Conservationists around this time also realized the need for public regulation of the lumber industry but to this day no laws have been passed standardizing forestry practices (Robinson 13). The Forest Service, through education, has tried to improve the conduct with which private forest lands are treated by the lumber industry. As early as 1930 they published pamphlets outlining methods to keep these forest lands from becoming barren (www.fs.fed.us/). Techniques such as seed tree systems, re-seeding and so forth were covered; but most companies continued clear cutting, seeing it as the best way to cash in quickly (www.fs.fed.us/). .
Now I will provide a explanation of what exactly multiple-use forestry is and how it can be implemented. To understand multiple-use forestry some knowledge of silviculture and forest management is required. Silviculture basically means "the art and science of growing trees" (Robinson 61). There are four main silvicultural systems: clear cutting, seed tree, shelterwood and selection (Robinson 62). Clear cutting is still the most used system, and involves the removal of all trees within a specified land tract (Robinson 62). This system is regulated to the point that it can only be used where the tree species are able to reseed in open air and direct sunlight or have shown ability to reestablish with planting (Robinson 62). Seed tree systems use clear cutting but leave occasional, healthy, previously selected trees standing to reseed the area (Robinson 62). Shelterwood systems involve cutting timber in stages which are not long enough to produce another full yield, but are long enough to secure and establish the next crop (Robinson 62). Typically three cuts are made over ten years, each cut clearing more trees to make room for the new crop (Robinson 62). Finally, selection systems involve maintaining an even distribution of trees of various ages within the forest at all times (Robinson 63).
