Wildlife habitat research needs in Southern forests /

The forests of the South_L^contribute a major share of the raw materials that form the basis for the region's industrial growth and prosperity.Forests also protect the watersheds, are an integral part of the scenic beauty, and provide the habitat for an abundance and va- riety of wildlife.AH of the 181 million acres of forest land in the South support some form of wildlife.Game has increased and is continuing to increase rapidly in numbers (113)^/.Since only about 17 million acres of the forest land are in State or Federal ownership, this game will occupy more and more private forest land.More than 90 million acres of the private forest are on farms.The farm forests are very im- portant for squirrels and other small game, but they are often too small or too close to human habitation to attract larger game.The bulk of the increase, particularly of deer and wild turkeys, will therefore be found on larger tracts of private forest--the lands of greatest value for commercial forest production and the most likely to be under in- tensive timber management.With the forest coming under increasingly intensive management, the cost of every process of timber production is carefully watched^''^.Costs and returns of wildlife production will also have to be accounted for.Or if returns cannot be accounted for accurately, it should at least be possible to establish the cost of the timber-management alternatives that create conditions favorable to game.1/ The area considered includes Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, eastern Oklahoma, and eastern Texas. _2/