National Forests in the Southern Appalachians

THE UNITED STATES FOREST SERVICE has under its jurisdiction 161 national forests, with a net area of more than 175,000,000 acres. General headquarters are in Washington, D. C. For administrative purposes the country has been divided into 10 regions, each headed by a regional forester and staff. Region 8, with headquarters at Atlanta, Ga., includes southeastern United States and Puerto Rico, with 26 national forests. Forest supervisors are in charge of the national forests, which are divided into ranger districts, each with a district ranger and assistants. Asheville, N. C., is headquarters for the Appalachian Forest Experiment Station, whose staff carries on research in the nearby national forests.

The Government has been able to buy some sizable holdings of virgin timber to be included in the southern Appalachian forests. Other tracts, selectively logged, when purchased still contained considerable growing stock.

The first essential to proper forest management is, of course, protection against fire. If fires rage unchecked, timber, streamflow and water supplies, wildlife, grazing, recreation, all suffer. Funds for development of the forest lands were limited during the early years, and efforts were naturally directed largely toward building up fire-protection organizations and facilities. Much of the acquired land remained inaccessible and undeveloped, however, until the creation of the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933, which made money and manpower available to build roads and trails, additional lookout towers and telephone lines, workshops and equipment depots, to carry on timber-stand-improvement work, and to initiate many developments which were previously impossible.

A modern ranger station built with the aid of the C. C. C. on the Chattahoochee National Forest. F—386658

This lookout tower on Round Mountain in the Sumter National Forest is a unit in the system of fire protection. F—261442

Before the national forests in the southern Appalachians were established, 30 to 50 percent of their area burned over annually. Within 10 years the Forest Service had cut these annual losses down to 3 percent. Today they are less than one-tenth of 1 percent. Moreover, the development of highways and forest roads has made possible the profitable logging of inferior species in previously culled stands. Even the worst of the denuded and burned-over areas are responding to protection and will someday again become productive forests.

THE FOREST YIELDS HEALTH—WEALTH—SECURITY EVERYBODY LOSES WHEN TIMBER BURNS BE SURE YOUR FIRE IS OUT—DEAD OUT

Since nearly all forest fires are man-caused, the cooperation of the public will go far toward ending the red menace. A good woodsman will be careful with fire, will never leave his campfire without completely extinguishing it, will never build a fire in inflammable forest floor debris, and will not throw away lighted matches, cigarettes, cigars, or pipe heels. If he finds a forest fire, he will put it out if he can. If he cannot put it out, he will report it to the forest supervisor, the ranger, the sheriff, or the nearest telephone operator. Locations of the headquarters of the supervisors of the Appalachian forests and the rangers are indicated on the map.

The Forest Service has built many lookout towers on strategically located mountain tops. These towers are connected with one another and with headquarters by telephone or radio, and the tower men usually spot a fire within a few minutes after it starts. Since the first hour is the critical one in fighting fires, roads and trails have been built through the forests so that crews equipped with fire-fighting tools can be immediately rushed to the danger points. Visitors are always welcome at the lookout towers, where they may see the fire-detecting apparatus and enjoy splendid views of the surrounding mountains. All lookout towers on the national forests of the southern Appalachians are indicated by a special symbol on the map which accompanies this booklet.

In addition to administration, protection, and development of the national forests, the Forest Service cooperates with States and private owners in protection from fire and reforestation of privately owned forest land and assists forest owners in developing better forest management.

ALL PROCEEDS from the sale of timber and from other sources on the national forests are deposited in the Treasury of the United States. Twenty-five percent of the earnings of the forests is returned to the counties in which the forests are located for the benefit of public roads and schools, and an additional 10 percent is expended by the Forest Service for the construction and maintenance of roads within the forests.

This direct monetary return is, however, only a part of the benefit that communities receive from national forests in their vicinity. The development and protection of the forests afford many thousands of man-days of labor annually, paid for by the Federal Government, and marketing the products of the forests provides a livelihood for many people.

Other benefits, more difficult to evaluate in terms of money, are nevertheless of great importance. The reservoirs which store water for power production and other purposes would silt up and become useless were it not for the protection the mountain slopes receive from the forests. Each year increasing thousands of visitors flock to the southern Appalachians, attracted by the scenery and the opportunities to hunt and fish and enjoy woodland forms of recreation. Visitors to the forests bring a very considerable revenue to the mountain communities.

Balanced agriculture and forestry: Farms and villages in the fertile valleys are surrounded by tree-clad mountains. F—176370

The Forest Service helps promote the permanence of communities near the national forests. Since only the annual growth of the forests is harvested, there is no depletion of forest capital and consequently no danger of industries that depend on the products of the forest facing exhaustion of raw materials. This makes for stability. It is also the policy of the Forest Service to build up forces of local workers and by providing them with part-time employment during slack periods to help them augment their earnings from farming or other sources.