One third of the Nation's land : a report to the President and to the Congress / by the Public Land Law Review Commission.

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those forest lands that are managed primarily for the production of timber. The harvesting of timber, of course, can, when not exercised with care, have very substantial effects on the scenic and watershed values of forest land as well as on surrounding lands and downstream water flows. The United States cannot afford to have its timberlands used so as to degrade the surrounding environment. We also believe it is important to note the possible effects of some management practices on the lands and forests themselves. Timber management on public lands has progressed over the past few decades from primarily fire protection to the point where a variety of techniques, including controlled fires, pesticides, herbicides, fertilizers, and mechanical equipment, is used. These techniques and the practice of planting large areas to a single species can have harmful environmental consequences over large areas of land. The use of these practices should not be stopped entirely, but, as discussed generally in the chapter on Public Land Policy and the Environment, we favor continued surveillance and monitoring of such programs. These must be supported by a continuing program of research to ascertain all the facts about presently used practices and to develop new and improved practices that will reduce environmental hazards. In accord with out general recommendations that artificial distinctions between classes of land be eliminated, we believe that policies guiding timber production and use should generally be the same for all public lands. We see no reasons, other than those dictated by varying regional conditions, why the best DOMESTIC PRODUCTION OF WOOD PRODUCTS IN U.: Cu. Ft. BY SOURCE 1952 '53 '54 '55 '56 '57 '58 '59 '60 '61 '62 '63 '64 '65 '66 '67 Federal lands are contributing an increasing share of our domestic wood production. 92 available practices should not be adopted by all agencies. There are significant differences now in some timber policies, in the same geographic area, between the Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management. For example, the Forest Service sells timber on a royalty basis, while BLM sells timber on a lump sum basis, and the methods for measuring timber volumes as a basis for payment are different. Methods of financing timber management programs and timber access road construction differ between the two bureaus. The other agencies managing public lands also differ somewhat. We find that these differences are confusing to the public and should not be retained. Dominant Use Timber Production Units Recommendation 28: There should be a statutory requirement that those public lands that are highly productive for timber be classified for commercial timber production as the dominant use, consistent with the Commission's concept of how multiple use should be applied in practice. We have previously recommended the concept of dominant use classifications as a means of implementing land use planning on public lands not designated by statute for a primary use.1 This concept finds ready application in the case of planning for timber production on public lands. Legislation creating national parks and wilderness areas, and administrative determinations without legislative sanction placing public forest lands in noncutting zones, and restricting the cut on other areas, have reduced the area of public land-and the value of timber available from it-that is necessary to support the timber industry. In some cases, despite the absence of guidance from Congress, which under the Constitution has the authority to make such rules, timber stands in which substantial sums of public money have been invested are set aside for other use before the timber can be harvested and the public can reap the benefits of its investment. The amount of forested public land reserved from harvesting or placed under special cutting limitations more than doubled between 1957 and 1967.2 Although data are not available to show the extent of the continuing pressure on private forests, land is being cleared for many uses such as residential, commercial, and highway construction. Also signif- 1 See Chapter Three, Planning Future Public Land Use, for a discussion of the Commission's recommendation on this point. 2 George Banzhaf & Company, Public Land Timber Policy, PLLRC Study Report, 1969, App. G.