Farm Bureau and one by the Maryland State Grange; one must have
had practical experience in the lumbering business; and two must
have an interest in the advancement of State parks and recreation.
The members serve for five-year terms with overlapping tenure of
office. They select their chairman and appoint the Director of the
Department of Forests and Parks (Code 1951, Art. 66C, secs. 340,
341).

A forestry department was first organized in 1906 under the State
Board of Forestry. The present Department, associated with the
Board of Natural Resources, was organized in 1941 to succeed the
first department. The Department of Forests and Parks administers
the tree marketing program under which woodland owners who plan
to dispose of their timber may secure a free marking service to yield
maximum return in saw timber and other forest products while mak-
ing due provision for a sustained yield of successive timber crops.
To supplement the timber cropping program and provide adequate
planting stock for reforestation, the State maintains a nursery with
a potential capacity of ten million trees. The Department also ad-
ministers the Forest Conservancy Districts Act designed to ensure
the practice of forestry on privately owned woodlands throughout the
State (Code 1951, Art. 66C, secs. 342-406). The district foresters
of the Department serve as executive officers and secretaries of local
forestry boards set up under the Act. The Department provides fire
protection for 2,700,000 acres of public and private woodland. To
this end it maintains a specially trained fire control force supple-
mented by 600-700 forest wardens commissioned by the Governor.
The Department also protects approximately 3,000,000 trees along
the State highways. It employes a force of wardens to supervise
tree-trimming operations by the public utility companies along their
pole-line right of ways. It also examines and licenses tree experts
operating within the State.

The Department administers ten State Forests with a total area
of 119,795 acres. These forests serve as demonstration areas in
forestry management. The Department has developed recreational
areas in several of them, notably, Herrington Manor on the Swallow
Falls and New Germany on the Savage River. Parallel to this
responsibility is the administration of thirteen State Parks of scenic
or historic interest totaling 11,181.5 acres. The State Forests and
Parks and their areas are as follows:

STATE FORESTS
Name County Area

Cedarville Prince George's and Charles 3 520
Doncaster Charles 1464
Elk Neck Cecil 2 742
Green Ridge Allegany 25 631
Pocomoke Worcester 12 250
Potomac Garrett 12 052
Savage River Garrett 52 520
Seth (Demonstration) Talbot 125
Swallow Falls Garrett 7,453
Wicomico Wicomico 1,110
Nursery Anne Arundel 100