult if proper use of the range is to be obtained and erosion prevented.

(d) There has been an estimated increase of more than 43,000,000 users of National Forests for recreation during this period, an, increase of nearly 300 percent. This has been due to more roads, more cars, and more time available; to the low cost of recreation in these areas and the general trend in this country to go to the forests for rest and recreation. The Forest Service has not been able to properly meet its responsibilities resulting from this heavy increase in recreational use.

(e) Stimulating action taken under article X of the lumber code before National Recovery Act was declared unconstitutional, and increased interest by the public in forest conditions in this country have developed an insistent demand from timberland owners, the States and the general public that the Forest Service should provide more and better assistance and cooperation in obtaining satisfactory forest practices on privately owned timber lands. To date this vitally important function of the Washington staff has been handled on a part-time basis by men whose other activities have required most of their time. Better economic use of more than 400,000,000 acres of forest land are involved.

(f) There is an insistent and articulate public demand that wildlife management on the national forests be given greater attention. It is one of our major resources as indicated in items 1 (d) and 1 (e) above. The supervision and planning of this work in Washington is also being handled now on a part time basis only by men whose other activities demand most of their time.

(g) Increased use of the forests, as illustrated in item 4 (d) above, the cumulative effect of the drought of the past some 15 years in the West, and additions to the national forests have vastly increased the magnitude of the job of protecting the forests from fires. Costs of prevention, preparedness, and suppression in I year recently exceeded $6,800,000. Within the past 3 years, Congress has approved deficiency appropriations of more than $4,150,000 in 1 year for firefighting purposes. The heavy responsibility of supervising activities as costly as this, obviously demands more attention than the part time which a division in Washington primarily engaged in other work has heretofore been able to devote to it.

(5) A further point justifying the request for additional funds for the Washington office is the need for more inspection. Inadequate inspection, it is feared, may result in losses many times greater than the total cost of the Washington organization.

(6) This item has been developed with the aid of the Secretary of Agriculture, the Civil Service Commission, and the Budget. Each within their province has given it their full approval.

(7) The question has been asked, if under the appropriation for the Washington office for fiscal year 1936 the work of the Forest Service has been satisfactorily done. The answer is "no", as indicated or definitely stated for some of the activities, in the items listed above. We "got by" with the help of emergency funds and deficiency appropriations, but the regular appropriation was inadequate.

Timber use. In summary, the net increase of $222,314 is needed to take care of administering an increased cut of National Forest stumpage from 800,000,000 feet to 1,100,000,000 feet. I is estimated that the income from timber sales will increase from $1,900,000 to $2,400,000 during this period.

Forest-fire prevention and preparedness.-In summary, the increase of $997,452 is needed for the following reasons:

(a) To provide protection to new additions to the national forests. During fiscal year 1936, it is expected that 5,000,000 acres will be purchased. In the West nearly a million additional acres have been acquired by exchange, etc., since any increase has been given for this activity.