By W. J. DAMTOFT

Champion Fibre Co., Canton, N. C.

The forest resources of Western North Carolina should not be allowed to deteriorate! There is grave danger, with the necessity of the Federal and State governments to economize, that the established system of forest pro­tection, meagre as it is, may suffer a breakdown.

Curtailment of public expenditures for forest protection has already taken place. Owners of private timberlands are hard pressed financially and unable to maintain adequate pro­tection to their holdings. Such a sit­uation may result in widespread de­struction unless the public takes ex­ceptional care to keep fires from starting and exerts every effort to suppress them in case they do start.

This is a time which challenges the foresightedness of our citizens. Our vision must be strong enough to pene­trate the haze of the present economic fog and through it to discern that our forest resources still stand as the very foundation of our general wel­fare, industrially and otherwise.

In Western Carolina the forest in­dustries have for many years ranked next to agriculture as a source of em­ployment. Until recently they have been of a rather spectacular and limit­ed nature, involving the development of large boundaries of virgin timber with logging railroads and large band saw mills. Today these large develop­ments are passing. But with their passing there has come a growth of other forest industries capable of util­izing the smaller second growth trees. This extended utilization together with an expansion in highway transporta­tion facilities has increased the im­portance of smaller boundaries and of farmers' woodlots as a source of commercial timber.

The value of our forests does not however lie solely in the commodities which can be manufactured from the timber. There are the tremendous complementary benefits of protection to soil fertility, to forage, to wild life, to water supply and to scenic beauty. In Western Carolina these benefits are realized to a marked degree.

If we are to continue to grow as a resort center and to attract perma­nent residents from among our visi­tors, we must not fail to adequately protect our forests. They not only serve to lure and to hold the visitor but, at the same time, they can, with sensible management, continue to serve as the most important basis of our industrial activity.

Nature has been especially gener­ous in her gift of forests to Western Carolina. Not only was the initial en­dowment bounteous but climatic and soil factors are provided to assure in­terest on that endowment in the form of prolific second growth. The chal­lenge to us is to conserve this wonder­ful heritage, and to protect it against destruction.

In times of stress such as we are now experiencing, when established protective agencies are weakened, a greater degree of individual responsi­bility must be assumed by all of us. Alertness and the exercise of care by every citizen will insure a perpetually attractive and profitable forest cover over the mountains of Western North Carolina.