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3 1924 002 949 364

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THB CASE
POR PPRRSSE RESEEVYALTLUrsS

NEAR UREA G £EPAaasS

A Paper prepared in Forestry Course No.23

by

Katharine “Cohen

Cornell University

June 1922.

CONTENTS.

The Proposition Stated

Present day appreciation of the recreational
value of forests.

siaiehonen etna,

State Parks.

Smaller woodland areas.
Growing popularity and ase

Object of this paper.

The purpose of Forest Reservations near Urban centers.
Uses
Forest protecting water reservoirs.
Forests as industrial screens.”
Recreational use stressed.
Where Forestry and Recreation meet.
The value of forest reservations near Urban Centers.
Benefits to be derived from Forest Reservations.
Increased value of surrounding property.
Indirect returns to city and state.

partial
A, response to the timber depletion question.

Acquisition and Financing.
Organization and Operation under Law.

The Metropolitan Park System of Massachusetts.
The Cook County Forest Preserve of Illinois.

The New York State Forest Preserve.
Methods of acquisition and financing.

Acquisition by giwt.

Special assessments and excess condemnation.
Bond Issues.
Maintenance.

Partial self-support.

Specific Recommendations. .
Where Landscape and Forestry meet.
Plan of management.
Protection.
Assistance from the State.

Justification of Forest aesthetics.

Summary and Conclusion.

THE PROPOSITION STATED.

The present day appreciation of the recreational
value of forests.

Although the people of the United States as
a nation, are by choice and by necessity seekers of
the almighty dollar, we are at the same time
peculiarly idealistic and readily moved by senti-
ment. Moreover, we are preminently prone to make
mistakes and to be overwhelmingly sorry for them
afterwards. Thus,'in the field of forestry, as
in the development of most of our natural re-
sources, the United States passed through a long
period of increasingly exhausting exploitation un-
til we were brought to face the problem of a
rapidly diminishing resource.

Above the clamor of the saw mill was heard
the voice of protest which led to the calling of
the first conference of governors in Washington
by President Roosevelt in 1908. The mistakes
having been made, it was time to seek a remedy
for the situation brought about by our lack of
foresight. It was clearly recognized that

Conservation touches the life of the people

upon practically every side, but action in the

field of forestry was about the first legislative

response to the Conservation agitation.

National Parks

The administration of Presidents
Harrison and Cleveland had accomplished the setting
aside of some 17,000,000 acres of forest land as an
initial step, but under the stimulus of the Conser-
vation movement in President Roosevelts time, the
national reservations were augmented to 150,000,000
acres. From that time on, alse an appreciation
at least of the recreational value of forests has
been increasingly manifested by the public and the
state. The national government through the
National Park Service and the Forest Service is
developing the National Parks and National Forests

to the greatest possible extent as recreational

centers and is finding that they plagp an important

part in the lives of the people.

State Parks and Reservations.

With similar enthusiasm there has been
carried out the creation and organization of
State forest reservations. Michigan has its

Interlochen Park and numerous others reserves

administered under the park and forestry commission
law. # ies

# Michigan Act 218 Public Act 1919.

Sus

In New York thousands upon thousands of people visit
the splendid Forest Preserve in the Adirondack
and Catskill Mountains, or spend their vacation
time camping and canoeing in such surroundings
as the St. Lawrence Reservation. These and a
score of other great tracts of the Country's
loveliest wild scenery are now preserved and
free for the enjoyment of the people. Some
twenty-two states now have within themr borders
forest reservations, scenes of natural beauty and
places of historic interest made safe for the
mommon advantage by public owership in

perpetuity.

Smaller woodland areas.

The

of ieues extent, and nearer to the
city-folk, are such wooded areas as the
Palisades Interstate Park in New York, the
reservetions of the Metropolitan Park system
in Massachusetts, and the Cook County Forest
Preserve near Chicago. Montreal has the lofty
wooded crags of her Mount Royal, Detroit has
the open forest of Belle Isle, and Baltimore,

the shady glades of Druid Hill.

growing popularity and use.

Moreover, the growing popularity of

all these nsetional, state and smaller reserva-

tions is attested to by fie aes increasing
throngs who yearly seek recreation in then.

The National Park Service, controle
ing over 8,000,000 acres, states that the number
of visitors to the National Parks and Monuments
has increased from 356,000 in 1916 to over
1,000,000 in 1920. The American Scenic and
Historic Poose ovation Association gives the
number of visitors to the National Parks as
488,268 in 1917; 451,691 in 1918; and
755,325 in 1919. According to the most
recent bulletin issued by the Sierre Club, *

One and one-half million people used the National
forests of California alone, in 1921, of whom
full eighty-five percent carried their camping
equipment.

Statistics of 1903, compiled by the
then Superintendent of Forests, show that there
were hotel accommodations in the Adirondacks for
150,000 people; that during that year 451,000
people were accommodated; that 140,000 of them

remained for more than two weeks; and that
#1 Numbers refer to R@ferences which are cited in

full in the appendix; the numbers in the text
run consecutively throughout the paper.

5m

caring for tourists gave employment to 26,400
persons. That use of the New York State Forest
Preserve has increased, and that the wealth of
the district is immeasurably augmented by this
recreational use cannot be doubted. “Every-
where throughout the Forest Preserve region in
both Adirondacks and Catskills", states the
Conservation Commission®, "the use of this
vacation ground is increasing at a tremendous
rate, until nom te most important business of
the whole region is that of caring for
vacationists. More money is imvested in hotels
and their properties, more people are employed,
more wages are paid, and the annual turn over is
greater than in the entire lumber business which
once figured as the most importent activity of the
mountains". Statistics are very difficult to
compile on this subject and figures at best are
only approximate. But it seems safe to affirn,
backed by such ee authority as George D. Pratt,
Ex-Commissioner of Conservation: 5 that the use
is very great and the income to the Porest

Preserve District of increasing economic impor-

tance.

Gwe

Regarding the number of persons going into
the interior of Maine for fishing and hunting, a
rather interesting statement was made at the meet-
ing of the Conservation Commission for Canada in
1910.* 4 census taken in the summer of 1908 showed
this number to be 133,885, and according to a
conservation railroad count, 250,000 in 1907. One
hundred dollars was a very conservative satamte
of the amount of money left in the state by each
visitor. The question was asked of the meeting
if they realized how many sticks of timber it
would take to produce that $25,000,000 net.

Regarding reservations accessible to
large cities, their use fully justifies their
existence. At the First National Conference on Parks
held at DesMoines, Iowa in January 1921,° Ma jor
WA. WeLeOs Generel Manager of the Palisades Inter-
State Park gave the total number of visitors from
May to October in 1920 as 2,133,500.

It is estimated that in 1920 more than
3,000,000 people visited the Cook County Forest

Preserve of Illinois; probably more in 1921, -

at all events the number is equivalent to the

total population of Chicago.°

The most recent statistics from the

ve

Metropolitan Park System of Massachusetts are
not available at the time of this writing, but

it is well knowm that the reserves of that
district are very popular and greatly sought as
recreation grounds. It is safe to state thet

in proportion to the area developed, the number
of persons annually entering public forest
reserves is greatest in the smaller reservations.
This more intensive use by those who are shut away from
the benefits of outdoor life, shows the real
economic value attaching to reservations within
easy reach of city people.

Object of this paper.

The object of this paper is to show
the recreational value and importance of wood-
land tracts accessible to towns and crowded
districts. Not only is it hoped to point out
tile apantabes's both recreational and healthful
that such reservations may serve, but the
intent is to justify them in the eye of sound
economy and to show how under proper management
woodland reservations, by combining the useful,

protective and aesthetic purposes of timerert

land, may serve as adjuncts to the already well-

recognized value of public park development.

B=
THE PURFOSE OF FOREST RESERVATIONS NEAR URBAN CENTERS.

Definition.

In order to avoid any misunderstanding
in the meaning of the term "forest reservation" as
here takan, it may be well to explain quite clearly
the distinction between this and different types
of pleasure parks. ‘The batter comprise: areas
variously treated - The larger naturalistic parks,
which might be confused by some with woodland
reservations, may be considerably tree-clad, but they
are not continuously so. Rather they partake of
the more or less finished character of rolling
meadows, with artificially created or carefully
preserved groups of trees, easy footpaths and sweeping
driveways and bordering masses of ornamental
shrubbery. Large or small, formal or informal,
parks show the handiwork of man. Forest reserva-
tions, on the other hand, are stretches of natural
woodland, preserved and managed to keep their
Sylvan charm and the woodsy flavor of a natural
forest.
Uses.

These woodlands reservations, moreover,
serve distinct purposes. Generally speaking, the

uses to which forests may be put are three-fold;

<=

namely, supply, protection and recreation. Those

of the first class consist of areas wholly or
partially covered with trees, the principal object

in growing the trees being the production of timber and
other forest products. Under protection forests

come those wooded areas which from their site alone
exert climatic influence, or which from the nature

of the land they cover, perform such protective functions
as .binding the soil to check erosion, or to prevent
the drifting of sand. Third, there is the recreation
forest, intended to add to the beauty and amenity

of the district, variously providing for out-door
activities such as camping, hunting and fishing, and
for purely aesthetic enjoyment.

It does not follow, onanea, that a forest
may serve only one of these purposes. J wooded area
managed with a view to the production of timber need
not be unlovely; a protection forest may likewise
be a source of wood supply, in a word, it remains
+o be shown how a forest may be managed for a
combination of uses, and specifically how the forest
reservation used as an extension of a park system
may be so managed.

Combination of uses.

Some of the city Forests in Burope serve

10-
Splendidly to illustrate this combination of uses.
An excellent example is the city forest of Zurich
in Switzerland. Altogether the city controls 2,840
acres of land of which 2,560 are covered with
timber. The forest is located in the northern
foothills of the’ Alps and stretches along the Sihl
River for a distance of nearly five miles. It may
be reached from Zurich in about half an hour by rail.
The land occupied rises rather steeply from the
valley, elevation of 1,600 feet, to the bidge-top
which is nearly 3,000 feet, and as it is non-
agricultural land would be comparatively unproductive
if not deveted to the growing of trees. The first
systematic working plan was made in 1696 but
management and control by the city of Zurich dates
from 1309. The forest has netted the municipality
an average income of nearly $20,000 annually, and
the net income from all forest products has
averaged as high as eight dollars per year, not to
mention the indirect advantages of protection and
public enjoyment. Look-out towers serve the
double purpose of protection and pleasure and
other attractions, such as beer gardena@ are

profitably mantained to cater to tourists.

ll-

Forests protecting water reservoirs.

In this country only a beginning has
been made in the institution of municipal forestry.
But a type of forest property that has already taken
hold in some degree, and which is in every way
suitable as a reservation extending the city park
development, is the forest protecting areas. Although
the preponderance of land constituting these tracts
surrounding reservoirs and protecting catchment
areas is privately owned, and in all too many cases
inefficiently managed, if subject to forestry methods
at all, there are numerous examples worthy of
study.

In England,the Liverpool Corporation
carries out a most systematic program of management
and afforestation on their catchment areas at
Vyrnevy and Revington. On the Vyrn4vy tract, the
afforestation is proceeding on an extensive scale.

In 1897 there were only 170 acres wooded. In 1903
these had been extended by planting, to 660 acres,

and by 1918 to 1383 acres. The ultimate aim is a
magnificent forest of 5000 acres, to be scientifically
managed for sustained yield. The corporation profides
the land and plants the seedlings. The government
pays in advance the cost of planting and the profits
are divided equally by the two parties. This sort

of scheme obtains with many of the English and Irish

12~
water supply companies, and variously on the continent.

An example of progressive municipal manage-
ment in our own country is on the watershed owned by
the city of Newark, New Jersey. Their catchment
area covers some sixty-four square miles.

Another am perhaps even better American
example is the Maltby tract owned by the New Haven,
Connecticut Water Company. It is under the adminis-
tration of the Yale Forest school and serves as an
observation and practice laboratory. While serving
the dual purposes of protection and supply, and
principally managed for profit, the Maltby forests
are maintained in an attractive condition for publie
enjoyment. These examples illustrate the possible
combination of uses in municipally owned forests,
and it is evident that they might be administered
as an extension of the city park system. Certain
restrictions would probably have to be placed upon
upon the use of the area immediately surrounding
the reservoirs and coniferous growth would be

favored to eliminate the taste imparted to water

py fallen leaves.

Forests and Industrial Screens.

In some, cases there may be reason and
opportunity for the development of forests or
hitherto most tinpromising land. Such are, for

example, the afforestation projects in the Black

h3-
County in England and in other mining regions of the
British Isles, Belgium and other countries.
Augustine Henry in his "Forest, Woods and Trees in
Relation. to Hygene" (London 1919)’ discusses the
Planting of pit mounds, spoil heaps and even shale
banks with such unfastidious species as the black
Italian poplar, gray alder, wych elm, various birches,
horn-beam, robinia pseudocacia, sitka spruce, larches,
etc... The remarkable reclamation plantations of
Denmark and France have proved the practicability of
extensive afforestation even on the most unpromising
sites. Hence there would seem to be very scant chance
of upholding the argument thet districts need
remain without foreste on account of their present
barren state. Those who are familiar with the
dreadful condition of treeless desolation in mining
regions and the oppressive ugliness where the
heavy, hand of manufacture and industry has turned the
land for miles around into blackedned wastes, can
understand what a green forest might mean to such a
district. An editorial in the Conversationi sit:
(Feb. 1920) treats of the fect that industrial
establishments are beginning now to support local
conserwation work because they appreciate the importence
of good outpf-door recreation for the welfare of their
employees. And(merelylit isya matter of foresight,
and what in the future will be considered good

pusiness policy on the part of the municipality, to

14-
reserve under the jurisdiction of the city a belt of
woodland separating the induetrial section from the
residential and business zones from the point of view
of these properties on the town side (located it is
to be hoped on the windward side) of such an industrial
screen, the benefits are too obvious and need no discus-
sion at this point. And regarded by even the most
calculating of industrial interests, proximity to a
forest tract, in the light of modern business psycology,
if located near enough to the industrial plant, the
workman might seeks its shade during the lunch hour,
Such surroundings would mean rest and relaxation
promotive of renewed efficiency very different from
an hour spent sitting in the suffocating air under
the shade of the coal trestles, chemical ats,
elevator shafts and the like.

Recreational use stressed,

Because the Syeoverr ema is that most
stressed kn any given saceug ion ae ae reason for
concluding that the forest may serve this use only.
As has been shown above there are exampkes that
conclusively prove the feasibility of management for

combined purposes. The fact that gueh & policy

hag not been carried out in the past is also no

na

reason to hinder its adoption in the future. of
course in some cases a woodland tract may serve its

highest use as & recreation ground pure and simple,

and no other use would be so economically profitable.

15-
Such perhaps is the case with even so large a tract
as the Palisades Interstate Park, embracing approxi-
mately 56,000 acres along the Hudson River, the resort
of not less than 1,000,000 persons, each year. It
is a greet recreational grounds for general camping,
with free facilities for boating, canoeing and
picnicing, reedily accessible to nearly half the
entire population of Nww York City. It becomes a
‘practical school for conservation and supports a
vast open-air camping development. It offers a site
for vacation outings not only for thousands of
tenement children, but for hundreds of tanement
children's mothers who also come to these camps, to somé
the first outing in many years; a welcome escape from
the burdens of the household drudgery to the
inspiring contact of the out-of-doors. This, camp
development of the Palisades Interstate Park, cays
aanepe W. Perkins, in an article in the Conservation-
ist = “is based on the thepry that the large,
forest domain can, under proper supervision, be
utilized without impairing its natural beauty, and
at the same time enhancing the lives of people through
health and recreational programs..... And above all
and aside from concrete examples of actual contact
with forest domains on the part of city dwellers,
there is that immeasurable joy which comes to the

heart of the child from the city streets, to whom

16-
the mystery of the woodg is unravelled under

ausvices calculated to restore bodily vigor and
sow the seeds of spiritual exaltation".

Where forestry and recreation meet.

By way of summary it may serve to repeat
that it is in no way unreasonable to expect a forest
to serve more than one purpose and in some cases, a
woodland reservation may be quite efficiently managed
for all three uses of protection, supply and recrea~
tion. In an article entitled "Where Foresty and
Recreation Meet", C.J. Stah? explaining how from
earliest times, forests have been chosen as pleasure
grounds, goes on to say “while the characteristic
American habit of profit-msking seems now to have
pecome the principal and controlling element in
management of both public and private forests, a
change in the program is due. Visitors are coming
to the National Forests, solely for pleasure and
recreation by the millions, and in semi-arid regions
every little grove is eagerly sought. Often a
very ordinary clump of cotton woods along a stream
is a popular picnic ground. With better roads and
automobile transportation, the more extensive and attrac-
tive timbered lands are now accesible. The
influence which forests have upon climate and
stream flow is recognized. Why not the influence

upon puble health, morals and education? The

17-
scout master makes a big point of getting his troop
of boys into the forest.... Use without abuse is the
ideal condition, safeguarding scenic value and
utilizing the mature finper.*

Value of Forest Reservations near Urban Centers.

There are reasons why these forest reser-
vations are particularly useful if located near enough
to the town or city to function as an extension of the
park system. First of all, in onder to be of
maximum utility, these woodland tracts should
be readily accessible by automobile and trolley, if
not within walking distance, to the majority of the
population most needing fresh air and recreational
facilities. The great out-of-doors end scenes of
natural beauty are not withheld from the enjoyment
of the leasure and moneyed classes because of inac-
cessibility, but for the poor, the factor of distance,
eons time and expense of transportation should be
minimized wherever possible.

A purpose which these woodland reservations
serve, distinguishing them from even large natural
parks, is the harboring of wild life. Here will
be room and to spare for the smaller furry animals,
and the birds, enticed by the peace and plenty of
the woods will seek the reservation as a sanctuary.
Hence it will constitute a laboratory for the natur-
alist and a place when the school children may be

taken for their nature study field trips.

. 18~

As has been pointed out, statistics prove the
growing popularity of the larger recreational forest
preserves. In establishing these smaller wood=
land reservations, would we sm be catering merkly to
the whims of the few? In arguing for the wilderness
in the National Forests, Aldo Leépold!° in an
artiele in the Journal of Forestry, contends that
"the majority undoubtedly want all the automobile
roads, summer hotels, graded trails and other modern
conveniences that we can give them. But a very
substantial minority want just the opposite". Sliding
down the scale from National Forests to the forest
reservations just beyond the city, the argument is
still relatively applicable. Undoubtedly, the
ia jOeIty of people in a large modern city prefer the
Coney Islend type of recreation plece, yet there is
such a growing minority who crave the open, and
largely in response to educational influence, that
we cannot well encourage the "back to nature"

campaign without preserving a little accessible
nature "to get back to".

Certain localities will of course be more
favored than others in the existance of spots of
natural scenic beauty within easy reech of their
urban centers. Where such is the case, nothing should

be allowed to prevent their acquisition and admin-

istration by the city or municipality for the

19=
enjoyment of all the people. We naturally cite
the Metropolitan Park System of Massachusetts as a
splendid example of accomplishment in this line .

The Metropolitan District of Boston is a
region of marvelously commingled waters, marshes,
gravel banks and rocks, and scenes of the highest
natural beauty lie at its very doors. But, thought
was not given to their acquisition and preservation
for the public and akem they were rapidly becoming
ab sorbed and destroyed by the unguided growth of the
suburbs. Through interest on the part of the
Appalachian Mountain Club, this unfortunate state
of affatrs was brought before the public in 1890,
when Charles Eliot commenced his exemplary labors in
introducing and building up the Preservation Scheme.
Through his untiring efforts the subject underwent
the proper investigation and plans and recommendations
were presented.

Within a surprisingly short period of
time this program became a live issue and action
was rapidly taken, culuminating in the establishment

oof a system proportionally puppen ted by the thirty-six
separate political units of the Metropolitan District
of Boston. Within the short space of seven years all
this was accomplished and at the death of Charles

Eliot in 1897 the system consisted of an outer ring

oe

of woodland reservations 7, at a radius of some eleven
miles from Boston Common, - the Lynn Woods,
iiddlesex Fells, Stonpy Brook and Blue Hill Reserva~
tions and, along the sea front, Quincy Shore
reservation, Revere and Nantasket Beaches. These are
all more or less linked together by a chain of
beautiful parkways. Within this outer circle on
the various open andes of the Park System of the
City of Boston; Franklin Park, the Arnold Artoretum,
Jamaica Pond and the Charles and Mystic River
Reservation. The Metropolitan Park System is
worthy of close study and is certainly a great
accomplishment of modern civic art, preserving for
the people a permanent and increasingly beautiful:
possession which from wy first acquisition brought
to the district a new and precious renown.

Another interesting story is thet of the
Cook County Forest Preserve® created and maintained
for the recreation use of the great population
of Chicago, Illinois. This forest playground
indludea@ about 23,000 acres at the present time,

less than six years since judicial approval of the

#Report of the Metropolitan Park Commission Boston
1908, pages 20, - the area of reservations given

as 9,392,88 acres. The extent of parkways given
as some 27.5 miles.

el-
act creating it permitted active Construction work to
be begun. The area is divided into a number of
scattered tracts of natural woodland, some bordering
the north and south branch of the Chicago river. Some
portions of the preserves are readily accessible by
various of the many avenues of suburban transportation,
but in general the crowds reech them by automobile.
"There is a small proportion of excellent timber
in the Preserve but it will probably never be a
source of Lumber. Even such fire wood as is
secured in cleaning up the woods is consumed in the
internal activities of the organization. It protects
no important water sheds, as these streams have been
used for sewage and not for water-supply - and the
abatement of sewage contamination by linking up the
villages to the Sanitary District system has been
one of the administrative problems. In a word these
forests are useful only for recreation - and their
usefulness in that direction is beyond money
computation".

In England various of the royal parks and
preserves have long been open to the public but the
modern town planning movemant has brought forward the
idea of municipally owned forests. However, about
the only town in England to acquire a "Nature Reserve"
within reent years is Birmingham, near which city 450

acres of valley and woodland in the Lickey Hill have

22-
been developed as a recreation ground. !*

Wherever a city is naturally favored by scenes of
beauty at its very doors, a failure to incorporate
sich advantages in the civie scheme is nothing short
of poor business and lack of foresight.

To those not trained to see the possibilities of
a landscape, many localities may appear to have little
attraction. But often these very places under the
dictates of civic art, may through a wise development
of whatever beginnings of scenic beauty there may be,
or a building up of entirely new elements in thgs com-
position, be entirely transformed, and that in many
eases at reletively small outlay. Due to the modern
achievehents in reclamation engineering, it frequently
‘becomes altogether practicable for townsto use their
marginal land for parks and playgrounds, thas convert-
int dike property of high social value what would other-
wise have been used only for slums and undrained
vacant lots. As has been suggested in referring to
reforestation in mining and industrial regions,
practically no land (within the limits of the timber
line determined by climatic conditions) is in-capable
of growing some kind of trees. And when scareity of
forest growth prevails, it would pe desirable from
poth the social and economic point of view to undertake
sieetage: Although measures based upon the altrusion
of future benefits may not appeal to the man in the

street, the dictates of wise statesmanship point to

20—

constructive and conservative legislation that
will serve the. welfare of future generations.

Unless these scenic spots are reserved
by the state or municipality scenes of natural
beauty unvariably must make way (one by one to
be destroyed) for railroads, streets, factories
etc., and what escapes demolition will become
enclosed for private gain or pleasure. It would
indeed be a pity if the constraints of the money
system, the barriers to’ an enjoyment of the more
beautiful things on earth, were extended into the
country as they are in the city. "If we walk through
miles and miles of brick and mortar, or through
miles of wooden suburbs, we may be at last rewarded
by a glimpse of a woodside or meadow, but it is ten
to one that the sign 'No Trespassing® confronts us
when we reach the fence” 113 Were the finest spots
within the neighborhood publiosliy owned, would not
every estate owner, much more the poorer city
dweller, be the richer?

A discussion of both the direct and
indirect benefits to be derived from the municipal

ownership of scenic and forest reservations should

answer the question.

24—

Benefits to be derived from Forest Reservations.

increased Value of surrounding property.

First, there should be considered the
increased value accruing to property surrounding
public reservations. "Public groves, river banks,
glens, and hilltops are, when well handled,
exceedingly inexpensive in proportion to their
yield of pleasure to the native born, their

attractiveness to outsiders, and their conse-
quent return of money to. the township." tl.

Indirect returns to city and state.

These indirect returns to the city
and the state may be clearly pointed out in the
case of districts whose chief industry is caring
for tourists and a visiting population. "Who
wants to visit any resort where the seashore,
or such other scenery as there may be in the
neighborhood, is owned and occupied by private
citizens, who, if they admit you to thetrr .
lands do so grumblingly, or for a fee?" ti
Indeed, the resort and hotel business is in
most cases dependent upon accessible natural

beauties and many are the districts whose

chief resource is the beauty of the mountains,

25m

wooded glens and waterways. If a town were to
take advantage of these attrections, or to
develop new ones, there might be a decided economic
gain in thus providing outing and summer vacation
attractions and there would be less of a dispersal
of the population to other sections of the country
during the holiday season.

Another point worthy of consideration is
the fact that forest and scenic reservations tend
to provide an element of permsnence in a district
and thereby aid in fixing real estate values.

Moreover, "it is everywhere agreed that
it is important to the education, health and happi-
ness of crowded populations that they should not
“be deprived of opportunities of beholding beautiful
natural scenery."11°

re editorial in the Conservationist (1920)7°
suggests that "with power driven machinery, steam and
electric railways, telephones, the telegraph, and
the wireless, and finally the aeroplane, all soumens
places of our daily existance, we are prone to forget
that our grandpsrents lived under no such nervous
strain as these inventions have brought with them,

and that only three or four generations ago the high

speed of modern life wouid have been actually incon-

ceivable. Relaxation from the physical and mental

strain of modern industrial life is a vital necessity."

Phe

A partial response to the timber depletion question.

Finally, we find that the creation of
municipally owned forests is urged by the Forest
Service** as a part of the answer to the timber
depletion question. "State laws should encourage
the acquisition oe poset lands by municipalities,
to the end that the public ownership may be extended
by any agencies capable of undertaking it. Public
forest omership not only is the most direct
attack upon timber depletion, it serves other vital
interests, particularly recreation, the protection
of water sources, and the conservation of wild life.

Furthermore, publically owned and weuantietene
ed forests widely distribtued and setting standards
of technical practice, will be of the greatest edu-
cational value and stimulus to the general adoption
by private owners of methods which will keep lands

productive."

Si

ACQUISITICN AND FINANCING.
The acquisition and financing of forest
reservations is a matter necessitating merely fore-
sight and judgment and the application of sound

principles of economy and municipal finance.

Organization and operdtion'under law.

Sentiment in favor of the acquisition

27—
usually exists though it is necessary to arouse en-
thusiasm to the point of action. For this purpose

en energetic organization is helpful and expeditious.

The Metropolitan Park System of Massachusetts.

Suggestions for the executive and finan-
cial machinery may be had from the Metropolitan
Park System of Massachusetts. Its organization, as
dstablished in the time of dhevies Eliot, consists
of a Commission of five men who serve the community
without pay. The Governor of the Commonweaith,
acting for the Metropolitan district, appoints one
new member every year, the term of service being five
years. The Legislature of the Commonwealth, acting
for the Metropolitan district, authorizes from time
to time the sale of bonds by the State Treasurer,
who is directed to collect annually the amount of
the interest and the sinking fund charges from the
towns and cities of the Metropolitan district in
accordance with an apportionment newly made every
five years by a special commission appointed by

the Supreme Court .tt

The Cook County Forest. Preserve of Illinois.

The Cook County Forest Preserves of
Illinoisl* operate under the Act to "Provide for

the Creation and Management of Forest Preserve

Distracts", whereby upon petition there may be @
public consideration of the question of creating

i

poe
forest preserves, followed by a tote at special
or general election. The affairs of the preserve
district are naaeera. by a commission of five, a
secretary end treasurer and suth other officers
and employees as may be necessary, all receiving
Salaries fixed by ordinance.

In New York State.

ih few York State, such forest reservations
might be operated under the law of 1912 which relates
to the acquisition and development of forest lands in
counties, towns and villages#. As provided in this
act, the governing board of as ene: town or village
may acquire by purchase, gift, lease or condemnation
tracts of forest land or land suitable for the growth
of trees, and appropriate therefore the necessary
moneys of the county, town or village. The determin-

ation of the governing board to acquire such lands
shall be by resolution, news of which must be publish-

ed for at least two weeks before final adoption of
the vesolution.
| Méthode of acguisition and. financing >.

Acaouisition by gift.

Acquisition by gift is not an unusual

method and is particularly expeditious in getting

# Laws of New York - Chapter 74 - Mar. 26, 1912.

29—

a quick and successul start, but care should be
taken thet gifts of this sort are not hampered by
unreasoneble restrictions. To enable benevolent
citizens or’bodies of i otuntany subscribers to
acheive the permenent preservation of scenery and
of spots of historge interest, Massachusetts has
" eeaneed a board of trustees known as the Trustees
of Public Reservations. They are empowered to
hold free of all taxes such lands and money as

may be given into their keeping - an institution
which ought to be found in every state.1t1

Of more than state wide aa0be: is the

American §cenic and Historic Preservation Societyt,
granted its charter in 1895 by special act of the
legislature of the state of New York. The oBjects
of this corporation are the acquisition by purchase,
gift, grant, devise, or bequest of historic objects
or memorable or picturesque places in the state or
elsewhere in the United States, for the free enjoy-
ment of the people. Such property is exempt from
taxation in the state of New York. One of the
notable reservetions held in the custody of this
society is Letchworth Yerk in “yoning County, New
York.. It is a tract of about 1,C.0 acres lying on

the Genesee River, and includes various beautiful

waterfalls and woodland glens. This area was willed

20-
to the state by its former owner, a wealthy tusiness
man of Ruffalo, N.Y., who 611 his life had been keen-
ly interested in charitable institutions and other
work of public betterment.

European precedent along this line is
interesting. "It is also a rather senerel custom in
Denmark, partfoularly through the Heath Socisty,
for persons of means to give or bequeath money for
the establishment of memorial forests, that shall
forever bear the name of the donor. Whis is a
practice that might advantageously be introduced into
the United States, especially in the establishment of
town or village forests. Certainly no better memorial
could be erected than a forest under continuous
management that forever keeps green the aame of the
man who established it. Individual memorial trees
are very good in their way but a forest that can
be renewed in perpetuity is vastly better." (R.S.Hosmer
1922)25,

Special Assessments and Excess Condemnation.

There are besides gift, various methods
of acquiring reservations. In the case of purchase,
approprictions will depend upon the borrowing

ability of the city, town, or district. The means

of securing funds are various. (Nolen 1917) 16. ‘he
special assessment method is particularly popular

in this country, while good results are likewise claimed

Sl-

for the method of excess condemnation, a means of
financing improvements much practised in Europe.
This scheme is justified by the fact that the
exercise of foresight may earn a most astonishing
amount of money. In the early period of a tom's
development, land is available at a cost far below
what it will be within even a decade or a score of
years. There is seldom any difficulty in disposing
of the whole or a part of the land so acquired, and
should this later be recommended, its sale at the
wagons price would be a profit to the community
rather than money in the pocket of some private
individual. |

t

Bond Issues.

The issuance of bonds may also be
employed, the bonds to run for forty,for Ionger)
lyearsiand to yield about three and one-half percent
interest. Such bonds are usually retired by
payments from a fund created by annual tazation.

"In the case of outlying parks" - (and
this would apply equally to hveue reservations) -
‘we who secure them should pay the minimum. Fifty
years hence these parks, now suburban, and now
somewhat of a joyous luxury, will be indispensable

to these urban neighborhoods. We should be abhe

to issue bonds for such parks with a very small

She
Sinking-fund charge to-day, graded up to a large
charge fifty yeers hencé ~ more: we should make
park’ bonds v¥en seventy-five or one hundred years
‘ana make the present amortization charges
negligible." (Nolen 1917) 2°.

In any event, recreational forests are
ordinarily entirely feasible at moderate first cost
and relatively low upkeep, if only foresight and good
judgment are exercised from the very beginning in
making the plans and carrying out the scheme. What-
ever the methods used, two principles are of
fundame ntal importance; first, the acquisition of
land at an early date, and secondly, the acquisition

of too much rather than too little land.

Maintenance

The matter of maintenance of forest
reservations need not necessarily involve heavy
expenditures of money. It "need not, for many
years at least, exceed the expense of guarding them from
forest fires, and the other forms of depre dation." il
If, however, the community should wish to clean the

streams, build paths or roads, or do any other

proper work within the reservations, funds for such
improvements should be provided as outlined in the
previous paragraph, and whatever the expense, it is

difficult to imagine a more purely beneficent

33=
expenditure fot genuine well~being and healthy
happiness.

Partial self-support. “

In some instances, forest reservations
may be so managed that they are partially self-
supporting, through the sale of fire wood meding the
interest on long=time bonds issued for the financing
of acquisition and upkeep. European countries offer
us numerous examples of this sort. In France,
private forestry is largely carried on as a paying
proposition, woodlands bebing highly regarded as
stable securities. There is actual current revenue
from firewood and other forest products and the
problem of accrued carrying charges scarcely exists.

The case is similar with community forests
in France (Greeley 1920)", for these “are important
sources of revenue for hundreés of French villages,
reducing taxes and affording the means for construct-
ing town halls, roads and other local improvements.
The situation in France would be paralleled if
every village in New England or in the Lake States
omed 5OO or 1000 acres of forest, kept continuously
in the highest state of production, furnishing
timber locally needed, affording a sustained income
for community purposes, and providing steady emplpy~

ment for a number of its citizens.

54.4
SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS.

Having discussed in the preceeding
pages the purpose and value of forest reserva-~
tions accessible to urban populations, and their
acquisition, and financing by public authority,
it now remains to offer some specific recommen-
dations for these woodland or forest reserves.

As has already been indicated, there
is no lack of successful accomplishment to which
to refer for inspiration. and practical suggestions.
fhe work of Charles Eliot in the Metropolitan
Park Area of Massachusetts is perhaps the most
classic example of such achievement in the United
States. But we may turn to many other sources for
information.

Where landscape and forestry meet.

There is, however, possibility for mis-
understanding and misconception in the question as to
where landscape art and forestry meet in the recreation-
al development of forest reservations. Particularly
when it is claimed for these publically owned woodland
tracts, that they may serve one, two or all of the

purposes of supply, protection and recreation, does
it seem, at first, difficult to understand: whet form
of development they shall be given. fo begin with,

an understanding regarding this twilight zone between

35—
landscape art and forestry may be attained by
giving Allen Gheniberlain's words concerning i.
"The average forester undoubtedly has as eae a
love and appreciation of the beauties of nature as
anyone ~ is above the average in this it may be
conceded - but when he puts on his professional
thinking cap in connection with a forest, he sees
visions of thousands of board feet and not landscape.
He may admire a "wolf" tree, but he does not love
ane Such is his training. Why need he be jealous of
the assistance of a man trained in landscape work,
especially if a successful handling of the scenic
incidents of his forests w ill tend to produce a more
enthusiastic public state of mind toward government

forests in general?"

Plan of Manarement.

Briefly the plan of management should be

of such a nature that it will enhbnce the appearance —
of the woods. The selection method is about the
only silvicultural system applicable, and should be
more in the nature of an improvement cutting than a
strict selection cutting. The cuttings for the
first years should remove the diseased wood, and the
dead defective: and poorly formed trees. The forest
tract may then be managed with the ultimate aim of

securing a sustained periodic yeild.

Protection.

Provision for protection against fire must

36~

be made from the very start. Wo one factor is
&S potent in the prevention of forest fires as the
educ&tion of the public, arousing their interest
to the realization of their responsibility in the
matter. The Conservation Commission of the State
of New York has given this problem its uninter-
rupted attention. A large number of news articles
are published in the press and illustrated articles
reach the public through magazines and Sunday
editions of the newspapers. The Commission
publishe@ up to December 1921 its own monthly
journal, "The Conservationast", and in response
to a wide demand by the newspapers and other
publications, issues a monthly statement of
"Violations of the Conservation Law", which shows
just what the commission is accomplishing, besides
giving publicity to the names of the law-breakers.
Lectures are given in all parts of the state, and
in 1919 records showed that 21,570 persons had
been reached in this way. In addition, the
Commission lends films and slides, and in one week these
have been shown in factories where as many as
80,000 persons were employed.

Within New York's Forent Preserve, fire
protection work is highly efficient. As a part of
of it, fire signs, cleverly worded and conspicuous -

ly placed, warn the vacationist upon every hand

o7=
and the Commission informs him in no uncertain
terms of his responsibility to help protect the
Preserve. The results are gratifying and are a
proof of the efficacy of the mthods used in
combating the fire danger.

Assistance from the State.

In numerous states, town and county forest
preserves may obtain the co-operation and aid in
management and protection from the State Fore sterl9»©0,21
Young trees for planting may be secured free of charge
or at very low prices from the state nurseries, and
other assistance is easily available. 7

The advice of a landscape architect in
collaboration with the forester in charge is
decidedly to be advocated. His recommendations
will, by preventing mistakes and planning for the
most appropriate development, prove highly
economical in the end, and will repay beyond
measure any expenditure that his services may
entail. His suggestions may be of the simplest
kind. For example, in the construction of trails,
at many points, by bending the trail to one side
or by a little lopping of branches or the removal
of a few trees, there may be opened vistas of
entrancing beauty, which would otherwise be passed
by vacationists without mnowledge of their possibilities.

The opening of such vistas, may be called a landscape

develop¢ment which does nothing to the landscave itself
ie ~ >

38—
but rather puts the visitor in strategic position
for appreciation of the natural beauties of the country.

(New York Conservation Commision Report 1919) .”*

Justification of forest aesthetics.

Having traced the subject to its con-
clusion, one may still be confronted with the question
of the justification of forest aesthetics. There are
many persons who, looking upon the matter purely in
the spirit of sentiment, will be critical of the
forest owner for his disregard of the seanic beauties
to which he claims title. In reply to that criticism,
one may simply point out that no matter how désirable
may be the consideration of aesthetic values in for-
estry, divergence from management primarily for
revenue involves a certain loss in product, and hence
in pecuniary return. The average forest owner
naturally, apd properly enough, does not see why it
is encumbent on him to stand this loss for the
good of the general public.

The use of a forest for aesthetic enjoyment
is, however, perfectly justifiable and may even, for
a given area, be the wisest use to which that
particular forest can be put. The important point n
to be kept clear is that if a forest is to be main-
tained primarily for aesthetic enjoyment, those who
desire this use of it must somehow provide to pay the

pill. As far as public forests are concerned, the

=

39=
s0cial value due to aesthetic development may be
worth more to the community than the revenue that
might have resulted had the forest been cut rather
than left standing.

According to G. Frederick Schwarz”, "a
closer understanding of the economic principles of
forestry has spread among the people....professional
foresters are beginning here and there to express
their ideas about the value of forest beauty and
its relation to economic forestry....Then there
is a great deal that.can be done by intelligently

considering the aesthetic values of the forest.”

SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION,

In recapitulation then, the case for
forest reservations near urban centers seems to be
backed by numerous substantial arguments.

First, not only is there a wide spread con-
servation activity, encouraging every phase of
constructive forestry, but the dreation of all
kinds of publie tracts, from the national forest and
huge state preserve, to the relatively small county,’
town, and village forests, is specifically advocated
py the federal Forest Service in answer to a part of
the timber depletion question. S vice =<”

In the second place, it is the recreational
use of forests that has made the greatest appeal

to the public, end in the setting aside of forest

40-
reservations to be used as great playgrounds, the
state is fostering a public interest in conservative
forestry, besides supplying the oppottunity for

healthful out-door recrestion so vital to the welfare

ofthe nation.

Third, use of the forest reservation is
becoming more and more general, and statistics point
to the fact that the preserves near the great centers
of population are proportionally more intensively used
The benefits to be derived from the reservations
accessible to urban centers are many. Directly, there
is the increased value accruing to surrounding
property, the yield of pleasure to those using the
reservation and the return that may result from sale
of forest supplies and the toll of tourists and
visitors. More indirectly, there are such benefits
as come from the renown of the district due to its
scenery and attractive forest land; the element of
permanence provided by the reservations, fixing
real estate values, the healthful and educational
influence of the forest;aand the fact that by main-
tenance of the reservation, the state and nation is
penefitting by just that much additional timber supply.

Examples taken from among the many forests

and reservations poth in Europe and the United States -

show their value as well as illustrating methods of

isiti i i ization. It has alse
acquisition, financing and organi e

peen pointed out how in localities where scenes of

a

4]-
natural beauty and forest growth do not already
exist, developments creating attractions of this sort
should be undertaken, ab least for the benefit of

future generations.

Specific recommendations have been discussed,
covering management, protection and development of
forest reservations and an explanation of where
landseape art and forestry meet in this development,

with reasons for the justification of forest aesthetics.

Conclusions.

The conelusions to be drawn from this
consideration of the case are irresistably favorable
to the promotion of forest reservations near urban
centers. The idea is endorsed by those seeking to au-
gument the national timber supply; by authorities
concerned with the health and welfare of the nation;
and by the astute municipal financier who agrees only
with programs that will yield economic wealth to the
community. There is much precedent to guide further
enterprise in the establishment of forest reservations
and many of these examples of past accomplishment show
conelusively the value and economy of such work.

Ask any tenement youngster in crowded New
York, back from his annual week's outing along the
wooded waterside of the Palisades Interstate Park,
what he thinks of the forest acai aa There
will be a gleam of that joy yielded only, the the fresh

out-of-doors, and the entire gladness of trees and sky.

42=
25

As Thoreau says~*, asking "What are the
natural features which make a township handsome? ....
A river, with its waterfalls and meadows, a lake, a '
hill, a cliff or individual rocks, a forest, and
ancient trees standing simply. Such things, are
beautiful; they have a high use which dollars and cents
never represent... A forest is in all mythologies a
sacred place; as the oakd among the Druids, and the
grove of Egeria, and even in more familiar and common
life, as "Barnsdale" cna *anerwooa", Had Robin Hood
no Sherwood to resort to, it would be difficult

to invest his story with the charms it has. It is
alwayg the tale that is untold, the deeds done, and
the Life lived in the unexplored s@enery of the

wood, that charm us and make us children again, to

read his ballads and hear of the greenwood tree."

REFERENCES CITED.

1- American Scenic and Historie Preservation Association

twenty-fifth Annual Report. Legislative
No. 117, Albany P. 839. i920" eee

e- Sierra Club Bulletin Vol. XI. No.3. San Francisco.
P. 329 1922,

3= Annual Report of the New York State Conservation
Commission. p. 114. 1919.

4- Evans, Kelly. Fish and Game in Ontario. Report of the

Annual Meeting of the Conservation Commission of
Canadae pe 102. 1910.

5- Report of the First Conference on Parks. Des Moines,
Iowa. Jan. 10,11,12, 1921.

6- A Great City's Forest Playground. The Forest Preserve

of Cook County, Illinois. Lumber World Review Vol. XLI
No. 11. Chicago, 1921.

7- Henry, Augustine. Forests, Woods and Trees in Relation
to Hygene. London. 1919.

8- Perkins, George W. The Palisades Interstate Park.
The Conservationist. Vol. II. No. 9, 1919.

Q=- Stahl, C. J. Where Forestry and Recreation Meet.
Journal of Forestry. May 1921.

10- Leopold, Aldo. The Wilderness and Its Place in
Forest Recreational Policy. Journal of Forestry.
Novermber 1921.

ll- Eliot, Charles W. Charles Eliot Landscape Architect.
Houghton Mifflin Co., Boston, Mass.
pe 390 (referred to on page a of ths paper)
" LU

. 2 "

areal ore
Ds 379 it - z aan " "
320 " 1 " 25 0 " "
= 808 is " " a7 on n i]
D. 612 n n n 24 " n "
>. 740 " eon s2 " mn" of

j j irmi tture
2- Recreation in the Lickey Hills. A Birmingham Nai
ss Reserve. The Town Planning Review. Vol. IX. No.l.

Liverpool 1921
13- The Conservationist - Editorial Feb. 1920.

14- The Forest Preserves of Cook County. Chicago. p.18. 1921.

15-

16-

17-

18-

19-

20-

21l-

24-

Hosmer, R.S. Forests and Forestry in Norway and
Denmark. Lumber World Review. Jan. 1922. ?

Nolen, John. City Planning. D. Appleton & Co.. Ne Y..
“1917p. 391 and 399, ne :

Greeley, W. B. Studies in French Forestry. John
Wiley & Sons. New York. p. 11, 12.

Chamberlain, Allen. New England Forests for Publie
Recreation. Proceedings of the Society of American
Foresters. July, 1916.

Laws pertawzining to Town Forests or Publie Domain in
Why Massachusetts Needs Town Forests. Issued by
Mass. Forestry Assn. Bulletin 132. Beton 1921.

Recknagel, A.B. County, Town and Village Forests.
Cornell Reading Courses. Lesson for the Farm. Vol. II
No. 40. Farm Forestry No. 3. p. 151. 1913.

State Wide Forestry - A Program for Replenishing
Forest Resources in New York State. Reprint from
9th annual report of the Conservation Commission, 1920.

New York Conservation Commission Report. Albany, 1919
pe 114.

Schwartz, G. Frederick. The Aesthetics of Forestry in
The Longleaf Pine in Virgin Forest. John Wiley Sons,
New York. 1907.

Timber Depletion and the Answer. A Summary of the
Report on Timber Depletion and Related subjects, pre-
pared in response to Senate Resolution 311. U.S Dept.
of Agr. Cirular 112. p. 16. 1920.

Thoreau, Henry D. From the Journal of --- Winter.
Houghton Mifflin Co. copyright 1887 pe 108,9-