Historic, archived document Do not assume content reflects current scientific knowledge, policies, or practices. [Issued September 30, 1909. ] UNS De aha Or? AGRICULTURE FOREST SERVICE—Circular 167. GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester. CE SLATES OF FORESTRY. LN THE UNITED STATES. By TREADWELL CLEVELAND, JR., EXPERT. CON TPE NTRS: Page Me forest situation... 20.2522 Se ee ee eee se ae ee ee 3 Whatsthe Nation.1s domes. 2c se 5257s ey oan ee 5 iBhe: National Morestses: | 28 Rahs tea o Ae eer ol see serge dre 5 National Forest businesss.2. 5. sc.0 he. 5200. coe eee ee 6 Permanent amproyementss.. 22: ss sey oh ee eae, oe SERN Sek es 12 the protection of forests trom Mire.) cer sas se see wee ae ee 13 @ther- forest work ofthe Government: <2 325-2) S22) eee 13 State forestry 24. 2 dS es eS ee ee an es ee ee ea 15 Lines of State action 2es22se..05 Ys Ze ee ee eee ee ee 15 Mrespass la wey os socio ou, Seas ee eee a 15 Fire protective systems. 224 2. 3.2.6 2s cao atic Sunes ee 15 The promotion of forestry 22 5.- 62S 22s ek es 18 plate forestsess. ie..c ewe. ee 2 Se oe ae ee ee ee eee 20 Private forestry... scsmc shonin: Seat cise eines ee ee pel Mie inducement to practice forestry: 22205420 4 seers ae ae ee eer 21 Obstacles to private forestry .22co: . 5 ogee. hea ee 23 Examples of private lorestry.222-2 co-hat en sees oe oe ee 24 INPPENGIX ooo oe eS oo Se Se Bes ee cieys ese tora 29 Classified list of publications of the Forest Service.............--.------ 29 Location and-area of National Worestse: 4. 5226s. soe ee 5 eee ee 34 schools of forestry: 22... sie cece a. some eae 5 See aa ee a 38 2 [Cir. 167] THE STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. THE FOREST SITUATION. A very few years ago ‘‘forest conservation” was little more than a phrase; to-day it is a vital issue in our National development. In connection with the general plan to conserve all natural resources, it is the most important and far-reaching economic policy ever adopted and pursued by any nation. It affects the every-day life of every man in his work, in his recreation, and in his home, and it deals with such questions as whether the earning power of his labor and the pur- chasing power of what he earns are to be reduced or maintained, whether what are now his comforts will, of necessity, become his luxu- ries, and whether he is to be a citizen of an impoverished, backward nation or of a rich and progressive one. These things are bound up with the practice of forestry because the forest is one of the chief supports of the whole material fabric of our civilization. The forest means not only a permanent supply of wood and the life of all the industries which depend upon it, but also the control of the waters for human use. There is only barrenness in the future of the nation which has lost the use of wood and the con- trol of water. The sort of use that was made of natural resources during the pio- neering stage, while right enough at the time, is far too wasteful to be carried on into the new industrial era. In order to know how to use a thing, however, it is necessary first to find out how much of it there is to use, and taking stock of our forest resources has led to startling results. It has shown that we are still destroying the forest as we use it; that we are taking from it every year three and a half times as much wood as is added by the new growth. It has shown that less than one-third of the growing tree felled by the lumberman is ever used at all, so that two-thirds of all the timber cut is simply destroyed. It has shown that one-eleventh of all the forests are swept by fires every year, and that on the average since 1870 forest fires have yearly cost $50,000,000 in timber and 50 lives. It has shown that over 99 per cent of the forests in private hands—which comprise three-fourths _ of all the forest land and four-fifths of all the wood—is thus devastated [Cir. 167] 3 4 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. by desiructive use and the scourge of unchecked fires, while less than 1 per cent is properly handled for successive crops or effectively pro- tected from fire. The forest as a resource is rapidly being obliterated. But the inventory of the forests has had yet other ugly facts to reveal. With the disappearance and deterioration of the mountain forests the Nation is losing control of the streams, which are useful in our civilization in ways and degrees unparalleled by any other resource. Pure water for domestic purposes is, of course, indispensable; usable water at the right seasons is the sole reliance of the great projects by which the arid lands are vivified by irrigation; cheap water transpor- tation is a matter of dollars and cents to every citizen; trustworthy power streams are the key to the age of electricity, at the gates of which modern industry is standing. Yet the guardian of the waters is steadily compelled to retreat before the ax and fire. It is not use which destroys the forests, but waste. Not use as such, but destructive use, combined with inexcusable neglect, is caus- ing the forests to dwindle under our progressive demands upon them. The problem, therefore, is not to be solved by disuse, but by wise use and protection. These together will so stimulate forest growth that the needed wood may be harvested without depleting the stock on hand, and will keep intact the protective cover at the stream sources. In waste alone we reject more than two-thirds of the lumber that might be taken from the standing trees. At least half of this waste is unnecessary. In the first place, we waste the forest by refusing to take advantage of its full capacity for growth. Protected and prop- erly managed, our forests will produce far more wood than they do at present. But while it is wasteful to cripple the forest by a violent lumbering which destroys young growth—the promise of the future forest—it is doubly wasteful to lock up the forest and let the ripe timber die and decay, for in the former case the forest at least contributes a temporary supply of wood, whereas in the latter case it contributes no wood at all. What is being done to cope with the situation thus disclosed, and what remains to do? What is the work of the National Govern- ment? What are the States doing to conserve their forests? What advance has been made in the practice of forestry by private owners of timberlands and woodlots? These questions will be briefly an- swered in order.@ a Forest Service publications dealing with the forest situation are: Circular 35: Forest Preservation and National Prosperity; Circular 140: What Forestry Has Done; Circular 157: A Primer of Conservation; Circular 166: The Timber Supply of the United States. Pein Gal WHAT THE NATION IS DOING, 5 WHAT THE NATION IS DOING. THE NATIONAL FORESTS. Congress authorized the President to establish National Forests in 1891. They were called ‘‘forest reserves’? then, and in fact they were ‘‘reserves,’ for Congress did not at that time make provision for the use of their great resources, which are estimated to be worth over $2,000,000,000. A law was passed in 1897, however, which made it possible to use and to protect their resources. To give them a name in better accord with their object, the ‘‘reserves”’ were renamed ‘‘National Forests’? by Congress in 1907. Now there are nearly 195,000,000 acres of National Forests, including about 27,- 000,000 acres in Alaska and Porto Rico. The Appendix contains a list of them. The object of the administration of the National Forests is to use them in such a way that they will yield all their resources to the fullest extent without exhausting them, for the benefit primarily of the home builder. The controlling policy is serving the public while conserving the forests. The administration of the Forests by men actually on the ground is secured by grouping the 150 Forests in 6 districts, with headquar- ters, in the districts, at Missoula, Denver, Albuquerque, Ogden, San Francisco, and Fortland. This arrangement also guarantees dis- patch in business and prompt payments. Only matters of excep- tional importance are referred to the Forester, in Washington. DISTRICT OFFICES. Each of the district offices has at its head a district forester and an assistant district forester. A chief of grazing has charge of range matters. A chief of products handles the preservative treatment and strength tests of timber, and studies market conditions. A chief of silviculture has charge of timber sales, planting, and silvical experiments. A chief of operation supervises the personnel of the Forests; the permanent improvement work, through an engineer in charge; the accounts of the district; and the routine business. The Forest Service never passes on the land titles themselves; this matter rests always with the General Land Office of the Department of the Interior. Each of the chiefs and assistant chiefs of office spends about half of his time in the field on forest work. FOREST OFFICERS AND THEIR WORK. Every Forest is immediately under the charge of a forest super- visor. The supervisor may be a trained forester, but in any case [ Cir. 167] 6 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. he is always selected for his wide practical knowledge of the West and of lumbering and grazing in particular. If not a trained for- ester himself, he has such a man as an assistant. It is the business of the forest supervisor and his forest assistant gradually to bring their Forest under practical, conservative man- agement—to make every square rod of forest land produce tall, straight timber trees of the best quality. Each step, from the care and protection of the young growth to the lumbering of the mature forest, must be carefully planned and as carefully executed. Per- manence is the ideal striven after; the forest must go on producing trees as long as trees are needed. For each of the many hnes of work carried on in the National Forests, men with practical experience are employed. The planting assistant, who prepares and tends the nurseries, must be well practiced in rais- ing and caring for young trees. The lumberman, who cruises and estimates timber, helps to plan logging operations, and sees that the scaling is correctly done and that rules for logging are properly ob- served, must be an experienced and capable woodsman. The forest ranger patrols his district of the Forest to see that fire and trespass are prevented, that the range is not overgrazed, that logging regula- tions are enforced, and that the permits granted for the use of the various forest resources are not abused; and he also must be hard- headed, practical, and thoroughly honest, an able-bodied citizen of the West, with plenty of experience in all the problems with which he may have to deal. The forest assistant is usually a college grad- uate with a technical training in forestry. In addition to his scien- tific training, the American forester must have abundant practical experience in the woods, on the range, and in the mills, for he must thoroughly understand all conditions before attempting to work out a system of good business management for any Forest. Following is the number of forest officers on duty on December 31, 1908: SMPELVAISOIS hae oe enlace tere 106 | Deputy forest rangers.........--.-- 420 Deputy forest supervisors......... 70 | Assistant forest rangers........--- 413 iHorest assistants ooo cesse es ee 117.) Korestiouards. 2 ose ec ee eee 151 Forest planting assistants......... iil umbpermensae. shee eee ee 7 Totalc. A SSR eee 1, 493 Iorest Taneers te aie sega as? 188 NATIONAL FOREST BUSINESS. The following tables show the growth of the timber sale and graz- ing business of the National Forests from 1904 to 1908, inclusive (fiscal years): RCs Gia] WHAT THE NATION IS DOING. 1 Timber sales. . Amount of Amount of Receipts from Fiscal year. timber sold. | timber cut. | timber sales. Board feet. Board feet. TQ QA eee ak ciererere ais 112, 773, 710 58, 425, 000 $58, 436. 19 IGS SANE San aearaee see 113, 661, 508 68, 475, 000 73, 270. 15 GOGO ES eae eae Somes ese 328, 230, 326 138, 665, 000 245, 213. 49 LOOT Ree sehen a= 1, 044, 855, 000 194, 872, 000 686, 813. 12 TOOBE Soe ese tess eee 386, 384, 000 392, 792, 000 773, 182. 33 Grazing business. Number of Number of Year. cattle and sheep and Receipts. horses. goats. AGA he se nne eat La Se 610, 091 1, 806, 722 TL aie Roa ile naa 692, 124 1, 709, 987 RODG Hy aes RRL Snag 1,015, 148 5, 763, 1 AGO eee eee ses 1, 200, 158 6, 657 5 US ee eC tS eae 1, 380, 145 7,085 A remarkable growth in business took place in the fiscal year 1908. While in that year money available increased only 20 per cent and the area of forest administered increased only 11 per cent, the busi- ness done increased in the following percentages: Per cent. “THTIETT O(ENP ASEM STSE SA esis es UN Sh peg eg ae aa eae (Asl e TO 236 pi DerKcliiere sme re eae tere es 2 ADE A PEA NO Ps 102 Mumberoritee- use permitay .- 2.252 SLM el ku 76 Number of special-use; permits: -. 2.3. -2s226222. 22252. - lees 3--- 67 Sales anGuern MeCeiVetin. - oe AAs ce ets ee eee ae 20 pier Ole ta AME OLMIS ce noobs) ncn. wee mee eee ps 11 Hotauqaumbper orealessand permits... 6. .0.)a.222 5-5-5 2-2-5 oes 46 During that year timber to the amount of 386,384,000 board feet was sold in 5,062 separate sales. Of these sales 4,584 were made for timber valued at $100 or less. The uses to which the resources of the Forests are put are classified as follows: (1) Timber sales, (2) free use of timber, (3) grazing, and (4) special uses, the most important of which is the development of water. TIMBER SALES. All timber within the National Forests which can be cut safely, and for which there is actual need, is for sale. Green timber may be sold except where its removal would make a second crop doubtful, reduce the timber supply below the point of safety, or injure the streams. The limited supply on some Forests prevents sales except for local use. All dead timber is for sale. Timber cut from National Forests may be handled and shipped like any other timber, except that it will not be sold for shipment [Cir. 167] 8 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. from regions where local consumption requires the entire supply, or is certain to do so in the future. The law prohibits export from South Dakota of any timber from the Black Hills National Forest, unless cut from dead or insect-infested trees. Anyone except a trespasser may purchase timber upon the National Forests. There is no limit but the capacity of the forest to the quantity which may be sold to one purchaser, except that monopoly to the disadvantage of other users of forest products will not be tolerated. Purchases of less than $50 worth of timber can be arranged with the nearest forest officer. Larger sales, up to the limit set by the Forester, are handled by the supervisor of the Forest, while sales for amounts above the limit set for supervisor’s sales require the approval of the district forester. In all sales involving $100 or more, adver- tisement is made for competitive bids, on the basis of a minimum stumpage price, and the timber is sold to the highest bidder. Since no cutting or logging of timber for sale is done by the Gov- ernment, the silvicultural measures required to renew and improve the forest are provided for in the sales contracts, and are mainly executed by the purchaser. Logging is expensive in the present undeveloped condition of the country, and if the stipulations of the contracts are too burdensome the would-be purchaser will be turned away. On the other hand, the good of the forest, as well as the local demand for timber, requires that ripe National Forest timber and, above all, dead and diseased timber, be removed. In its timber- sale policy the Service seeks constantly to work out a compromise between these conflicting conditions and to secure the welfare of the - forest and the development of the community together. In carrying out this policy its main reliance is the use of marking rules prepared for each of the forest types, by which reproduction is secured by leaving seed trees and a steady improvement made in the condition and make-up of the forest. In accordance with these rules, trees are carefully marked for cutting in each sale as local forest and market considerations dictate. The provisions of the timber-sale contracts cover such essentials of good forest work as care against injury to young growth; low stumps; full utilization of the tree; the removal of inferior trees and often of undesired species; and the proper dis- posal of brush—in piles for burning or scattered evenly, as the case demands, A marked improvement in forest conditions attests the success of the silvicultural treatment under these limitations. FREE USE OF TIMBER. Forest officers are authorized to grant permits without charge for $20 worth of timber during any one year to persons who may not reasonably be required to purchase. This amount may be increased [Cir. 167] WHAT THE NATION IS DOING. 9 in cases of great and unusual need, or to assist enterprises of a public or benevolent character. Under these regulations timber is taken from every National Forest for fuel, fencing, and building material required by settlers, for mining timbers needed in developing mineral claims, and for such community uses as the construction and main- tenance of schools, churches, and bridges. More than 30,714 free- use permits were issued in 1908, in which year about one-fourth of all the timber cut from the National Forests was under free-use permits. . -The purpose of this free-use privilege is to make the Forests con- tribute most effectively to the public welfare. The timber given to individuals is given for the development of the country through set- tlement. It is not proposed to give timber to persons living on or near National Forests, even for their own use, when they may reason- ably be expected to buy. As the home builder becomes established it is fair that the individual should be required to supply his private needs by purchase. On the other hand, permanent provision will be made for community needs through the setting aside of definite areas of timber to be held for free use. Settlers on agricultural land within National Forests will also be liberally supplied with tim- ber for their legitimate needs, since it is to the interest of the Forests themselves, as well as for the best development of the West, that settlement within the Forests should be encouraged wherever the land is most valuable for agriculture. GRAZING. In the National Forests grazing is regulated in the interest of the stockmen, who pay for permits. The leading objects of the grazing regulations are: (1) The protection and conservative use of all National Forest land adapted for grazing; (2) the permanent good of the live-stock industry through proper care and improvement of the grazing lands; and (3) the protection of the settler and home builder against unfair competition in the use of the range. There are many open parks in the Forests and many areas of high altitude above the timber line which produce valuable crops of forage grasses and plants. A large portion of the forested land also produces a good crop of forage in addition to a crop of timber. These lands have been occupied by the stockmen ever since the first settlement of the country, and the live-stock industry is largely dependent upon them. Some portions of the range have been greatly overstocked, and serious damage has been done. Overgraz- ing has destroyed the grasses in some localities and serious erosion of the soil has followed. It is in order to stop this damage and protect the Forests in a way which will accomplish the objects for which they are created that grazing is regulated. The cooperation of the 2281—Cir. 167—09——2 10 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. stockmen is invited in bringing about any necessary changes, and every effort is made to utilize the range to the fullest extent com- patible with the protection of the forests. The range is classified and divided between the owners of different kinds of stock, and when local conditions will permit it individual range allotments are made. When necessary for proper control of the stock, or to prevent losses from poisonous plants and straying, fences are constructed in cooperation with the stockmen. Under a proper regulation in the use of a range, the quality of the stock is improved and the weight of the animals increased over that of animals from other ranges where grazing is unrestricted. Improve- ment in the methods of handling the stock results in a better utiliza- tion of the forage and an increase in the number of stock which may be grazed upon the range. During the season of 1908 permits were issued to 24,000 different owners, allowing 1,380,000 cattle and horses and 7,000,000 sheep and goats to be grazed upon the National Forests. The revenue derived from grazing this stock was $960,000. SPECIAL USES. All uses of National Forest lands and resources, except those which relate to timber and grazing, are known as “‘special uses,” among which are included the following: Residences, farms, pastures, drift fences, corrals, apiaries, dairies, schools, churches, roads, trails, telephone and telegraph lines, stores, mills, factories, hotels, stage stations, sanitariums, camps, summer resorts, wharves, miners’ and prospectors’ cabins, windmills, dipping vats, tanks, dams, reservoirs, water conduits of all kinds, power houses, power-transmission lines, aerial tramways and cable conveyors, railroads, tramroads, and the purchase of sand, stone, clay, gravel, hay, and other National Forest products except timber. For such permits a reasonable charge may be made. This charge is based chiefly upon the value of that which is actually furnished to the permittee by the Forest Service, including advantageous location and other indirect benefits, and not directly upon the profits or the magnitude of the business which is to be carried on. The following table shows the number of special-use permits issued in the fiscal year 1908, and the revenue received therefrom: Special uses, 1908. Number of . Kinds of permits. Receipts. use. Charge iss eee ene 2,684 $30, 425. 23 Rreecsittai bsp 20S Ch aedee. Buo30 jl alae CA a \ 108 Totals jessie eee eee 5, 923 305:425..23) 9 |-- asses [ Cir. 167] WHAT THE NATION IS DOING. tt By far the most important of the special uses of Forest resources are those involving the commercial use of water for power. The National Forests include the great mountain chains of the West. The rain and melting snow of these ranges feed the mountain streams. The forest cover on the steep slopes acts like a mighty sponge, absorb- ing the excess of rainfall in the wet season and giving it out to the thirsty lands in the dry season. It is for the express purpose of thus “securing favorable conditions of water flows’’ (act June 4, 1897, 30 Stat., 34) that Congress has authorized the creation of National Forests and expends money for their administration and maintenance. Where the forest cover is destroyed by reckless lumbering and the fires which inevitably follow, the rains immediately run off the steep slopes as from the roof of a house, producing destructive floods in the valleys and leaving no store of water for the dry season. Therefore, when a power company puts its plant on National Forest land it gets from the Government two things which it ought to pay for, viz: (a) The use of land of great value for power purposes, for the steep mountain sides give the fall which is essential to a power plant; (bd) the guaranty of a steady flow of water as an incident to the land occupied by the plant. The practice of the Forest Service aims to prevent monopoly of undeveloped power resources by imposing the following conditions as a part of every permit, with the penalty of forfeiture for their breech. Construction work and productive operation of the plant must begin within definitely stated, reasonable periods, unless the time is extended by written consent of the Forester. From the date of the permit until productive operation begins a construction charge is made at the approximate rates per annum of $1 per acre and $5 per mile of National Forest land occupied by the reservoir site and con- duit line. Upon the beginning of the generation of electric energy at the power house the construction charge ceases and thereafter the only charge is a net operation charge fixed by the Forester. A gross operation charge is made on the basis of the electric energy generated. This charge does not exceed 2 cents per kilowatt hour for the first year, but may be increased not more than 2 cents for each of the four following years, and not more than 24 cents for each five-year period thereafter, until the end of the fiftieth year. Deductions are made from the gross charge, at a fixed rate, for the area of private and unreserved land used in connection with the National Forest land and for the fall occurring on such private and unreserved land, and the sum remaining is the net operation charge. The conditions in the permit as to charges are binding for a period of fifty years. Permits provide for payment, at the prevailing rates, for any National Forest timber cut or destroyed in construction work, and [Cir. 167] 12 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. contain such other conditions as are necessary for the protection of National Forest interests. PERMANENT IMPROVEMENTS. Permanent improvements have during the past two fiscal years been provided for by special appropriations from Congress. Roads, trails, and bridges for readier travel and transportation and the pro- tection of the Forests; telephone lnes—one of the greatest aids in reporting fires and getting together a fire-fighting crew, as well as in the transaction of ordinary Forest business; drift and pasture fences for the control of stock, and watering places for their use; houses, barns, and corrals for various purposes, are transforming the Forests and insuring the safety and convenience of settlers and users. : The following table shows, by States, the kind and amount of permanent improvement work done in 1908: Permanent improvements in National Forests, fiscal year 1908. Tele Fences. State or Territory. Trails. | Roads.| phone |———____——|Houses. lines. | Drift. | Pasture. Miles. | Miles.| Miles. | Miles.| Miles. INSU AOIIG Weal tas ae el aN PEE ty SARE ee re 304 1 1064 25 47 23 Califormiaiys hese Ae Fee her a eee ECE 5434 212 490 5 494 61 COM AS ae Saneaeasee aco sae wetnconeEaacnacce 2664 424 517 572 933 49 TCG FW oO ies oe erat ae OO ea eA ee gue NE es GA 5824 120 1934 1 212 Sif. AVEO TN GUT eae hr eas ne fie oy UE age ae ec 422% 454 436 2 514 53 Nebraska oo. 2c e caw eo ae yee Oa Se heat eye oper ne ee ey ore Resear OFF eee sa 2 1 INK /EKG (eee ie eee a eeneee ar eer See os Selle sonocud (Gone OOUGe 14 24 5 ING Wie MG xd COSA era a oo ae ere 2362 522 41 584 612 28 (OS NoYes 000: Fate ee ee ees a eee RCA Em teeter sae Sect oloa aaa ses 2 1 Oregon Vs se ee eee ee ee eee 437 24 WS We sees see 39 23 South Dakota nse See ee ase ies pee eT ee Ses | ee eee 4 5 (UID Oe sees ee ers ie ee er Sore ee Hee eat os 107} 344 3654 114 17 24 Washing tomiess Seas cee eo ee Sr 3112 17 102 54 28 22 BVVAy OTT Geter NSP EAMES Ears a Oe Oe da ea 324 4 1944 14 154 16 MRO Gale Sys ae Se Ee Se IU ceils ORAS 2,970 3634 2, 5232 1712 4374 348 F : Watering}; Amount State or Territory. Barns Corrals. | Bridges. places. expended. BNA Z OTN eee ae iy Bee acer RRS ah hop a pa at 10 2 3 6 $27, 872.95 (OP TU Koyra Rt ao het i a Bie etre roma rene Piel Bepparertas een 14 4 85, 910. 48 COLOR Oe sais ee aaa esol ly eee a tan Earle eT ize 1 7 7 65, 700. 86 AGI oan ERD a a ace Dk cabs ta ee tion ee nay ee 10 5 16 1 78, 402. 48 MMi orate ay ee estes te eee ea aie ts Oe NE A aed Soa RNa eee ees (alesse 94, 750. 72 ING Jonas alsa euseierera tree ene ee eo tear el mn a et ne Oe Te eek ese sai ce elie eee el Secs eee 2, 985. 54 ING in Cae Bs ci seyse eine oper meie ydy peepee nearest Diels Sees | Fae ater |e 3, 748. 13 INeweMexdi Cotes ce cen eae eae eee eee 8 i 1 1 31, 463. 51 Oklahomasec: 4/4 5h eee ee eyelets i | ener nN re e merce e | ear RO oe 1, 462. 00. Oregon...... PU iene ae AAT me Leo Aa 2 2 CN ah ae te 55, 191. 33 BOUND ako Gee 45 see aa A A ae Aad oi cas 2 ek aN ns ode eae ce ol fe TH a Sea etsy aa eA And ce iiners SSE CIE TAN fe Tee sea 6 27 1, 542. 66 Washington...... BO a a ce oa pa Gelli ee 7. pase wee cae 44, 022.34 AVVEY OMEN Bf reps casa aioe ree de aes Mi ee mee 6 3 | AO eet ae ere 15, 945. 48 otal = Seer atts Medea em 131 14 6Gu 46 | @544, 435.00 a Equipment on hand in the supply depot, Ogden, Utah, raises this total to $551,938. [ Cir. 167] OTHER FOREST WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT, 1h THE PROTECTION OF FORESTS FROM FIRE. The methods of controlling forest fires on National Forests con- sist in: (a) Constant patrol of the areas included within the National Forest boundaries by a picked force of rangers and guards. The present summer force of rangers and guards whose main duty is fire patrol is 1,351 men; the average area that each is required to pro- tect is 121,506 acres. (>) The construction of roads and trails in order to provide rapid means of travel between the various parts of the National Forests and to facilitate the massing of large forces of men to fight fire, as well as to furnish vantage points from which fire may be fought suc- cessfully; and of telephone lines connecting ranger stations with the headquarters of the Forest in order that fires may be quickly reported and effective measures taken promptly to extinguish them. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 1908, 160 miles of road, 3,300 miles of trail, and 3,500 miles of telephone lines were constructed in the National Forests. In several cases also fire breaks from 16 to 100 feet in width have been constructed, from which all timber and inflammable material are removed. These check the spread of fire and afford lines of defense in fire fighting. Several miles of such fire breaks have been constructed on the National Forests in southern California, where it is especially important that the forest cover on the watersheds of important irrigation streams be protected. (c) The equipment of the National Forest with fire-fighting tools, canteens, and other supplies necessary for fire-fighting crews. Just as rapidly as possible each National Forest will be fully supplied with shovels, axes, and other tools, which will be distributed over the Forests and in cabins and tool boxes placed at points where there is the greatest danger of fire and where they can be most easily reached by road or trail. The Forest Service has been most successful in securing the cooper- ation of local residents in the vicinity of National Forests, and espe- cially of the stockmen and others who use the Forests under permits of the various classes. Every permittee is required to assist the Forest officers in the suppression of fire, and this assistance has been of the utmost value.” OTHER FOREST WORK OF THE GOVERNMENT. In addition to administering the National Forests, the Forest Service carries on many lines of forest work; in the investigation of a The Use Book (containing regulations and instructions for the use of the National Forests). [ Cir. 167] 14 SEATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. forest problems; cooperation with other Departments of the National Government, with States, and with private owners; the dissemina- tion of information, and various kinds of educational work. Cooperative work has been conducted with the War and Navy Departments, the Light-House Board of the Department of Com- merce and Labor, and the General Land Office, the Reclamation Service, and the Office of Indian Affairs, in the Department of the Interior. State cooperation.—The Forest Service cooperates with States in making examinations of their forest conditions and outlining forest policies necessary to protect and maintain the timber supply. Pre- liminary examinations. are often followed by more comprehensive studies, which include, among other things, a detailed forest map and an estimate of the timber, plans for systematic management of the timberlands, and a general forest policy for the State. The cost of such examinations is shared equally by the Forest Service and the State. In addition, experiments in nursery practice and field planting are conducted in cooperation with State educational insti- tutions and State forest commissions. Private cooperation.—Private owners of timberland, large or small, may secure the aid of the Service in the care of their timberlands and in planting. Forest Service Circular 165 outlines the plan of cooper- ation with owners of timberlands. Any owner who wishes to learn whether forestry might be profitable to him may apply to the Service for an examination by one of its experts. A preliminary examina- tion is made on the ground and a report in all cases is submitted to the owner. If the tract is large and the owner desires a working plan afterwards, a party is sent to collect the necessary data. The investigation is conducted from both the forester’s and the lumber- man’s point of view. When the field data have been collected, a working plan is made which takes into account the special needs or purposes of the owner. The recommendations in the plan enable the owner to derive from the forest the fullest and most permanent reve- nue which is consistent with his special requirements. Applications for assistance of this character have been received from the owners of about 10,000,000 acres of forest. The Forest Service provides two forms of assistance to prospective tree planters: (1) Advice for forest planting in all the principal planting regions, which can usually be given free of cost by means of publications and an advisory letter, together with lists of dealers who sell plant material of the species recommended; (2) examina- tions of tracts in regions where a detailed study has not been made, and which present problems of great economic importance and high experimental or educational value. As a result of such examina- tions, planting plans are usually prepared. [Cir. 167] STATE FORESTRY. 15 STATE FORESTRY. The considerations which require the Nation to adopt a conserva- tive forest policy require the State also to adopt such a policy. They are chiefly: The need of wood; the need of protection to stream flow, to the soil, and to agricultural crops; the economic advantage of putting all the land to its best use; the tendency of private action to conflict with the public interests unless education, cooperation, or regulation is provided by the State; and the duty of handing on the. resources of the State, the common property of its people, to the citizens of the future, unimpaired by reckless use. In comparison with the great need disclosed by a study of present forest conditions, the States have done exceedingly little toward the solution of the forest problem. Good work has been accomplished here and there, but in reviewing State forestry one is more impressed with the work that has been left undone. LINES OF STATE ACTION. The past lines of State action fall naturally under the following heads: (a) Protection of the forest against trespass; (b) protection of the forest against fire; (c) the promotion of forestry by various means; (d) the establishment of State forests and forest organizations charged with their care. TRESPASS LAWS. In general, the State laws against forest trespass are sufficient, but they are not enforced, and never have been, in any State. The non- resident forest owner is frequently so great a loser from trespass that he finds it cheaper to cut the timber before it has reached financial maturity—that is, before it is the best business to cut it. In order to ‘recover damages and punish the trespasser, he must go to court and secure a jury that will convict, while the local interests are all on the side of abusing or at least neglecting the land in question, from which, nevertheless, they often derive a large proportion of the taxes. Though the trespass laws have helped to check large and continued trespass, the general laxity of their enforcement has seriously dis- couraged forestry. FIRE PROTECTIVE SYSTEMS. Kighteen States have organized fire protective systems. These are: Alabama. Maryland. Soar Oregon. California. Michigan. Pennsylvania. Connecticut. Minnesota. Tennessee. Louisiana. New Hampshire. Vermont. Maine. New Jersey. Washington. Massachusetts. New York. Wisconsin. [Cir. 167] — > ne — gon, oe eee 6 re te mae 16 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. It is interesting to note that the fire laws and amendments consid- ered by experts the most satisfactory have been enacted within the past five years (California, Oregon, Maryland, Washington, New Jersey, Idaho, Minnesota, New York). The fire organizations are variously headed; in some cases by the State forester or State forest commission and in others by a State firewarden specifically charged with fire protective work. The under officers consist of local town or county firewardens, usually of two grades. In a few cases special patrol officers are authorized. Fire- wardens may be: (1) Local State or county officers serving ex officio, without extra pay; (2) independent State, county, or town officers with pay; or (3) private employees appointed by the State, but without State pay and either with or without special pay from private owners. They possess the power to arrest without warrant, to impress, and in general to enforce the fire laws. Firewardens and similar officers are commonly authorized and directed to call out or impress extra help in putting out fires and to pay for such extra help at a fixed rate. Nearly all of the States have long had legal provisions against set- ting fire to forests and waste land. In recent years, however, such provisions have been made more specific and effective. Willfulness or malice were formerly réquired in order to constitute the setting of fire a misdemeanor; but negligence is now commonly sufficient, and in some cases accident does not excuse. The laws include general penalties for fires; prohibitions against setting fires without permit during seasons of danger; provisions for safety appliances on locomo- tives and other engines, except those burning oil as fuel; the require- ment that railroads keep their rights of way clear of inflammable material; and other similar requirements for railroads, such as that warning notices be posted at the stations or that employees be spe- cially instructed in the preventing and extinguishing of fires. The following improvements in existing fire protective systems are urgently required: (1) Greater independence of the head officer and his direct respon- sibility to the governor. It is a distinct advantage to have a State firewarden who devotes his entire time to fire protection. He should be appointed from a nonpolitical State civil-service list and hold office during efficient service. His duties should include the personal superintendence and instruction of the local overwardens, who would be his own deputies; the appointment and removal of local officers when this is consistent with State and local policy; the audit- ing of firewardens’ accounts; and the enforcement of fire laws against offenders. This arrangement is in the direction of State rather than local enforcement of the laws. The New Jersey provisions more nearly meet these requirements than do perhaps any of the other State forest-fire protective laws. [Cir. 167] STATE FORESTRY. ey. (2) Greater independence of local firewardens. There is at present a sound tendency away from adding the duties of a firewarden to the duties of existing offices. Firewardens should give all of their time to their work and receive pay for it. (3) The extension of the plan, followed in part in California, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington, of appointing employees of private forest owners as State firewardens or rangers, the State delegating the pow- ers of peace officers to such appointees and the forest owners bearing. the added expenses, if any. (4) A very great extension of patrol. Efficient patrol is the first essential of effective protection. The great object of all protective systems is to prevent fires, and patrol alone will prevent them. It is, therefore, good business for the State to pay for patrol on its own holdings; for the same reason patrol is the best kind of business for private owners, who should be, and usually are, entirely willing to bear their share of the burden, as they are required to do in Nova Scotia, may do in California, and will do in Wisconsin if a bill that has been presented is enactedinto law. State rangers under the State forester or firewarden should be permanently maintained by the State, assisted by the voluntary or compulsory cooperation of private owners. Legal provision should be made for the appoint- ment of employees of private owners as State firewardens, with the powers of such officials. Patrol may be lmited to the dangerous season, except that district firewardens should patrol at all seasons. Where no merchantable timber remains on cut-over lands, and the owners of such lands are consequently indifferent to fire, there will not be effective local support or sufficient funds to maintain patrol. In such cases the State should acquire the land for State forest pur- poses and protect it by State patrol. The results would encourage the practice of forestry by private owners. (5) Better provision for inspection. (6) Further provision for cooperation between State and Federal Governments in the States having National Forests. At present the National Forest officers may be appointed State firewardens in California and Oregon. In order fully to protect the National For- ests it is frequently of great importance to extinguish threatening fires outside of but adjacent to the Forests, and it is always desirable to prevent such fires. In the States above mentioned Federal forest officers receive the needed State authority on State lands adjacent to the Forests, but no provision is made for reimbursing the Govern- ment for expenses incurred in the protection of such State lands. Should such provision be made by the States, so as to permit National Forest officers acting as State firewardens to incur such expenses as may now be incurred by other State firewardens, the cooperative 2281—Cir. 167—09——3 i ee LY A ee ET Ow 18 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. arrangement would be yet more advantageous than it now is for both State and National forests. (7) Provision for the taxation of forest owners on an acreage basis, the fund so raised to be devoted to forest patrol. This plan is suc- cessfully followed in Nova Scotia, and a law containing similar pro- visions was introduced last winter in the legislature of Wisconsin. THE PROMOTION OF FORESTRY. State laws to encourage forestry have thus far been chiefly of two kinds: Those creating forest commissions and, of late, State foresters, and those offering inducements, in the form of bounties or exemption from taxes, to plant forest trees or to maintain forests. The latter have had some slight educational value, but they have in most cases been poorly framed and they have usually been declared unconstitu- tional. They have led neither to the planting nor to the preservation of forests. The State forest commissions and State foresters, on the other hand, have very greatly advanced the cause of forestry by gathering and distributing information, advising the Government or legislature of the State, and cooperating with private forest owners in the care of forest tracts and woodlots and in the establishment and care of forest plantations. Cooperation with private owners in forest management and forest planting is of paramount importance. The private owners must be met on their own ground. Until the resources of real cooperation are exhausted it is not time to consider measures for bringing forestry to pass by drastic legislation. Forest taxation is one of the insistent problems involved in the encouragement of forestry by the State. At present private forests are in many cases practically taxed out of existence. Our forests are doubly discriminated against in the tax laws: First, because they belong to the class of real property, which is already overburdened, and, second, because they are assessed on the basis of sale value instead of on the basis of income. Such a state of affairs encourages reckless cutting, after which the devastated forest is too commonly allowed to revert to the State. Public sentiment has been awakened to the need of a substitute for the general property tax as applied to forest lands. Economists have for years recognized the fact that the burden to which such lands are subject under present tax systems is very unjust, and desultory attempts have been made to effect a remedy. As was said, these attempts, which have usually taken the form of partial or entire exemption of forests from taxation, of rebates of taxes, or of bounties to the owners, have not been very successful. In the autumn of 1907 the whole subject was brought into the field of general public thought by the International Tax Association [Cir. 167] STATE FORESTRY. 19 at its first conference held at Columbus, Ohio, when forest taxation was given a separate place among the topics for consideration. At the second meeting of the association, held at Toronto, Canada, one year later, a scientific and just method of forest taxation was first well presented, and the principles then laid down have, with some variation, been since embodied in laws proposed in several of the State legislatures. The principles recommended by the Forest Service can not be generally adopted without amendment to the constitution of a great many of the States, but it seems as if the growing public interest in this whole subject will compel such amendments and thus open the way for a system of forest taxation which will be just and which will encourage the holding of cut-over lands for reforestation and another crop. Indeed, in two of the States, Minnesota and Oregon, steps have already been taken to this end, for in each of these States a constitutional amendment has been submitted to the legislature which will permit the taxation of timberlands according to approved principles.¢ In the following table are given the names of the States having fire-protective systems or general forest organizations, or both, and the names and addresses of the executive heads: State forest officers. State or Territory. Name and post-office. Official position. PAN ai aaa es) ae John H. Wallace, jr., Montgomery....._..- ORE department of game and sh. California esse Gerard] Bs bulls Sacramento s: 2252222222 State forester. Connecticut........ Walter H. Filley, INGwatiavens= is Sane Do. Wayans sen Se RiatphssSaelosmersronolulinas: . 2. sean Superintendent of forestry. cana ss W. H. Freeman, Indianapolis Bs A ie Secretary State board of forestry. KReEAMISAS Se oe eta Henry Cooper, Dodge CiGyees eee eee Commissioner of forestry. RE Rid swayenOpallaly aes sansa Do. Kentucky 22. 22h. Me Cakhankin sh ranktonteos. 9.22522 ssl ek Chairman State board of agriculture forestry, and immigration. mouisianacn.. 222.2 A. W. Crandell, Baton Rouge.............. State forest commissioner. INOS aS SS raed A aa Se Bd gansheskuine AUS tae sass ee uae, Land agent and forest commissioner. Massachusetts... ..- Ids Waals lapines IBXOSKOIS | on odoeeeeceeaeasese State forester. Miamydamd:s 2s oe 3. eae besleysebaltimoreso- see eee Do. Miehigame == so. 52 5. Huntley Russell, Lansing.................- Secretary forestry commission. HiliberhROth Anne ATDOR=s-5--- 5224) oko State forest warden. Minnesota......... Gen. CC Andrews st. Pauless te Secretary State forestry board and for- estry commissioner. New Hampshire. .| R. KE. Faulkner, Keene. .......--..--.-.--- Secretary forest commission. New Jersey....._.. AiredeGaskills krentoneaseeee ces ee Secretary forest park reservation com- mission, and forester. New York.........| James S. Whipple, Albany...............-- Commissioner forest, fish, and game commission. Warne Hy ae Ox Allin amatyes yee tar ieee eye Superintendent of State forests. CRB CURIS Hrs seit corti pees baer Manian de State forester. North Carolina..... josephebicebrath. Chapel tlle ese e. wee State geologist. NOB eae cece eS aware: Gon Greene WiOOStel sae e see ee ee Forester, State agricultural experiment ; station. Orevoni 2 ee. es J. W. Baker, Cottage Grove.............--- Forestry, fish, and game warden. bie Sheldon: ontlamdesas ssa ee Secretary forestry commission. Pennsylvania...... | Robert S. Conklin, Harrisburg............- Commissioner of forestry. Georges Elwin MiOTmit eA ICOM sete ee ae oe Chief forester. @ Recent publications on the subject of forest taxation are as follows: The Eouoaite Problem of Forest Taxation, by Prof. Fred R. Fairchild, in the Yale Review of Feb- ruary, 19 Forest Taxation, a pamphlet published by the International Tax Association, Columbus, Ohio, giv- ing the addresses and discussion on this subject before the international conference at Toronto, Canada, in October, 1908. A pamphlet on the Taxation of Timberlands and the Future Timber Supply, by E. G. Scammon. [ Cir. 167] a 20 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. State or Territory. West Virginia.....- WASCONSINSse aoe State forest officers—Continued. Name and post-ofiice. Official position. Jesse B. Mowry, Chepatchet..............- Commissioner of forestry. Austin F. Hawes, Randolph............-..- State forester. R. W. Condon, Port Gamble..............- Chairman State board of forest com- missioners. J. Re Welty. Olyam piamesse ese eee State firewarden and forester. T. Cs Wihite; Morgantown: = soe eeee State geologist. Edward M. Griffith, Madison...........-... State forester. STATE FORESTS. The following table shows the area and location of existing State forests: State. Connecticut......-.- Ise NIG Boadceposas Massachusetts. ...-- Wiha Cowcconsee Minnesota.........- New Hampshire. ... New Jersey........ New YORK se s2 54458 Pennsylvania......- IWiasconsinie 92.55 a= [ Cir. 167] Area and location of State forest reserves. Name and location. Portland tract) Middlesex Counthyase: see esse eee eee Umionktract; LollandiCoumiyAsees= se eee er eeee rere Maleleas Kamal oesss cess oa ee Kiealia j Roamans acs pd ee See ep re ee e eae INP ali=Kiomay, Katee 2s re eek ee ern elem Kapaipaw; Oahuti.2s200 2 ees Sa ee ee eee was Oahwes eae ose eee a eee ee ee eee Wiaianae-kal' sO alu. 2) Se eS ee ene AUER ND EEN (eyes OY) ob Perea Are Ce ee Pe Ne ot eee eek ewe Koolau;- Maul: se aec3 - ooo nee eee EEC NO Re yea Ih) Rene een ede eee A Br ere sen ae WestiMaul, Mauls 22:2 Se eee ee ee Makawao, IMautise soe ne ye aoa ee ae Hamakua Palivbia wallet ero ee ee a eee Elito; (Hawa ccd Si2 os ck es Ao ee ee ee eee Honuaula, Hawalls qos cosas Core seer near ae nee EC eas SED wy eds 0 Se ee ee Walsha Spring, Hawallass- pose erent ea eee State reservation, Clark County.-------.---22---:-5-------- State:reserve; Garrett County. -ose- oes eee State reserve; Baltimore Countyeaa- o-ces aes 4 eee eee Seater soe ee SP i oe area i State reserve, Roscommon and Crawford counties...:..-.- Burntsideorest, Sta wouis)| Countyes- oe eeeeeeese oe ee Pillsbunyatract, Cassi Comntymaene se eee eee Itasca State Park, Clearwater, Becker, and Hubbard COUNTIES a eee Se ree nae Gift of Miss Frances A. L. Haven, Jaffrey..-.........----- Mays Landing tract, Atlantic County_...............-...- Bass River tract, burlington) Countyeess. ese eee Blairstowm tract. Warren, Countyaeresen see eee Kattatinny: Mountain Reserve: -3 5-2-5. 42sesee see = ee ae Adirondack Preserve, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Herkimer, Lewis, Oneida, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Warren, and Washington counties............ Catskill Preserve, Delaware, Green, Sullivan, and Ulster COUMPIES asinss obit to bois roe EO eee eee State reserves, Adams, Bedford, Cameron, Center, Clear- field, Clinton, Cumberland, Dauphin, Elk, Franklin, Fulton, Huntingdon Juniata, Lackawanna, Lycoming, Mifflin, Monroe, Pike, Potter, Snyder, Tioga, Union, and. Wyoming counties 2252 ee a ee Forest reserves, Ashland, Bayfield, Burnett, Douglas, Florence, Forest, Iron, Langlade, Lincoln, Marinette, Oneida, Polk, Price, Rusk, Sawyer, Vilas, and Wash- burn counfless/.0 2s See eo ee ee eee Area. Acres. 1, 060 300 37,500 9, 935 60, 540 913 28, 550 3, 257 1, 500, 626 111,191 863, 000 Grand: Total 22 se eee ee ee a Of this total 61 per cent is Government land. 3,270, 771 Total area. Acres. 1,360 a 443, 166 2, 000 3, 540 1, 000 39, 000 43,297 60 8, 958 1, 611, 817 253, 573 PRIVATE FORESTRY. 21 These State forests represent a line of State action which has been preeminently successful. As the table shows, New York leads the States in State forest area, followed by Pennsylvania and Wiscon- sin. The smaller attempts of Minnesota, Michigan, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Indiana, etc., are all important. The State forests speak for themselves. First, they furnish object lessons of great value; second, they form the nucleus of what some day must be the principal center of State forest work. It is a fundamentally sound policy for the State to own land, especially land which does not offer the conditions necessary for prosperous settlement.? PRIVATE FORESTRY. THE INDUCEMENT TO PRACTICE FORESTRY. Three-fourths of all our forests are in private hands. These private forests are, moreover, the best stocked; they contain four- fifths of all the timber in the country. Clearly the bulk of the tim- ber cut must come, for some time at least, from this area. Upon the use of the forest growing upon it will depend whether future demands for timber will be met or not. Very largely, therefore, the forest problem is to be solved by private forestry—unless, indeed, private owners fail to practice it on any considerable scale, in which case public ownership may be invoked in the public interest. It is of the greatest importance, then, to know the extent to which forestry is now, and is likely to be, practiced on private lands. The area of private forest on which forestry is practiced at pres- ent is not known and can only be roughly estimated. Probably it is less than 1 per cent of the total area of private forests. As was said in describing the cooperative work of the Forest Service, about 10,000,000 acres have been involved in the applications made to the Service for advice in proper forest management. Actual work in accordance with Service advice has been done on a substantial part of the area. In but few cases, however, have complete working plans been persistently carried out. The chief value of this work has been its educational effect, which extends far beyond the forests directly concerned. A valuable result thus secured is the better general knowledge of the meaning and aims of forestry. Forestry is now correctly understood to mean no mere sentimental plea for regarding the forest as an ornament to the landscape, but a practical plan for getting the best economic service out of the forest in the @ Government publications dealing with State forestry are: The Progress of For- estry in 1907; The Progress of Forestry in 1908; What the States Should Do to Per- petuate the Forests, by Filibert Roth. (The latter is part of the report of the Na- tional Conservation Commission, which is published as Senate document No. 676, and can be obtained only through Members of Congress.) E@irsA Gr 22 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. longrun. Thisisa great advance. With forestry rightly understood, it is a comparatively simple matter to work out the results which the practice of forestry may be expected to secure. It is, of course, both useless and unfair to invite forest owners to practice forestry simply for pleasure. In dealing with public forests the first consideration is the public welfare; in dealing with private forests the first consideration is the business inducement. Forests in private hands are realty investments made for the interest they will produce. Their owners are chiefly concerned with knowing what will happen to the investment, how its interest-yield- ing power will be affected under the conservative management which the forester recommends. If forestry is not good business, then good business men, such as most forest owners unquestionably are, are precisely the sort of men not to touch it. In the past almost the exclusive inducement to invest in forest property has been the chances it offered for clearing up and closing out at a satisfactory profit—a quick and remunerative turnover of capital. This sort of investment has been, and to a greatly limited extent still is, highly profitable. It is distinctive of the lumber indus- try. It will continue to characterize transactions in timber land as long as it pays better to skin the land and move on than it does to develop the land and hold on. It has become a business habit, which fact makes it all the harder to change. In order, however, for for- estry to come into general practice, a change will have to come. Speculative deals in forest property, buying in cheap in order to sell out at an advance, can go on only as long as it remains compara- tively easy to get in and out of the market quickly; that is, only as long as first-class stumpage can be readily picked up. Cheap virgin forest is getting scarce, and stumpage prices, which so long have lagged behind lumber prices, are rising sharply. The opportunities for forest speculation in the old style are fewer every day. Realizing this situation better than anybody else, lumbermen and others owning and dealing in forest lands are beginning to ask whether it is not time to handle forest properties in a different way—to hold them and put them on a permanent paying basis by utilizing the productive power of the forest, together with the advance in stumpage values; in short, whether forestry will not pay better than exploitation. A satisfactory answer to the question ‘‘ Will forestry pay?’ can not be made offhand The problem is not one of theory, but one of conditions; the considerations involved are not absolute, but relative. The point to decide is not whether forests in general and anywhere can, by intensive forestry, be made to yield net profits indefinitely, but whether private forests in the United States, at present and [ Cir. 167] PRIVATE FORESTRY. 23 prospective market prices for stumpage and forest products, in the present state of the lumber industry, under existing laws, and with the prevailing public sentiment toward the forest, can, under more conservative management, be made to yield an interest rate satis- factory to investors as compared with the profits of forest devas- tation. The lumberman and the forest owner are facing a real situation of concrete facts, and the forester's s answer to their question must be no less concrete. OBSTACLES TO PRIVATE FORESTRY. Getting right down to the situation as it comes home to the forest owner and the lumberman, it is easy to see that there are certain | obstacles in the way which must be overcome before it is reasonable to expect that private forestry will be widely practiced. The chief of these are the following: THE GREAT FIRE RISK. While the private owner should unquestionably be required to con- tribute toward the protection of his own holdings from fire, he can hardly be expected to assume the whole expense in a country where the general sentiment toward fires is indifferent. The most effective fire protection anywhere outside of the State and National forests is secured now in the States of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho by cooperative fire associations which assess their members on an acreage basis and maintain a patrol. During the past year such associations cooperated successfully with the protective force maintained by the National Government and the States. Investigations show that patrol can accomplish full protection to forest land at an annual cost of from 2 to 4 cents per acre throughout the United States, according to the regional fire risk. The total annual cost of protecting all private forests is estimated at $10,000,000. The annual fire losses in standing timber alone are placed at $50,000,000. ILL-DEVISED TAXATION. In a real sense, forests are In many cases simply taxed out of exist- ence. As long as forests continue to be taxed on the basis of an annual crop, holding young forests until they reach maturity, and, still more, the establishment of new forests, means financial loss to anyone who attempts it. Such methods of taxation are in the end ruinous to the community also, for they encourage devastation and the abandonment to the State of lands which thereafter yield no reve- nue in the form either of products or of taxes. (See State For- estry, p. 18.) By suitable legislation the State can remove both of these obsta- cles now in the way of private forestry. They are artificial obstacles. [Cir. 167] 24 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. CHEAP STUMPAGE PRICES. Cheap stumpage is the chief natural obstacle to the wide extension of private forestry. Forestry involves an investment in growing timber. If the investment is to show a satisfactory profit, the product must not sell too cheap. As long as the product sells cheap, expenditures will not be made to produce it, and the timberman will continue to be the nomad and the speculator which past conditions have inevitably made him. In order to hold out inducements to private enterprise, forestry must offer a reasonable margin of profit above the cost of growing the timber. 3 This obstacle to forestry is being steadily removed by the depletion of the virgin forests and the consequent rise in stumpage prices. Already, as the following examples show, the scarcity of supphes has resulted in a number of cases in the holding of tracts for more than a single crop. EXAMPLES OF PRIVATE FORESTRY. The heavy loss from fire has led to the greatest progress thus far made toward the practice of forestry on private lands. In Oregon, Vashington, and Idaho large tracts have been placed under organ- ized protection by associations of timber-land owners, each member of which pays pro rata toward the cost. For example, the four fire protective associations of northern Idaho expended for fire protec- tion in 1908 $52,284.11, protecting directly 1,257,787 acres of forest owned by members, and incidentally large areas of adjoining forest. The average cost of this protection, including fire fighting, was a little over 4 cents per acre. One of the associations, however, lost far more heavily than the rest, owing principally to incomplete patrol. Three of the associations protected their holdings at a cost, respec- tively, of 3 cents, 2$ cents, and 22 cents per acre. The reports of the associations show that the main emphasis was laid upon patrol. Thus one association apportioned its expenditures as follows: Per cent. Patrol sien cu se Se ee ee ee ee 49.23 New trails. 22.0. ot. So 2 ee ee eee 16. 98 Cleaning old‘tfails:. 25i25...0- 280. = eee 12. 98 Fire fighting. ..2 022 eee ae ee 10. 57 All other items c 2.202225 3250 2 a ee eee 10. 24 Next to patrol the chief expense was trail building, which in the above case was 29.96 per cent of the total protection cost. Provision was made for tool boxes at convenient places, for tools, and for horses, as well as for lookout stations. Equally successful results have not yet been achieved over large areas of private forest lands by either individual or associated efforts [Cir. 167] | % j PRIVATE FORESTRY. 95 in other parts of the country. But numerous small tracts in the East and South are now fairly well protected at moderate cost, and the owners report satisfactory recuperation and reproductions on the protected areas. A case worth special mention is that of an owner - in the south-central region, a cooperator with the Forest Service, who is applying a working plan in the management of large holdings. Difficulty was found in keeping fires out of the cut-over land, owing to the carelessness of neighboring settlers. An experiment was. therefore made by the owner. A tract of 1,000 acres was set aside and given special protection. Fires have been kept out of this tract for five years, and the owner finds that full reproduction is now the reward of his efforts. Where the business wisdom of protecting a large tract is in doubt, such a test may well be tried. It is not costly, and the results speak for themselves. In most cases an object lesson of this sort, driving home the truth about fire protection, will con- vince the forest owner that he can not afford fires. At Corbin Park, in central New Hampshire, some 17,000 acres of forest have been carefully lumbered on the selection plan for five years, in accordance with a working plan made by the Forest Service. The park is intended mainly for a game preserve, and all forest work is arranged with respect to its effect upon the game. Nevertheless, the revenue derived from the sale of live game and of forest products more than covers the expense of management and yields a satisfac- tory profit on the investment, while the future forest crop is steadily coming on. 7 On one of the larger private estates on the Hudson forestry is well practiced. The property, which embraces 1,000 acres, has about 300 acres under forest, from which cordwood from improvement cut- tings sells well in the local market. Good roads and the easy accessi- bility of the tract make it possible to handle the forest in this way as profitably as if large clear fellings were made, so that the maximum financial yield is secured with the minimum of disturbance to forest conditions. Where the stand is sparse planting is done, and the stock is raised in a forest nursery upon the estate. This is another example of what can be done by forestry. The methods employed and the results secured are of great educational value to the whole community, where many opportunities of similar management offer. That good management pays is strikingly shown by the experi- ence of the University of the South, at Sewanee, Tenn. In 1900 the university undertook to manage its 7,000 acres of forest in accord- ance with recommendations made by the Forest Service. Imme- diate financial returns were desired, while expenditures for improve- ment were not permitted. In 1899 the university had considered [Cir. 167] 26 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. an offer of $3,000 for the merchantable timber, and regarded it favorably. At the time the working plan was made fires were injur- ing the forest by burning away the humus and damaging the timber. The plan recommended took into consideration the probable rise in local stumpage values, and embraced a series of fellings instead of an immediate sale of the whole merchantable stand. Since the plan went into effect the sum of $18,101.76 above all expenses has been received from the sale of timber. Meantime, fire has been controlled, and excellent reproduction is the result, so that the perpetuation of the forest is assured. Among those private owners of forests who themselves make use of the timber produced, a number practice forestry in order to secure permanent supplies. Conspicuous among these are wood-pulp and paper manufacturers, who largely own the forests from which they get their logs. These are in many cases limiting the cut to what the forest grows each year, thus insuring a sustained yield permanently. They also safeguard the forest by efficient fire protection. Of this the chief feature is patrol. Where their present holdings are too small to satisfy their annual demands, these owners are buying new tracts to secure the requisite growing stock. A Connecticut water company furnished another example of for- estry. In this case forestry was undertaken mainly because of its value as a means of increasing the purity of the water. But though forest growth was needed on the reservoir catchment basin primarily as a protective cover, it was seen that this protection forest might safely be made to produce also a yield of wood. Accordingly the existing forest was placed under a conservative plan of management. The stand is perpetuated and improved, and also produces an annual yield of cordwood, posts, and cross-ties. Open ground is being planted to a commercial forest, while around the reservoirs protective belts of conifers are being set out to protect the water from pollu- tion and improve the scenic beauty of the property. Several other water companies are practicing forestry along substantially the same lines. In point of variety and scope the work done on the Biltmore estate, in North Carolina, is remarkable. The forests, which cover 130,000 acres, are made self-sustaining by the production of various forms of material. Four million feet of lumber, 5,000 cords of tannic-acid wood and fuel, a thousand cords of tan bark, and several hundred cords of pulp wood are cut every year. At the same time the forest itself is steadily increasing in value. Workmen employed along the boundaries of the forest do duty as fire guards. Thus fire protection is secured at least throughout all the accessible parts of the tract. [Cir. 167] cae PRIVATE FORESTRY. 27 In connection with all lumbering operations permanent logging roads are built. These minimize the present cost of transportation, and will greatly reduce the cost of marketing future crops. Thus the extension of the roads is steadily adding to the investment value of the forest. Moreover, they serve also as a network of fire lines. Forest planting is practiced where fire will not threaten its success. The experimental work in silviculture which is done at Biltmore is certain to make important additions to the science and practice of — forestry. Since extensive forest planting is to be expected only when the conditions surrounding forestry are far more stable and advantageous than they are at present in most parts of the country, it is not sur- prising that it has as yet scarcely been attempted by private owners. What forest planting has been done on private lands is mainly the result of artificial encouragement, by the Federal timber-culture laws, now repealed, or by bounties or tax exemptions offered by the States. The bounty and exemption laws are, as a rule, unsatisfac- tory in their results, and the forest area of the country has not been much extended by this means. The total area of planted forest land does not exceed 965,000 acres. Yet the total area of land which would yield its greatest returns from planted forest is more than 56,000,000 acres. In New England forest planting has been particularly successful, and is now being done on an increasing scale. Not including old plantations that have been cut, approximately 25,000 acres have been planted, and it is estimated that 5,000,000 board feet of white pine and 34,000 feet of hardwoods could be harvested to-day from plantations in New England. From the trees that were planted in 1908 about 60,000,000 feet can be obtained when the plantations become merchantable. Realizing the advantage of an assured future timber supply, several railroads are adding to their forest holdings and managing their forest properties for the production of a sustained yield of cross- ties for their own roads. The success and economy of preservative treatment now make it possible to use for cross-ties woods that are cheaper and more abundant than the woods of longer life. By their recent purchases of tracts of loblolly pine the railroads are showing their appreciation of this fact. The practice of forestry by the rail- roads is therefore especially significant, in that it includes, in addi- tion to conservative management, the commercial utilization of tim- bers of lower grade. In a number of cases planting is done, also with a view to tie production, though such planting is usually a sub- ordinate part of the forest policy. [Cir. 167] << . “Ke. -.-= 28 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. As widely scattered illustrations of what private forestry may do and is beginning to do, these concrete examples are noteworthy. But as progress toward the general practice of forestry by private owners, their total amount is altogether insignificant.@ Approved: JAMES WILSON, Secretary of Agriculture. Wasuineton, D. C., May 29, 1909. a Publications of the U. 8. Department of Agriculture dealing with private forestry are: Farmers’ Bulletins 173 and 358, A Primer of Forestry; Forest Service Circular 25, Forestry and the Lumber Supply; Forest Service Circular 131, Practical Forestry on a Spruce Tract in Maine. (See also the list in the Appendix under “ Forest Man- agement.’’) [ Cir. 167] 3 “f APPENDIX. CLASSIFIED LIST OF PUBLICATIONS OF THE FOREST SERVICE. Application for any of the publications named in the following list, except those marked (*), may be made to the Forester, United States Department of Agriculture, Washington, D. C. A star (*) indicates that there is no supply at the disposal of the Forest Service, and that the document can be obtained only by purchase. Remittance should be made by postal money order (stamps not accepted) or New York exchange directly to the Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, Washington, D. C, Coin is sent at the sender’s risk. GENERAL. *Bulletin 24. A Primer of Forestry, in two parts. Part I—The Forest. (Out of print.) Part I1—Practical Forestry. (Price 30 cents.) *Bulletin 57. Federal and State Forest Laws. (Price 15 cents.) Farmers’ Bulletin 173. A Primer of Forestry (paper). A reprint of Bulletin 24, Part I. Farmers’ Bulletin 358. A Primer of Forestry (paper). 2a APPENDIX. 83 i FOREST, BOTANICAL, AND DENDROLOGICAL STUDIES. *Bulletin 17. Check List of the Forest Trees of the United States. (Price 15 cents.) *Bulletin 28. A Short Account of the Big Trees of California. (Price 15 cents.) Bulletin 40. A New Method of Turpentine Orcharding. *Bulletin 59. The Maple Sugar Industry. (Price 5 cents.) Circular 34. Practical Results of the Cup and Gutter System of Turpentining. Circular 148. Practical Results in Basket Willow Culture. Farmers’ Bulletin 252. Maple Sugar and Sirup. Farmers’ Bulletin 341. The Basket Willow. PHYSICAL PROPERTIES, SEASONING, AND PRESERVATIVE TREATMENT OF TIMBER. *Bulletin 6. Timber Physics, Part 1; Preliminary Report. (Price 10 cents.) *Bulletin 8. Timber Physics, Part I1; Progress Report. (Price 15 cents.) *Bulletin 10. Timber: An Elementary Discussion of the Characteristics and Proper- ties of Wood. (Price 10 cents.) *Bulletin 41. Seasoning of Timber. (Price 25 cents.) *Bulletin 50. Cross-Tie Forms and Rail Fastenings, with Special Reference to Treated Timbers. (Price 15 cents.) *Bulletin 51. Report on the Condition of Treated Timbers Laid in Texas, February, 1902. (Price 5 cents.) ' *Bulletin 70. Effect of Moisture upon the Strength and Stiffness of Wood. (Price 15 cents.) Circular 15. Summary of Mechanical Tests on Thirty-two Species of American Woods. | Circular 39. Experiments on the Strength of Treated Timber. . _ Circular 40. The Utilization of Tupelo. i Circular 46. Holding Force of Railroad Spikes in Wooden Ties. Circular 47. Strength of Packing Boxes of Various Woods. Circular 48. Kiln-Drying Hardwood Lumber. Circular 80. The Fractional Distillation of Coal-Tar Creosote. Circular 98. Quantity and Character of Creosote in Well-Preserved Timbers. Circular 101. The Open-Tank Method for the Treatment of Timber. Circular 103. Seasoning of Telephone and Telegraph Poles. Circular 104. Brush and Tank-Pole Treatments. | Circular 108. Strength of Wood as Influenced by Moisture. Circular 111. Prolonging the Life of Mine Timbers. Circular 112. The Analysis and Grading of Creosotes. ' Circular 114. Wood Distillation. : | Circular 115. Second Progress Report on the Strength of Structural Timber. Circular 117. The Preservative Treatment of Fence Posts. | Circular 128. Preservation of Piling against Marine Wood Borers. Circular 132. The Seasoning and Preservative Treatment of Hemlock and Tamarack Cross-Ties. Circular 134. The Estimation of Moisture in Creosoted Wood. Circular 136. The Seasoning and Preservative Treatment of Arborvitz Poles. Circular 139. A Primer of Wood Preservation. Circular 141. Wood Paving in the United States. | Circular 142. Tests of Vehicle and Implement Woods. Circular 146. Experiments with Railway Cross-Ties. Circular 147. Progress in Chestnut Pole Preservation. Circular 151. The Preservative Treatment of Loblolly Pine Cross-Arms. Circular 152. The Analysis of Turpentine by Fractional Distillation with Steam. [ Cir. 167] 34 STATUS OF FORESTRY IN THE UNITED STATES. Circular 164. The Properties and Uses of Southern Pines. Extract 395, from Yearbook of the Department of Agriculture; Prolonging the Life of Telephone Poles (1905). FOREST MAPS. Wall map of the United States (5X7 ft.) showing National Forests and related projects and data (July 1, 1908). (Price 25 cents.) *Wall map of the United States (5X7 ft.) showing distribution of forest and wood- land (March 17, 1908). (Price 50 cents.) ; Forest Service Atlas, statistics 1907. (Price 50 cents.) Instructions for making Forest surveys and maps. Table showing locations and areas of the National Forests. Index map of National Forests (21X33) (July 1, 1909). LOCATION AND AREA OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS IN THE UNITED STATES, ALASKA, AND PORTO RICO, AND DATES WHEN LATEST PROCLAMATIONS BECAME EFFECTIVE. . State or Headquarters of Proclamation Territory. PORES supervisor. effective. Area. Total. Acres. Acres. ATIZONG- 242s. AMACHO See cece Sprinvervilles--e- eee ee Mar. 2,1909 | 1,785,711 Chiricahta@._.--2-—- Douglas Seon ca eee July 2,1908 287, 520 Coconino ==. soe Higgs talhee ce eee sera July 2,1908 | 3,689,982 Coronado. 2.2... 2. BeEnsons 4) os ea eee July 2,1908 966, 368 @roOkes saan aoe see Saflordse. 5 senor July 1,1908 788, 624 Dixie Ore eS eae St. George, Utah........ Feb. 10,1909 626, 800 GETCOCSEe pe: Sas Sanat aNogales. oie oie eae July 2,1908 644, 395 IKigibabieeee sae Kanab. Uitahes see July 2,1908 | 1,080,000 LERESCOMH Fo s aa ooodas Prescott) =, eee Feb. 1,1909 | 1,541,762 Sitgreaves..........- Snowhake.- = — =a Mar. 2,1909| 1,470,364 TRONTO ns eee os ene ROOSe Velie eee Feb. 10,1909 | 2,110,354 ZAC. Se Se ee ee eee Mar. 2,1909 266, 981 : ————| 15,258, 861 Arkansass 2-5 - ATKANSASE eee eae Mena A) oe a cee eee Feb. 27,1909 | 1,663,300 O Zar karte see | SELQErisOn sess eae Feb. 25,1909-| 1,526,481 3,189, 781 Califormiasssaee |p Angeeless= 5) a eaee eae Los Angeles...........- July 1,1908} 1,350, 90 Califomigns ss sneer Willows: ssse see eee Feb. 25,1909 | 1,114,904 Cleveland .-<....2. 22. Sanvbieso. 2 222) a eee Jan. 26,1909 | 2,236,178 Cratend =a e eae Medford, Oreg.........- July 1,1908 58, 614 Ty Ole seers sae Bishop=sct seen kere July 2,1908 | 1,458,444 avai; Ghee ee Worpkars< 0 5 peaet seems Feb. 13,1909 | 2,094, 467 WaSSene cae eke Ried VB ties ee eee eee Mar. 2,1909 | 1,373,043 IWOC YO ee ode eoeaee ATTUTAaS SS se See Feb. 25,1909 | 1,471,817 MONO See ea Gardnerville, Nev ...... Mar. 2,1909 813, 789 Montereys2)-s5--- -- ee DALTNAS ves eee eee July 2,1908 514, 477 Pua a See ees a Quincey ce hae se eee eee Mar. 2,1909]| 1,407,053 ANB IS eee San Luis Obispo.....-.- July 1,1908 355, 990 Santa Barbara....--- Santa Barbara oe. ssesee July 1,1908 | 2,027,180 Sequo0lanaeae = senenes Hot Springs, Tulare Co.| Mar. 2,1909| 3,079,942 Sas tae a ces SiSSOMS sate a Oe ee Mar. 2,1909| 1,754,718 PS} (e! og? We gee pee ease NOrnfOrk2 12) Soeeae July 2,1908 | 1,935,680 SISkd VOUS Rae ee Grants Pass, Oreg......- July 1,1908 37, 814 Stanislause2 sae eee lSSONOLSR Ne eee meena as July 2,1908 | 1,117,625 \eRahoe t= ets aoe eS Nevada City ase Mar. 2,1909} 1,931,042 Perini tysse cee Weaverville’: 2o 5 Mar. 2,1909| 1,834,833 ——————| 27,968,510 Colorado...... PeASran ah Os Seen te Sulphur Springs........ July 1,1908 796, 815 Battlement?......... \sCollpran a= eae ee July 1,1908 759, 002 Cochetopa. so -s-2- INSaeuaches “ase 2 Vek July 1,1908 932, 890 Gunmison= se Guninisonse— ae July 1,1908 945, 350 Hay denGusere ae sie Encampment, Wyo..... July 1,1908 s Holy Crossike 55 oa Glenwood Springs....-. Apr. 26,1909 595, 840 a Total of Chiricahua in Arizona and New Mexico=466,497 acres. > Total of Dixie in Arizona and Utah=1,102,665 acres. ¢ Total of Zuni in Arizona and New Mexico=670,981 acres. @ Total of Crater in California and Oregon=1,119,834 acres. € Total of Inyo in California and Nevada=1,521,017 acres. 2 / Total of Mono in California and Nevada=1,349,126 acres. 9 Total of Siskiyou in California and Oregon=1,302,393 acres. h Total of Tahoe in California and Nevada=1,992,127 acres. 7 Area of Battlement revised by General Land Office May 27, 1909. / Total of Hayden in Colorado and Wyoming=454,911 acres. k Holy Cross divided into Holy Cross and Sopris National Forests, Aprii 26, 1909 [ Cir. 167] ——— — —————— APPENDIX. 35 Location and area of the National Forests in the United States, Alaska, and Porto Rico, and dates when latest proclamations became effective —Continued. State or iDayrest Headquarters of Proclamation Territory. : supervisor. effective. Colorado.....- May Salas seas ses ccc Moab; -Uitahe teem ess - Mar. 16,1909 Las Animas®.......- a Vela nee Sale eres Mar. 1,1907 Head villee 2.520525. head valle ane as eee July 1,1908 Medicine Bow....... HortiCollinss)2--2---- ee July 1,1908 Montezuma........-.. IMAaneOS ea aye July 1,1908 iIRiKke eases eae ae Den Verges ae Series July 1,1908 RioGrandes pee soso Monte Vistas aoe eee July - 1,1908 Routbim ances see es Steamboat Springs...-.-- July 1,1908 Santsabelsecessssee- WieStelitie