[Illustration: Figure 1. An observation point for finding forest fires.
Vigilance is the watchword on the National Forests. During 1916 forest
officers extinguished 5,655 forest fires. Photo by the author]
OUR
NATIONAL FORESTS
A SHORT POPULAR ACCOUNT OF THE
WORK OF THE UNITED STATES FOREST
SERVICE ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS
BY
RICHARD H. DOUAI BOERKER, M.S.F., PH.D.
Arboriculturist, Department of Parks, City of New York.
With the United States Forest Service from 1910 to 1917.
NEW YORK
THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
1918
_All rights reserved_
COPYRIGHT, 1918
BY THE MACMILLAN COMPANY
Set up and electrotyped. Published, September, 1918
_Whom should this humble volume
seek to honor but the father and
mother whose unselfish devotion made
possible both my education and my
profession?_
The highest type of scientific writing is that which sets forth useful
scientific facts in language which is interesting and easily understood
by the millions who read.
L. A. MANN.
PREFACE
Forestry is a vast subject. It has to do with farm and forest, soil and
climate, man and beast. It affects hill and valley, mountain and plain.
It influences the life of cities, states, and nations. It deals not only
with the manifold problems of growing timber and forest by-products,
such as forage, naval stores, tanbark, and maple sugar, but it is
intimately related to the navigability of rivers and harbors, the flow
of streams, the erosion of hillsides, the destruction of fertile farm
lands, the devastation wrought by floods, the game and birds of the
forest, the public health, and national prosperity.
The practice of forestry has, therefore, become an important part in
the household economy of civilized nations. Every nation has learned,
through the misuse of its forest resources, that forest destruction is
followed by timber famines, floods, and erosion. Mills and factories
depending upon a regular stream flow must close down, or use other
means for securing their power, which usually are more expensive.
Floods, besides doing enormous damage, cover fertile bottom-lands with
gravel, bowlders, and débris, which ruins these lands beyond redemption.
The birds, fish, and game, which dwell in the forests, disappear with
them. Springs dry up and a luxurious, well-watered country becomes a
veritable desert. In short, the disappearance of the forests means the
disappearance of everything in civilization that is worth while.
These are the lessons that some of the world's greatest nations have
learned, in some cases through sad experience. The French people, after
neglecting their forests, following the French Revolution, paid the
penalty. France, through her reckless cutting in the mountain forests,
has suffered and is still suffering from devastating floods on the
Seine and other streams. Over one million acres were cut over in the
mountains, and the slash and young growth that was left was destroyed
by fire. As a result of this forest destruction the fertility of over
8,000,000 acres of tillable land was destroyed and the population of
eighteen departments was impoverished or driven out. Now, although over
$40,000,000 has been expended, only a very small part of the damage has
been repaired.
Our own country has learned from its own experiences and from the
experiences of nations like France. On a small scale we have endured the
same devastating floods. Forest fires in the United States have caused
an average annual loss of seventy human lives and from $25,000,000 to
$50,000,000 worth of timber. The indirect losses run close to a half
a billion a year. Like other nations, we have come to the conclusion
that forest conservation can be assured only through the public
ownership of forest resources. Other nations have bought or otherwise
acquired national, state, and municipal forests, to assure the people
a never-failing supply of timber. For this reason, mainly, our own
National Forests have been created and maintained.
The ever-increasing importance of the forestry movement in this country,
which brings with it an ever-increasing desire for information along
forestry lines, has led me to prepare this volume dealing with our
National Forests. To a large extent I write from my own experience,
having come in contact with the federal forestry movement for more
than ten years. My connection with the United States Forest Service
in various parts of the West has given me ample opportunity to study
every phase of the problem. I am attempting to chronicle a wonderful
accomplishment by a wonderful organization of altruistic Americans,--an
accomplishment of which every American has reason to feel proud.
Few people realize that the bringing under administration and protection
of these vast forests is one of the greatest achievements in the history
of forest conservation. To place 155,000,000 acres of inaccessible,
mountainous, forest land, scattered through our great western mountain
ranges and in eighteen Western States, under administration, to manage
these forests according to scientific forestry principles, to make them
yield a revenue of almost $3,500,000 annually, and to protect them from
the ravages of forest fires and reducing the huge annual loss to but a
small fraction of what it was before--these are some of the things that
have been accomplished by the United States Forest Service within the
last twenty years.
Not only is this a great achievement in itself, but few people realize
what the solution of the National Forest problem has meant to the
millions of people who live near them; what it has meant to bring
civilization to the great forested empire of Uncle Sam; what it has
meant to change from a condition of unrestricted, unregulated misuse
with respect to the public domain, to a policy of wise, regulated use,
based upon the principle of the greatest good to the greatest number in
the long run. In the early days before the Forest Service organization
became established, the people were said to have "shot-gun titles" to
timber or grazing lands on the public domain, and "might made right"
in the truest sense of the word. This crude condition of affairs gave
way to wise, conservative use under government control. Just as the
farmer each year sets aside a certain amount of his seed for next year's
planting, just so the stockman saves his calves and cows and lambs
for greater growth and each year sees a part of his herd maturing for
market, and just so the forester, under the new system, cuts only the
mature trees and allows the young timber to remain for greater growth
and greater value in the future, or, in the absence of young trees,
plants small trees to replace those removed.
The people of the West are convinced that a great work has been done
well and wisely. The people of the Eastern States will soon realize that
a similar forest policy, already inaugurated in the Appalachian and
White Mountains, will mean every bit as much to them.
If I succeed only in a small degree to make my reader appreciate the
great significance of the National Forest movement to our national
economy, I will feel amply repaid for the time spent in preparing this
brief statement. I am indebted to the Forest Service for many valuable
illustrations used with the text, and for data and other valuable
assistance. To all those who have aided in the preparation of this
volume, by reading the manuscript or otherwise, I extend my sincere
thanks. I am especially grateful to Mr. Herbert A. Smith and others of
the Washington office of the Forest Service for having critically read
the manuscript and for having offered valuable suggestions.
RICHARD H. DOUAI BOERKER.
New York, N. Y.,
July 7, 1918.
INTRODUCTION
FORESTRY AS A NATIONAL PROBLEM
The forest problem is, both locally and nationally, of vital
internal importance. Not only is wood--the chief product of the
forest--indispensable to our daily life, but the forest plays an
important rôle in regulating stream flow, thereby reducing the severity
of floods and preventing erosion. For these reasons the preservation of
forests ceases to be a problem of private or individual concern, but
forthwith becomes a governmental problem, or, at best, an enterprise
which should be jointly controlled by the National Government and the
individual States.
_Our Consumption of Wood._ It is often said that wood enters into our
daily life from the time we are born until we die--from the cradle to
the coffin. It is difficult to imagine a civilization without wood.
In our country in a single year we use 90,000,000 cords of firewood,
nearly 40,000,000,000 feet of lumber, 150,000,000 railroad ties, nearly
1,700,000,000 barrel staves, 445,000,000 board feet of veneer, over
135,000,000 sets of barrel headings, over 350,000,000 barrel hoops,
over 3,300,000 cords of native pulp wood, 170,000,000 cubic feet of
round mine timbers, nearly 1,500,000 cords of wood for distillation,
over 140,000 cords for excelsior, and nearly 3,500,000 telephone and
telegraph poles. In short, we take from our forests yearly, including
waste in logging and manufacture, more than twenty-two billion cubic
feet of wood valued at about $1,375,000,000. This is enough lumber to
construct seven board walks twenty-five feet wide from the earth to the
moon, a distance of about 240,000 miles, or a board walk one-third of a
mile wide completely around the earth at the equator. These figures give
a little idea of the enormous annual drainage upon the forests of the
United States and immediately suggest an important reason that led to
the establishment of our National Forests.
_The Lumber Industry._ Measured by the number of persons employed,
lumbering is the country's largest manufacturing industry. In its 48,000
saw mills it employs more than 600,000 men. Its investment in these
plants is over $1,000,000,000, and the investment in standing timber is
$1,500,000,000 more. This industry furnishes the railroads a traffic
income of over $200,000,000 annually. If we include in these statistics
also the derived wood products, we find that over 1,000,000 wage earners
are employed, and that the products and derived products are valued at
over $2,000,000,000 annually. Most certainly we are dealing with a very
large business enterprise.
_Our Future Lumber Supply._ You may ask, "What effect have the great
annual consumption of wood and these large business interests upon the
future supply of wood?" The most reliable statistics show that out of
5,200 billion feet of merchantable timber which we once possessed, only
2,900 billion feet are left. In other words, almost half of our original
supply of timber has been used. Besides, the present rate of cutting for
all purposes exceeds the annual growth of the forests. Even the annual
growth is considered by many experts of unknown quantity and quality,
to some extent offset by decay in virgin forests. The only logical
conclusion to draw from this condition of affairs, if the present rate
of consumption continues, is a timber shortage in so far as our most
valuable woods are concerned. In view of this it is fortunate that the
National Government began to control the lumber and forest situation
by the creation of National Forests and the institution of scientific
forestry practice.
_Forests and Stream Flow._ But the forests not only supply us with wood.
For other reasons they deserve governmental consideration. The forests
in the mountains control our streams, vitally affect the industries
depending upon water power, reduce the severity of floods and erosion,
and in this way are intimately wrapped up with our great agricultural
interests. For this reason forestry is by nature less suited for private
enterprise. In agriculture and horticulture the influence of the farm
or the fruit crop rarely extends beyond the owner's fence. What I plant
in my field does not affect my neighbors; they share neither in my
success or failure. If by the use of poor methods I ruin the fertility
of my farm, this fact does not influence the fertility of my neighbor's
fields. But in forestry it is different. Unfortunately, just as the
sins of the fathers are visited upon their children, so the sins of the
mountains are visited upon the valleys.
[Illustration: Map showing the National Forest areas in the West,
the location of the proposed National Forests in the East, and the
area which the present National Forests would occupy if they were all
consolidated into one body in some of the well-known Eastern States.]
The mountainous slopes of the Appalachian ranges and the steep, broken,
granite ridges of the Rockies, the Sierras, and the Cascades are the
sites most suited in our country for forestry purposes. The Appalachian
ranges have been affected most by the reckless cutting of forests. When
these mountains were clothed with forests, the rivers ran bank full,
ships came to the harbors at low tide with ease, and factories and
cotton-mills ran steadily all year long. Since the destruction of these
forests the surrounding country has suffered from alternate floods and
droughts; great manufacturing centers have lost their steady supply of
water; harbors are filled with silt from the mountain sides; and fields,
once fertile, are covered with sand, gravel, and débris, deposited by
the ungovernable stream. These forests belonged to private individuals
who disposed of the timber and pocketed all the profits, while the
community below suffered all the loss. In other words, private ownership
is inadequate since private interest and private responsibility are not
sufficiently far-reaching and far-sighted.
_Forests and Erosion._ Erosion is one of the most serious dangers that
threaten our farms both by transporting fertile soil and by covering
the bottom-lands with sand, gravel, and débris. Since we are largely an
agricultural people, the importance of this problem will be readily
appreciated. Over 50 per cent. of our population is rural, and the
annual production of farm crops has a value of over $5,500,000,000.
Farm uplands are washed away or eroded by high water, and high water is
largely caused by the destruction of the forests on the mountain slopes.
With the forest cover removed, there is nothing to obstruct the flow of
water down the mountain sides. Raindrops beating on the bare soil make
it hard and compact so that most of the water runs off instead of being
absorbed by the subsoil, with the result that a heavy rain storm rushes
down through the valleys in a few days instead of a few weeks, tears out
the river banks, floods the lowlands, and deposits upon them the rocks
and gravel carried down from the mountains. The most effective means for
preventing the erosion and destruction of our farmlands is by the wise
use of the forests at the headwaters of the rivers.
[Illustration: Figure 2. A typical National Forest landscape in the high
mountains. Potosi Peak, 13,763 feet, from Yankee Boy Basin, Uncampahgre
National Forest, Ouray County, Colorado.]
_Forestry a Public Enterprise._ From what has been said it will be
seen that forestry is a national business rather than an individual's.
Moreover, it is of such a protracted nature, reaching continuously
into such long periods of time, demanding so many years of time and
patience to see the expected and promised results, that an individual
would not live to see the success of his labors. The individual becomes
easily discouraged and is especially affected by financial conditions.
The Government, on the other hand, having unlimited resources at its
command can more readily afford to wait for results. In fact every
consideration of national welfare urges the Government to carry it on;
it is a sure source of revenue, there is none less fluctuating, and it
is closely connected with the manifold industries of life. Its chief
product is wood, without which the human race, so far, has not succeeded
in managing its affairs, and which will therefore always have a sale
value.
THE EXTENT AND CHARACTER OF OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
_How the Government Obtained the National Forest Lands._ Probably the
first question that will occur to my reader concerning the National
Forests is, How did the Government acquire them? To answer this question
we have but to turn back the pages of history to the close of the
Revolutionary War. Following this war, our country started on its
career of continental conquest. This conquest was largely a peaceful
one because most of the western country was acquired by treaty or
purchase, thus: Louisiana Territory was purchased from France in 1803;
Texas applied for admission into the Union in 1845; Oregon Territory
was acquired by treaty from Great Britain in 1846; the present states
of California, Nevada, Utah, New Mexico, and Arizona were ceded to us
as a result of the Mexican War in 1848; and the Gadsden Purchase was
obtained from Mexico in 1853 and added to the territory of New Mexico.
Then also Alaska was finally purchased from Russia in 1867. These large
acquisitions, comprising together the western two thirds of the United
States, were gradually divided into territories. Later they became
States, and were opened up to settlement and development by means of
various land and mining laws and large railroad grants. The National
Forests are composed of the land most valuable for growing timber, that
has not been acquired in some way by private individuals, in the western
part of the United States.
_The Romance of the National Forest Region._ This vast expanse west of
the Mississippi River boasts of some of the wildest and most romantic
scenery on the North American continent, and it is in the heart of this
picturesque country that the National Forests are located. This is the
country in which Owen Wister, Harold Bell Wright, Stewart Edward White,
Jack London, Theodore Roosevelt, and other authors have gotten their
inspirations and laid their plots. To one who knows "The Virginian," or
"When a Man's a Man," or "The Winning of Barbara Worth," or "The Valley
of the Moon," nothing more need be said. To others I might say that my
pen picture of that country is a very poor and very inadequate method
of description. It is the land of the cow-puncher, the sheep-herder,
and the lumber-jack; a land of crude customs and manners, but, withal,
generous hospitality. It is the country of the elk and the mule-tail
deer, the mountain lion and the rattlesnake. Its grandeur makes you
love it; its vastness makes you fear it; yet there is an irresistible
charm, a magic lure, an indescribable something that stamps an indelible
impression upon the mind and that makes you want to go back there after
you have sworn an oath never to return.
This National Forest empire presents a great variety of scenery, of
forest, and of topography. The beautiful white pine forests of Idaho and
Montana, the steep pine- and spruce-clad granite slopes of the Colorado
Rockies, and the sun-parched mesas of the Southwest, with their open
park-like forests of yellow pine, all have their individual charm. And
after crossing the well-watered Cascades and Sierra Nevadas we find
forest scenery entirely different. The dense, luxuriant, giant-forests
of the coast region of Oregon and Washington, bathed in an almost
continual fog and rain, are without doubt the most wonderful forests in
the world. And lastly, California, so far as variety of forest scenery
is concerned, has absolutely no rival. The open oak groves of the great
valleys, the arid pine- and oak-covered foothills, the valuable sugar
pine and "big-tree" groves of the moist mountain slopes, and the dwarfed
pine and hemlock forests near the serrated crest of the Sierras, all
occur within a comparatively short distance of each other, and, in fact,
may be seen in less than a day on any one of the many National Forests
in these mountains.
_Famous Scenic Wonders Near the Forests._ Many of the beautiful
National Parks that have been created by Congress are either entirely or
partly surrounded by one or more of the National Forests. These parks
are a Mecca to which hundreds of thousands of our people make their
annual pilgrimage. Most of these parks are already famous for their
scenery, and, in consequence, the National Forests surrounding them
have received greater patronage and fame. The Glacier National Park in
Montana, the Yellowstone in Wyoming, the Rocky Mountain in Colorado, the
Mount Rainier in Washington, the Crater Lake in Oregon, the Wind Cave in
South Dakota, and the Lassen Peak Volcanic Park, the Yosemite, General
Grant, and Sequoia parks in California, are all situated in the heart of
the National Forest region.
The highest and best-known mountain peaks in the United States are
either located within or situated near the National Forests, as, for
example, Rainier and Olympus in Washington; Hood, Baker, St. Helens,
Jefferson, and Adams in Oregon; Shasta, Lassen, and Whitney in
California; and Pikes Peak in Colorado.
Then there are the National Monuments, of which there are eleven, all
situated within one or more of the National Forests. These were created
under an act of Congress for the preservation of objects of historic or
scientific interest. The largest monument, and no doubt the most famous,
is the Grand Canyon National Monument located in the Tusayan and Kaibab
National Forests in Arizona, comprising over 800,000 acres. The next
largest is the Mount Olympus Monument on the Olympic National Forest in
Washington, comprising almost 300,000 acres. Other well-known monuments
are the Cinder Cone and the Lassen Peak Monuments on the Lassen National
Forest in California, and the Cliff Dwellings on the Gila National
Forest in New Mexico.
_The Size and Extent of the National Forests._ With this brief
introduction of the nature of the country in which the National Forests
are located, the reader will be interested to know something of the size
of the Forests and their total area. The total area varies slightly
from time to time, due to the addition of lands that have been found
to have value for forestry purposes, or to the elimination of lands
found to be chiefly valuable for agricultural use. On June 30, 1917,
there were 147 National Forests with a total of 155,166,619 acres.
Thus the average National Forest comprises about one million acres
of government lands. The many private holdings scattered through the
Forests make the average gross area of each Forest much greater. These
Forests are located in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado,
Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New
Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Porto Rico, South Dakota,
Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. Besides these Forests there have been
acquired or approved for purchase under the Weeks Law over 1,500,000
acres in the States of Georgia, Maine, New Hampshire, North Carolina,
South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. These lands are
now under protection and will gradually be consolidated into National
Forests. More lands are constantly being acquired in the Eastern States
in accordance with the Weeks Law.
Few people have any conception of what a gigantic empire the National
Forest domain is. If consolidated into one large compact area, the 155
million acres of National Forests would cover an area larger than the
combined areas of thirteen well-known Eastern States, viz.: Maine,
Vermont, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, Virginia, and West
Virginia (see map). This area is also one fifth larger than the entire
area of France. We marvel sometimes at the ability of a ruler to rule
a country as large as France or Germany; why should we Americans not
marvel at the ability of the man who practically rules over our National
Forests, who keeps in perfect working order the great organization which
protects and administrates the Forests?
_The Topography and Climate of the National Forest Region._ The
difficulty of the work of this organization is at once apparent when
we find that these Forests are located in wild, rugged, mountainous
country, in most cases many miles from the railroad and human
habitations, such as towns and cities. This country is usually far above
sea level--the average being between 3,000 and 8,000 feet in altitude.
But there are large areas in the National Forests of Colorado that lie
above 10,000 feet elevation. Such country as this has a very severe
climate. The climate is usually too cold and the growing seasons too
short for the production of crops such as wheat, corn, oats, potatoes,
etc. Therefore, practically all of this land is what the forester calls
"absolute forest land," that is, it is better adapted for growing timber
crops than any other. Another important fact about the National Forests
is that they are located, for the most part, on steep mountain slopes
and at the headwaters of mountain streams. This makes them of vital
importance in regulating the stream flow of our western rivers. In fact
it is no exaggeration to say that all our large western rivers have
their origin on National Forest land.
WHY THE NATIONAL FORESTS WERE CREATED
Aside from the great economic reasons why a nation should possess
National Forests, there are local reasons which pertain to the welfare
of the home builder and home industries which are often of paramount
importance. The timber, the water, the pasture, the minerals, and all
other resources on the government lands in the West are for the use
of all the people. And only by a well-regulated policy of sale or
rental can these resources be disposed so as to give all individuals
an equal opportunity to enjoy them. These vast resources have been
estimated to have a value of over $2,000,000,000. But their value to
the local communities can hardly be overestimated. The welfare of every
community is dependent upon a cheap and plentiful supply of timber.
If lumber, fence posts, mine props, telephone poles, firewood, etc.,
must be brought in from distant markets, the prices are usually very
much higher. The regulation of the cut on each National Forest assures
a never-failing supply of timber to the home builder and to home
industries. Then also the permanence of the great live stock industry
is dependent upon a conservative use of vast areas of government range.
Local residents are protected from unfair competition. Lastly, the
protection by the Forest Service of the forest cover in the western
mountains assures a regular stream flow which is of vital importance for
power, irrigation, and domestic purposes.
[Illustration: Figure 3. The climate of most of the National Forests
is severe. This view was taken in the early summer and shows the high
mountains still covered with snow. Most of the National Forest lands are
therefore of small value for agriculture. Photo by Abbey.]
[Illustration: Figure 4. On many high mountains on the National Forests
snow banks persist throughout the summer. This view was taken in the
latter part of August. Lassen National Forest, California. Photo by the
author.]
Perhaps the most comprehensive statement upon the purposes of the
National Forests and the methods and general policy of administering
them is to be found in a letter by the Secretary of Agriculture to the
Forester, dated February 1, 1905, when the Forests were turned over
to the Department of Agriculture:
"In the administration of the forest reserves it must be
clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its
most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people,
and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies.
All the resources of the forest reserves are for _use_, and
this use must be brought about in a thoroughly prompt and
businesslike manner, under such restrictions only as will insure
the permanence of these resources. The vital importance of
forest reserves to the great industries of the Western States
will be largely increased in the near future by the continued
steady advance in settlement and development. The permanence
of the resources of the reserves is therefore indispensable to
continued prosperity, and the policy of this Department for
their protection and use will invariably be guided by this fact,
bearing in mind that the _conservative use_ of these resources
in no way conflicts with their permanent value.
"You will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the
reserves are conserved and wisely used for the benefit of the
home builder first of all, upon whom depends the best permanent
use of lands and resources alike. The continued prosperity of
the agricultural, lumbering, mining, and live-stock interests
is directly dependent upon a permanent and accessible supply
of water, wood, and forage, as well as upon the present and
future use of these resources under businesslike regulations,
enforced with promptness, effectiveness, and common sense. In
the management of each reserve local questions will be decided
upon local grounds; the dominant industry will be considered
first, but with as little restriction to minor industries as
may be possible; sudden changes in industrial conditions will
be avoided by gradual adjustment after due notice, and where
conflicting interests must be reconciled the question will
always be decided from the standpoint of the greatest good of
the greatest number in the long run."
HOW THE NATIONAL FOREST POLICY HAS BENEFITED THE PEOPLE
This general policy, which was laid down by the Secretary of
Agriculture, has been followed out, with the result that a great many
benefits have been derived by the nation as a whole, by the individual
States in which the National Forests are located, and, lastly, by the
local communities and users of the Forests.
_The Remaining Timber Resources Were Saved._ First of all the timber,
the forage, and the water-power on the public domain has been reserved
for the whole people and not for a privileged few. Before the Forest
Reserve policy went into effect, the most valuable timber was being
withdrawn from government ownership by the misuse of the public land
laws, whose purpose and intent were fraudulently evaded. Many claims
were initiated apparently for the purpose of establishing a homestead
but in reality for the purposes of securing the timber on the land
and later to dispose of it to some large timber holder. Every citizen
is allowed to exercise his homestead right. Big timber operators
would secure the services of many dummy locators, pay the expenses of
locating, improving, and perfecting the patent, and then buy the claim
from these dummies for small sums. A large timber holder in California
secured his hundreds of thousands of acres of timber land in this way.
By instructing these men where to locate their claims he was able to
secure more or less solid blocks of timber made up originally of 160
acre patches. These patches, which originally were bought by the lumber
barons for from $500 to $800 a claim, now have a value of from $8,000
to as high as $20,000. The people of the United States have lost the
difference.
It is difficult to say where or how this wholesale misuse of the public
land laws would have ended if it had not been for the inauguration
of the National Forest policy. Since the Government has taken full
charge of its forest domain, this misuse has stopped. In fact many of
the fraudulent claims located years ago are being investigated, and
if they are found to have been initiated with intent to defraud the
Government, the land and the timber is returned to the National Forest
in which it is located. To-day the National Forests contain about one
fifth of the standing timber in the United States, an amount which will
undoubtedly have a great effect upon the supply of timber available for
future generations, especially since under present lumbering methods the
privately owned timber lands are being practically destroyed, while the
National Forests are actually being improved by scientific management.
Four fifths of the standing timber is privately owned, and this is
usually of much higher quality than the publicly owned timber.
[Illustration: Figure 5. The Big Trees. "Mother of the Forest" in the
background. North Calaveras Grove, California.]
_The Use of Forage and Water Resources Was Regulated._ The forage and
water resources of the public domain have been subject to similar abuse.
Before the National Forest policy was put into effect the large ranges
of the West were used indiscriminately by all. The range was subject
to considerable abuse because it was used very early in the spring
before the forage was mature, or too late in the fall, which prevented
the forage from ripening its seed and reproducing for the next season.
Not the small, local stockmen, however, but the large sheep and cattle
companies, many controlled by foreign capital, benefited by this
condition of affairs. These "big men," as they were called, illegally
fenced and monopolized large areas, varying in size from townships
to entire counties. What chance would a local rancher with fifty or
sixty cattle have against a million-dollar outfit with perhaps 40,000
to 50,000 cattle? He was merely swallowed up, so to speak, and had no
chance whatever to get his small share. "Might made right" in those
days, and it is said that if a man held any title or equity on the range
it was a "shotgun" title. Also, the sheep and cattle men had innumerable
disputes about the use of the range which in many cases resulted in
bloodshed. If a sheep man arrived first on the range in the spring with
his large bands of sheep, he simply took the feed. The Government owned
the land and the forage but it had no organization in the field to
regulate the use of it. It was indeed a chaotic condition of affairs and
ended only after the inauguration of the present policy of leasing the
lands under the permit system. These permits are issued and charged for
upon a per capita basis.
The conservative and regulated use of the grazing lands under Forest
Service supervision has resulted in better growth and better weights
on stock and more actual profit. There are ample data that show that
the National Forests produce some of the best lambs that are put upon
the market. Data secured from the Modoc National Forest, California,
in 1910, show that lambs brought 50 cents per head more and weighed
an average of 10 pounds more than lambs produced outside the Forest.
Weights taken of 10,000 head showed an average of 72 pounds for National
Forest lambs, while outside the Forest average weights on 3,000 lambs
showed only 62 pounds. The regulation of the length of the grazing
season, the introduction of better methods of handling sheep, and the
prevention of over-grazing are some of the Forest Service methods that
produce better lambs.
Then also under the old system the valuable water-power sites were being
rapidly eliminated from government ownership by large corporations who
secured valuable property for a song. The National Forests, however,
still contain about one-third of the potential water-power resources
of the United States and over 40 per cent. of the estimated power
resources of the Western States. And this vast wealth will not pass from
the ownership of the United States but will be leased under long-term
leases from which the Government will receive yearly a fair rental.
_The Forests Were Protected from Fire and Trespass._ But not only
have these large timber, forage, and power resources been put under
administration for the use of the people. The protection of the National
Forests, which goes hand in hand with their administration, means a
great deal to the local communities, the States, and the nation as
a whole. Until about twenty years ago the forests upon our public
lands--the timber of the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico
and of the Pacific Coast ranges from northern Washington to southern
California--seemed destined to be destroyed by fire and reckless,
illegal cutting. Nothing whatever was being done to protect them from
fire or trespass. They were simply left to burn. When the people living
near the public domain wanted any house logs, fence posts, or firewood,
they went into the public domain and took them. The best trees were
usually taken first. In California, especially, there was a common
practice of cutting down the finest sugar pine trees and cutting and
splitting them into shakes to make a roof covering. Then, too, much
government timber was stolen by lumber companies operating in the
vicinity of valuable government timber. After the land had been stripped
of everything of value a fire was started in the slashing, which among
other things burned the stumps and thus practically obliterated all
evidence of trespass. Had this destruction continued there would to-day
have been little timber left in the West, and the development of the
country which demands timber all the time, and not only at certain
intervals, would have been retarded, if not stopped altogether.
[Illustration: Figure 6. A scene on one of the famous National Parks.
Upper Lake, Glacier National Park, Northern Rockies, Montana.]
How terrible the forest fires were in this western country is well
illustrated by what an old California settler once told me, and what I
have heard repeatedly in many Western States. He said: "In the years
before the Forest Service took over the care and protection of the
forests around here, the mountains within view of my ranch were not
visible for many months at a time, being almost continually enveloped
in smoke from the big forest fires that were raging in the forests all
summer without ever being under control. They started in the spring as
soon as it became dry and were not suppressed until the late fall rains
and snows put them out." But he added with great enthusiasm, "Since
the Service has taken charge the sky around here is as clear as crystal
all summer. I never see any forest fires, not even smoke, because the
Rangers seem to get to them before they get to be of any size." Such
testimony as this speaks volumes for the efficiency of the present
system of protecting the Forests from fire.
_The Watershed Cover Was Preserved._ The destruction of the forest cover
on the watersheds feeding thousands of streams which rise in the western
mountains would have had its bad effect on stream flow--low water
during the long dry periods, and destructive floods after heavy rains.
This condition of affairs would have meant disaster to the systems of
irrigation by which most of the western farmers raise their crops. It
would also have seriously impeded and in many cases prevented electric
power development, to say nothing of affecting the domestic water of
many of our large western cities whose drinking water comes from the
streams rising in the National Forests. The protection of these valuable
watersheds by the Forest Service from fire and destructive lumbering is
of such vital importance to the welfare of the nation that it has been
made one of the main reasons for establishing National Forests.
_Civilization Brought to the Mountains._ What the National Forest
movement has done for settling and building up the Western States
can hardly be overestimated. It has brought civilization into
the wilderness. Roads, trails, telephone lines, and other modern
conveniences have been brought to remote corners of the mountains. It
has encouraged the settlement of the country by calling attention to
the agricultural lands within the National Forests. More important than
that, it has assured the West permanent towns, permanent civilization,
and not a temporary, careless, shiftless civilization which vanishes
with the exploitation of resources, as it did under the old régime.
The improvements on the National Forests have benefited not only the
Forest officers for the administration of the Forests. They have helped
immensely the local population. The pleasure resorts as well as the
business of the Forests have been made more accessible. New trails have
opened up new and hitherto inaccessible country, where fishing, hunting,
and trapping are ideal. All the old and new roads and trails have been
well marked with sign boards giving the tourist detailed information
about distances between the various points of interest. Roads have
opened up new regions to automobiles and to the horse and wagon. In 1916
it was estimated that more than 2,000,000 people visited the National
Forests for recreation and pleasure. They came in automobiles, in
horse and wagon, on horseback, on mules, on burros, and in all sorts
of made-to-order contrivances, and the writer has even seen those
that could not afford anything better, pack their camp outfits in a
wheelbarrow and push it before them in their effort to leave the hot,
dusty valleys below, and go to the refreshing and invigorating Forests
of Uncle Sam. In addition to the large numbers of tourists that visit
the National Forests every year, over 100,000 persons or companies use
the National Forests. Of these a little more than half are paid users,
who are charged a fair fee for timber, grazing, or other privileges and
a little less than half enjoy free use privileges.
_Agricultural Lands Opened to Settlement._ The settlement of the
agricultural lands in the National Forests is a matter that has received
special attention at the hands of the Forest Service in late years. Land
more valuable for agriculture than for timber growing was excluded
from the National Forests before the boundaries were drawn, so far as
this was possible. Small tracts of agricultural land within the Forests
which could not be excluded are opened to settlement under the Forest
Homestead Act of June 11, 1906. The amount of land, however, that is
more valuable for agriculture than for timber is trifling, because the
greater part of the valuable land was already settled before the Forests
were created. The few small patches that are left inside of the National
Forest boundaries are rapidly being classified and opened to entry
for homesteads. Much of the land apparently adapted for agricultural
purposes has a severe climate because it lies at high altitudes and it
is often remote from roads, schools, villages, and markets. Therefore
the chance offered the prospective settler in the immediate vicinity of
the Forests is far better than in the Forests themselves. The Forest
Service is doing everything it can to encourage homesteaders on the
National Forests; it wants them because they help to report fires, help
to fight fires, and in many other ways assist the Forest officers.
_Permanent and Not Temporary Civilization Resulted._ Only those people
who have been brought up near a large lumbering center can appreciate
what it means when a town vanishes; when all that is left of a thriving
town of 5,000 or more souls is empty streets, empty houses, and heaps of
tin cans. In the days of the Golden Age of lumbering in Michigan many
towns flourished in the midst of the forests. These towns had thrifty,
busy people, with schools, churches, banks, and other conveniences.
These people were engaged in exploiting the forests. The beautiful white
pine forests were converted into boards at the rate of thousands of feet
every day. When these magnificent forests were laid low, the lumbermen
left to seek virgin timber elsewhere. They left behind them empty towns
and barren lands; only a few charred stumps remained to show where the
forests once stood. But this is not an incident peculiar to the Golden
Age of lumbering in Michigan. Even to-day this very thing is happening.
The town of Crossfork, Potter County, Pennsylvania, had a population
of over 2,500 souls in 1909. When the nearby timber was exhausted,
practically the whole town was abandoned. In 1913 it had a population of
50.
In direct contrast to this short-sighted policy of the State of Michigan
(and many others also) is the National Forest policy, which provides
for a future supply of forest products as well as a present supply;
which provides for work and homes and schools and churches for future
generations as well as for the present; which provides for a permanent
industry and not one that vanishes with the exploitation of the
resources of a region as snow vanishes under the warm rays of a spring
day. Lumbering even to-day is merely the removal of every vestige of
timber that has any sale value. But forestry, which is practiced on
the National Forests, removes only the mature trees, leaving the young
growth to be cut at some future time. Lumbering has been and is to-day
forest destruction; forestry is forest conservation under a system
of wise use. Lumbering is followed usually by fire, and often by an
entire impoverishment of the region in which it is carried on because
it destroys both the mature tree and the young growth; under a system
of forestry, cutting is followed by young, green forests which are
protected from fire for the benefit of future generations. Such a system
leaves the region and the industry in a permanent, good condition. The
county under the old system receives no more taxes after its wealth is
gone; but each county will receive taxes or money in lieu of taxes
every year as long as the National Forests shall endure.
[Illustration: Figure 7. The remains of the old boiler house. The
town once had a sawmill, planning mill, lath mill, besides modern
conveniences. All these are now gone after the forests have been cut.
Lemiston, Montmorency County, Michigan.]
[Illustration: Figure 8. Deserted houses, abandoned after the sawmill
left. These are the remains of what was once a prosperous town.
Lemiston, Montmorency County, Michigan.]
_Financial Returns._ All the benefits of which I have spoken are without
doubt great assets to the local community, to the State, and to the
nation as a whole. They are great contributions to the welfare of our
country even though they cannot be measured in dollars and cents. This
brings us then to the financial aspect of the National Forest movement.
Even though the fundamental purpose of the National Forests was in no
sense a financial one, it is interesting to look into the finances of
this great forestry enterprise.
The total regular appropriation for salaries, general expenses, and
improvements for the fiscal year 1918 is $5,712,275. For 1917 it was
slightly less than this: $5,574,735. The receipts from the sale or
rental of National Forest resources in the fiscal year 1917 reached
$3,457,028.41. From these figures it will be seen that the expenditures
exceed the receipts by between $2,000,000 and $3,000,000 a year,
depending partly on the severity of the fire season and partly on the
activity of the general lumber market. When we consider that this is
really a newly established business scarcely twenty years old; that
large expenditure have been made and must necessarily be made every
year for equipment and improvements before the resources could even be
used; and that an efficient organization had to be built up to handle
the business, we must confess that the receipts are really a wonderful
showing.
When the Forest Reserves were taken over by the Government it could not
be expected that they would yield a revenue at the very outset, nor
could it be expected that even in the long space of twenty-five years
they could be made self-supporting. The reasons for this are many.
They are located for the most part in rugged, inaccessible mountains.
In the case of almost every Forest a great deal of money had to be
expended for roads, trails, telephone lines, fences, bridges, ranger
stations and other cabins, lookout structures, fire lines, and many
other improvements before the resources could even be used. Many of
the resources were practically locked up; there were no roads by which
to get them out of the wilderness. During the fiscal year 1916 alone
there were built 227 miles of roads, 1,975 miles of trails, 2,124 miles
of telephone lines, 89 miles of fire lines, 81 lookout structures,
40 bridges, 222 miles of fences, 545 dwellings, barns, and other
structures, and many other improvements. Up to date there have been
constructed over 3,000 miles of roads, over 25,000 miles of trails,
about 23,000 miles of telephone lines, 860 miles of firebreaks, about
360 forest fire lookout cabins and towers, and many other improvements.
Their total value is estimated at $7,000,000. And these vast
improvements are but a small percentage of the improvements which will
be necessary to be able to put these Forests to their highest use.
Not only must enormous sums be spent for improvements. The huge sums
which are spent for the protection of the great resources bring no
tangible return in dollars and cents; yet the fire protection system
prevents the destruction of millions of dollars' worth of timber every
year. Then again, when government timber lands are cut over, only
the mature trees are taken; the smaller trees, although they have a
commercial value, are left on the ground to mature because they will
have a still greater value in from forty to fifty years. This is merely
foregoing a small present revenue for a larger future one. Also many
National Forests have on them large areas of steep mountain slopes
where not a stick of timber is allowed to be cut. These areas are
maintained intact for watershed protection. In fact many of the Forests
of southern California are maintained solely for this purpose. These
Forests are covered almost entirely by a low bush-like growth called
"chaparral," which has no value either as timber or as browse, but which
has great value to preserve an equable stream flow for domestic use,
irrigation, and water power.
But there are still other reasons why the cash receipts from the
National Forests are not as large as they might be. In addition to the
cash receipts the equivalent of a large revenue is foregone every year
through the various forms of free use and the sale of timber to settlers
at cost instead of at its actual cash value. During the fiscal year
1917 approximately $150,000 worth of timber was given to settlers free
of cost. About 40,000 people were served under this policy. Also much
timber is sold at cost to settlers for domestic use. In this way over
4,400 persons received many millions of feet of timber whose cost value
was about $20,000, but whose sale value was much greater. The privilege
of grazing a small number of stock free of charge is granted to settlers
living on or near the Forests. The stock thus grazed amounts to about
125,000 animals every year. The Forests are also put to many special
uses for which no charge is made although their administration involves
some expense. Strict accounting should credit the fair value of such
uses to the receipts from the National Forests, for it is in effect
income which instead of being put into the treasury is made available
for the benefit of the people.
From what has been said it will be seen that a large part of the
benefits derived from the systematic administration of the National
Forests cannot be measured in dollars and cents. These benefits are
in effect privileges extended to the people who in return assist in
the protection of the Forests from fire and thus more than repay the
Government for what they receive. Even under the rather unfavorable
revenue producing conditions mentioned above, it is interesting to note
that in 1917 the receipts of thirty-two National Forests exceeded their
total expenditures. On fifteen others the receipts exceeded the cost of
protection and administration. In other words, one-third of the National
Forests are practically self-supporting.
_The New Eastern National Forests._ The great success with which the
National Forest policy was launched in the Western States was largely
responsible for the inauguration of a similar policy in the Appalachian
and White Mountains. The main purpose for which these forests are to be
acquired is to preserve a steady stream flow for water-power navigation
and domestic use, and to lessen the damage caused by floods and erosion.
These forests are of vital influence in controlling the flow of the
Merrimac, Connecticut, Androscoggin, Potomac, James, Santee, Savannah,
Tennessee, and Monongahela rivers. Some years ago the Merrimac drove
mills worth over $100,000,000, which employed over 80,000 people. Upon
these, it is said, 350,000 were dependent for support. In the Carolinas
and Georgia alone the cotton mills operated by water-power turn out an
annual product valued at almost $100,000,000. In these mills 60,000
people are employed, upon whom 250,000 are dependent for support. These
mills utilize 106,000 horsepower. The forests which control these waters
are therefore of great pecuniary value.
The Act of March 1, 1911, commonly known as the Weeks Law, made the
acquisition of forest lands in the Appalachian and White Mountains
possible. Up to June 30, 1917, over 1,500,000 acres have been approved
for purchase by the National Forest Reservation Commission. The Forest
Service has been designated as the bureau to examine and value such
lands as may be offered for purchase. The original appropriation was
$2,000,000 per year for five and one-half years, beginning the last half
of the fiscal year 1911. The Agricultural Appropriation Bill for the
fiscal year 1913 made the appropriation for 1912 and subsequent years
available until expended. A further appropriation of $3,000,000 was
provided later for the same purpose, to be expended during the fiscal
years 1917 and 1918. Under Section 2 of the same law coöperative fire
protection with the States was provided for. This section of the law
provided that the Forest Service should maintain a coöperative system
of forest fire protection with those States which have a law providing
for a system of fire protection for state and private forest lands upon
the watersheds of navigable streams. In no case was the amount to be
expended by the Forest Service to exceed the amount appropriated by
the State for the same purpose in any given fiscal year. The original
appropriation was $200,000 and subsequent appropriations have been for
$100,000 annually. Twenty-one States are coöperating with the Forest
Service in this way.
By the passage of the Weeks Bill, Congress has voiced the sentiment that
the forest fire problem, _even on private land_, is not only no longer
a private problem, is not even exclusively a state problem, but a joint
problem and duty to be borne by the State and nation. Forest fires are
now rightfully looked upon as a public enemy rather than a private
menace. This is a big step in the right direction, and it is hoped that
this same principle will be applied in the not too distant future to all
other matters dealing with private timber lands. If the protection of
these private timber lands is a public and not a private problem, then
certainly their management for continuity is a public problem. A timber
owner should not be allowed to cut his timber without the consent of the
Government, and the Government should see to it that he leaves the young
growth as a basis for a future crop or provides a new growth of timber
by planting young trees.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
PREFACE vii
INTRODUCTION xiii
Forestry as a National Problem xiii
Our consumption of wood xiii
The lumber industry xiv
Our future lumber supply xv
Forests and stream flow xvi
Forests and erosion xvii
Forestry a public enterprise xviii
The Extent and Character of Our National Forests xix
How the Government obtained the National Forest lands xix
The romance of the National Forest region xx
Famous scenic wonders near the Forests xxii
The size and extent of the National Forests xxiv
The topography and climate of the National Forest
region xxvi
Why the National Forests were Created xxvii
How the National Forest Policy has Benefited the People xxx
The remaining timber resources were saved xxx
The use of forage and water resources was regulated xxxii
The Forests were protected from fire and trespass xxxv
The watershed cover was preserved xxxvii
Civilization brought to the mountains xxxviii
Agricultural lands opened to settlement xxxix
Permanent and not temporary civilization resulted xl
Financial returns xliii
The new eastern National Forests xlvii
I THE CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS 1
Economic Conditions Which Led to Forest Conservation 1
Prodigality leads finally to conservation 1
The march of forest destruction 2
Our lumber and water supply imperiled 5
The First Steps in Federal Forest Conservation 6
The upbuilding of the West 6
The Lake States first to act 7
The first federal steps 8
The Act of August 16, 1876 9
Further work under the Act 11
The First Forest Reserves Established March 30, 1891 12
The situation before 1891 12
The need of the forest policy 13
The Act of March 3, 1891 14
An Anomalous Condition--Forest Reserves Without Forest
Administration 14
The Need of Administration on the Reserves 14
More Reserves created 16
The Administration of the Reserves Under the General
Land Office 16
The Act of June 4, 1897 16
The Division of Forestry in 1898 18
The Bureau of Forestry 19
The Consolidation of the Forestry Work in the Department
of Agriculture in 1905 19
The Act of February 1, 1905 19
Early forestry education and literature 20
Changes in the Forest Service personnel 21
More National Forests created 21
The growth of the Forest Service 22
Recent modifications in the organization 23
The Present Organization of the Forest Service 24
The administrative districts 24
The Washington office 26
The district offices 28
II THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS 30
Personnel 31
Duties of forest officers 31
The Forest Supervisor 32
The Forest Assistant 34
The Forest Ranger 35
The Forest Clerk 38
Forest Service Meetings 39
How the Forest Service Appropriation is Allotted to the
National Forests 40
Forest Service expenses 40
The agricultural appropriation bill 42
The ranger's protection and improvement plans 42
The Supervisor's plans 43
Approval of plans by the District Forester 44
The district fiscal agent 45
Tax money paid to the states 46
The Equipment and Supplies for the National Forests 47
The property auditor and property clerk 47
Blank forms 48
Supplies 48
National Forest Improvements 49
The need of improvements 49
Transportation facilities 50
Communication facilities 53
Grazing improvements 56
Protection improvements 57
Appropriations for improvement work 58
The Classification and Consolidation of National Forest
Lands 61
Land classification 61
The consolidation of National Forest lands 63
How Young Forests are Planted to Replace Those Destroyed
by Fire 64
Reforestation and the timber supply 64
Reforestation and water supply 65
Government reforestation policy 67
Methods of reforestation 70
Direct seeding work on the National Forests 72
Planting on the National Forests 78
The Organization and Scope of Forest Experiments and
Investigations 83
The need of scientific experiments 83
The science of growing timber 84
Dendrological studies 86
Seed studies 87
Nursery studies 88
Forestation experiments 89
Studies of forest influences 89
Meteorological observations 91
Forest management studies 92
Forest protection studies 94
Protection from grazing damage 95
Protection from insects and diseases 96
Tree studies 97
Grazing investigations 98
Investigations dealing with poisonous plants and
predatory animals 102
National Forest utilization experiments 104
Forest Products Laboratory experiments 108
Industrial investigations 116
III THE PROTECTION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS 120
Protection from Fire 120
Forest Fire danger on the National Forests 120
Importance of fire protection 121
Causes of forest fires on the National Forests 124
Behavior of forest fires 126
Losses by forest fires on the National Forests 126
The forest fire problem stated 128
Fire prevention 129
Fire suppression 133
How forest fire funds are distributed 134
Forest fire history 136
Relation of forest fires to the weather 137
Improvements and equipment for protection 138
Forest fire maps and charts 139
Forest fire organization 140
How fires are located 142
The fire fighting organization 144
Forest fire coöperation 146
Fighting forest fires 147
Protection Against Trespass, Forest Insects, Erosion,
and Other Agencies 150
Trespass 150
Forest insects 154
Tree diseases 159
Water supply 162
Public health 167
Violation of game laws 168
IV THE SALE AND RENTAL OF NATIONAL FOREST RESOURCES 170
The Sale and Disposal of National Forest Timber 170
Government Timber Sale Policy 171
Annual yield and cut 172
Timber reconnoissance 174
Logging the timber 176
The first step in purchasing government timber 180
Procedure in an advertised sale 180
Timber sale contract clauses 182
Special contract clauses 184
When the operation may begin 186
Marking the timber for cutting 186
Scaling, measuring, and stamping 188
Disposal of slash 190
Payment for timber 192
Stumpage rates 193
Cutting period 194
Readjustment of Stumpage rates 194
Refunds 194
The Disposal of timber to Homestead Settlers and Under
Free Use 195
Sales to homestead settlers and farmers 195
Free Use 195
Timber Settlement and Administrative Use 198
The Rental of National Forest Range Lands 200
Importance of the live-stock industry 200
Permits issued in 1917 201
Kinds of range, grazing seasons, and methods
handling stock 202
Grazing districts and grazing units 205
Who are entitled to grazing privileges 207
Grazing permits 211
Grazing fees 214
Stock associations 215
Protective and maximum limits 216
Prohibition of grazing 218
Protection of grazing interests 219
Special Uses 220
Claims and Settlement 223
The National Forest Homestead Act 224
The mining laws 229
Coal-land laws 230
Administrative Use of National Forest Lands 230
Water Power, Telephone, Telegraph, and Power
Transmission Lines 230
APPENDIX 233
ILLUSTRATIONS
Figure 1. An observation point for finding forest fires.
Vigilance is the watchword on the National Forests. During
During 1916 forest officers extinguished 5,655 forest
fires. Photo by the author _Frontispiece_
FACING
PAGE
Figure 2. A typical National Forest landscape in the
high mountains. Potosi Peak, 13,763 feet, from Yankee Boy
Basin, Uncompahgre National Forest, Ouray County, Colorado xviii
Figure 3. The climate of most of the National Forests
is severe. This view was taken in the early summer and
shows the high mountains still covered with snow. Most of
the National Forest lands are therefore of small value for
agriculture. Photo by Abbey xxviii
Figure 4. On many high mountains on the National
Forests snow banks persist throughout the summer. This
view was taken in the latter part of August. Lassen
National Forest, California. Photo by the author xxviii
Figure 5. The Big Trees. "Mother of the Forest" in the
background. North Calaveras Grove, California xxxii
Figure 6. A scene on one of the famous National Parks.
Upper Lake, Glacier National Park, Northern Rockies,
Montana xxxvi
Figure 7. The remains of the old boiler house. The
town once had a sawmill, planing mill, lath mill, besides
modern conveniences. All these are now gone after the
forests have been cut. Lemiston, Montmorency County,
Michigan xlii
Figure 8. Deserted houses, abandoned after the sawmill
left. These are the remains of what was once a prosperous
town. Lemiston, Montmorency County, Michigan xlii
Figure 9. Forest officers in front of the Forest
Supervisor's summer headquarters. Note the many telephone
wires that lead from the office. This is 50 miles from the
railroad. Lassen National Forest, California 32
Figure 10. Scene in front of the Forest Supervisor's
headquarters. Sheep leaving the National Forest summer
range in the fall to go to winter range in the valley.
Lassen National Forest, California 32
Figure 11. Forest officers and lumberjacks burning
the slash resulting from a timber sale. The snow on the
ground makes the burning less dangerous. Washakie National
Forest, Wyoming. Photo by the author 38
Figure 12. Forest officers at a winter timber-cruising
camp repairing snow shoes. Besides cruising the timber,
these men make a logging map of the government lands, to
show how the timber can best be taken out. Lassen National
Forest, California. Photo by the author 38
Figure 13. A forest fire lookout tower on Leek Springs
Mountain, Eldorado National Forest, California 50
Figure 14. A typical Forest Ranger's headquarters.
Idlewood Ranger Station, Arapaho National Forest, Colorado 52
Figure 15. A typical view of the National Forest
country in Montana. Forest Service trail up Squaw Peak
Patrol Station, Cabinet National Forest 54
Figure 16. Forest Rangers repairing a bridge over a
mountain stream. Arapaho National Forest, Colorado 56
Figure 17. A forest fire lookout station on the top
of Lassen Peak, elevation 10,400 feet, Lassen National
Forest, California. The cabin was first erected complete
in a carpenter's shop in Red Bluff, about 50 miles away.
It was then taken to pieces and packed to the foot of
Lassen Peak. On the last two miles of its journey it
was packed piece by piece on forest officers' backs
and finally reassembled on the topmost pinnacle of the
mountain. Photo by the author 58
Figure 18. Forest officers and laborers building a
wagon road through trap rock. Payette National Forest,
Idaho 58
Figure 19. Drying pine cones preparatory to extracting
the seed. Near Plumas National Forest, California 66
Figure 20. Extracting tree seed from the cones. The
dried cones are shaken around until the seeds drop out
through the wire mesh which forms the sides of the machine 66
Figure 21. Preparing the ground with a spring-tooth
harrow for the broadcast sowing of tree seeds. Battlement
National Forest, Colorado. This view was taken at
approximately 10,000 feet elevation. Photo by the author 70
Figure 22. A local settler delivering a load of
Lodgepole pine cones at the seed extractory, for which he
receives 45 cents per bushel. Forest officers receiving
them, Arapaho National Forest, Colorado 70
Figure 23. In a forest nursery a trough is often used
for sowing seeds in drills. The seed scattered along the
sides of the trough rattles into position at the bottom
and is more even than when distributed by the ordinary
worker at the bottom of the trough. Pike National Forest,
Colorado 72
Figure 24. Uncle Sam grows the little trees by the
millions. These will soon cover some of the bare hillsides
on the National Forests of the West 72
Figure 25. One of the largest Forest Service nurseries
where the young trees are given the utmost care before
they are large and strong enough to endure the rigorous
climate of the National Forests. McCloud Nursery, Shasta
National Forest, California 76
Figure 26. A view of seed sowing with a corn planter.
San Isabel National Forest, Colorado 78
Figure 27. Sowing seed along contour lines on the
slopes. Pike National Forest, Colorado 78
Figure 28. A planting crew at work setting out small
trees. The man ahead digs the hole, and the man behind
plants the tree. Wasatch National Forest, Utah 82
Figure 29. At the Fort Valley Forest Experiment
Station, Coconino National Forest, Arizona. A typical
meteorological station. Forest officer measuring
precipitation. Note the shelter which contains
thermometers and also the electrically equipped
instruments to record the direction and velocity of the
wind 90
Figure 30. Forest officer ascertaining the amount of
evaporation from a free water surface. Fort Valley Forest
Experiment Station, Flagstaff, Arizona 90
Figure 31. Forest Ranger with his pack horses
traveling over his district. Meadow Creek, foot of Mt.
Wilson, Montezuma National Forest, Colorado 102
Figure 32. A plank of Incense cedar affected by a
disease known as "pin rot." By cutting the cedar timber
when it is mature this can be largely avoided. Lassen
National Forest, California. Photo by the author 114
Figure 33. The western pine forests will some day
be a great source for naval stores. By distilling
the crude resin of the Jeffrey pine a light volatile
oil--abietene--is secured which has great healing and
curative properties. Lassen National Forest, California.
Photo by the author 114
Figure 34. A forest fire lookout station at the summit
of Mt. Eddy. Mt. Shasta in the background. California 124
Figure 35. A forest fire lookout station on the
summit of Brokeoff Mountain, elevation 9,500 feet. Lassen
National Forest, California. Photo by the author 128
Figure 36. Turner Mountain lookout station, Lassen
National Forest, California. This is a 10 ft. by 10 ft.
cabin with a stove and with folding bed, table, and
chairs. The forest officer stationed here watches for
forest fires day and night throughout the fire season.
Photo by the author 128
Figure 37. A fire line cut through the low bush-like
growth of "Chaparral" on the Angeles National Forest,
California. This "Chaparral" is of great value for
regulating stream flow. The streams are used for water
power, domestic purposes, and for irrigating many of the
largest lemon and orange groves of southern California 132
Figure 38. A forest officers' temporary camp while
fighting forest fires. Near Oregon National Forest, Oregon 132
Figure 39. Putting out a ground fire. Even if the fire
does not burn the standing timber, it kills the young
trees and so weakens the larger ones that they are easily
blown over. Wallowa National Forest, Oregon 136
Figure 40. Forest officers ready to leave a tool
box for a forest fire in the vicinity. Such tool boxes
as these are stationed at convenient places on National
Forests ready for any emergency. Arapaho National Forest,
Colorado 136
Figure 41. A forest fire on the Wasatch National
Forest, Utah. Forest officers trying to stop a forest fire
by cutting a fire line. Note the valuable growth of young
trees which they are trying to save at the right 140
Figure 42. A forest fire running in dense underbrush
on one of the National Forests in Oregon 144
Figure 43. Men in a dense forest with heavy
undergrowth clearing away brush to stop the fire as it is
running down hill. Crater National Forest, Oregon 144
Figure 44. Fire in a Lodgepole pine forest in
Colorado. Arapaho National Forest, Colorado 148
Figure 45. A mountain fire in "Chaparral" five hours
after it started. Pasadena, California 148
Figure 46. A few years ago this was a green, luxuriant
forest. Picture taken after the great fires of August 20,
1910, on the Coeur d'Alene National Forest near Wallace,
Idaho 152
Figure 47. The first evidence of insect attack are
the reddish brown pitch tubes on the bark. Lodgepole pine
infested by the mountain pine beetle. Lassen National
Forest, California. Photo by the author 156
Figure 48. The last stage of an insect-attacked tree.
The tree is dead and the dry bark is falling off. Lassen
National Forest, California. Photo by the author 156
Figure 49. Wrecked farm buildings due to flood of May
21, 1901, Nolichucky River, near Erwin, Tenn. This is one
result of denuding the Appalachian Mountains of their
forest cover 162
Figure 50. When steep hillsides are stripped of
their forest growth, erosion results. Erosion has been
especially serious in the Appalachian Mountains. View
taken in Madison County, North Carolina 162
Figure 51. A fertile corn-field covered with sand,
gravel and débris brought down from the mountains by
floods. These farm lands are ruined beyond redemption.
This could have been prevented by preserving the forests
on the watershed of this river 166
Figure 52. A view towards Mt. Adams and the headwaters
of Lewis River. Council Lake in the foreground. National
forest lands lie at the headwaters of practically every
large western river. This means that the water supply for
the western people used for domestic use, water power,
and irrigation is being protected from pollution and
destruction. View taken on the Rainier National Forest,
Washington 172
Figure 53. A large storage reservoir used to irrigate
the ranches in the valley below. Elevation 10,500 feet.
Battlement National Forest, Colorado. Photo by the author 176
Figure 54. A sheep herder's camp used temporarily by
Forest Service timber cruisers. Elevation about 10,000
feet. Battlement National Forest, Colorado. Photo by
author. 176
Figure 55. View taken in the Coast Range mountains
of California where Sugar pine and Douglas fir and the
principal trees. Klamath National Forest, California.
Photo by the author 180
Figure 56. A typical mountain scene in the California
Coast Range. On these steep slopes a forest cover is of
vital importance. Klamath National Forest, California.
Photo by the author 180
Figure 57. A forest officer at work on a high mountain
peak making a plane-table survey and timber estimate of
National Forest lands. Photo by the author 182
Figure 58. A government timber cruiser's summer camp.
These cruisers get a fairly accurate estimate of Uncle
Sam's timber resources at a cost of from 2 to 5 cents an
acre. Photo by the author 182
Figure 59. Forest officers moving camp while engaged
in winter reconnoissance work. All food, beds, and
clothing are packed on "Alaska" sleds and drawn by the men
themselves. Photo by the author 184
Figure 60. A winter reconnoissance camp showing
snow-shoes, skis, "Alaska" sleds, and bull hide used to
repair the webbing on the snow-shoes. Lassen National
Forest, California. Photo by the author 184
Figure 61. A group of giant redwoods. Santa Cruz
County, California 186
Figure 62. A big Sugar pine tree about six feet in
diameter. This is the most valuable timber species in
California. Photo by the author 188
Figure 63. A Western Yellow pine forest in California.
These trees are from four to six feet in diameter and
from 150 to 200 feet high. Note the Forest Service timber
cruiser measuring the tree at the left. Photo by the
author. 188
Figure 64. Logging in California. Powerful steam
engines pull the logs from the woods to the railroad and
load them on flat cars. Photo by the author 190
Figure 65. The loaded flat cars reach the sawmill
where the logs are unloaded and sawn into lumber. During
the fiscal year 1917 timber sales on the National Forests
brought into the National Treasury almost $1,700,000.00.
Photo by the author 190
Figure 66. Scene in Montana. Forest officers
constructing a telephone line through the Flathead
National Forest 192
Figure 67. Forest Ranger, accompanied by a lumberman,
marking National Forest timber for cutting in a timber
sale. Coconino National Forest, Arizona 192
Figure 68. An excellent illustration showing the
difference between unrestricted logging as practiced by
lumbermen, and conservative logging as practiced by the
Forest Service. In the foreground is the unrestricted
logging which strips the soil of every stick of timber
both large and small; in the background is the Forest
Service logging area which preserves the young growth to
insure a future supply of timber for the West. Bitterroot
National Forest, Montana 194
Figure 69. View showing the Forest Service method of
piling the brush and débris after logging, and also how
stump heights are kept down to prevent waste. New Mexico 196
Figure 70. A tie-cutting operation on a National
Forest. These piles of railroad ties are being inspected,
stamped, and counted by Forest rangers. From this point
the ties are "skidded" to the banks of a stream to be
floated to the shipping point. Near Evanston, Wyoming 196
Figure 71. Brush piles on a cut-over area before
burning. Forest Service methods aim to clean up the forest
after logging so that forest fires have less inflammable
material to feed on. Bitterroot National Forest, Montana 198
Figure 72. At a time of the year when there is least
danger from fire the brush piles are burned. Missoula
National Forest, Montana 198
Figure 73. Counting sheep as they leave the corral.
Sheep and cattle are pastured on the National Forests at
so many cents per head, hence they must be counted before
they enter in the spring. Wasatch National Forest, Utah 208
Figure 74. Logging National Forest timber. Santa Fe
National Forest, New Mexico 208
Figure 75. Sheep grazing on the Montezuma National
Forest at the foot of Mt. Wilson, Colorado. Over 7,500,000
sheep and goats grazed on the National Forests during the
fiscal year 1917 216
Figure 76. Grazing cattle on a National Forest in
Colorado. Permits were issued during 1917 to graze over
2,000,000 cattle, horses, and swine on the National
Forests 216
Figure 77. North Clear Creek Falls, Rio Grande
National Forest, Colorado. The National Forests contain
about one-third of all the potential water-power resources
of the United States 230
Figure 78. The power plant of the Colorado Power
Company, on the Grand River, Holy Cross National Forest,
Colorado. Every fiscal year there is a substantial
increase in water power development on the National
Forests 230
Figure 79. This is only one of the thousands of
streams in the National Forests of the West capable of
generating electric power. It has been estimated that over
40 per cent. of the water resources of the Western States
are included in the National Forests. Photo by the author 232
Figure 80. View in the famous orange belt of San
Bernardino County, California. These orchards depend
absolutely upon irrigation. The watersheds from which
the necessary water comes are in the National Forests
and are protected by the Forest Service. Some of the
smaller watersheds in these mountains are said to irrigate
orchards valued at $10,000,000 232
OUR NATIONAL FORESTS
CHAPTER I
THE CREATION AND ORGANIZATION OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS
ECONOMIC CONDITIONS WHICH LED TO FOREST CONSERVATION
In order that the reader may fully appreciate the gigantic task that
has been accomplished in bringing the National Forest administration
and organization to its present state of development, it is necessary
to briefly sketch the conditions that led up to the inauguration of the
Federal Forest Policy before we stop to consider that policy and the
establishment and organization of National Forests.
_Prodigality Leads Finally to Conservation._ Every great movement,
which has for its object the betterment of the lot of mankind, lags far
behind the times. There must be an actual economic need before a new
movement can be expected to take root and flourish. Forest conservation
had no place in the household economy of nations that had forests in
superabundance. Their forests were used with prodigality. It seems to be
a great human failing to use natural resources lavishly when the supply
is apparently unlimited, and to practice frugality only when the end of
a resource is in sight. Thus we find in the pages of forestry history
that all nations have begun to husband their forest resources only after
having felt the pinch of want. In our country history repeats itself and
our federal policy of forest conservation properly begins at the time
that the national conscience was awakened to the realization that if we
did not practice economy with our forest resources we would some day be
without an adequate supply of timber and forage, and be confronted with
other dangers and calamities that follow the destruction of forests.
_The March of Forest Destruction._ When the London Company settled at
Jamestown, Virginia, in 1607 it found that unlimited pine and hardwood
forests confronted it on every side. Nor did these early settlers ever
find a way out of this forested wilderness except by clearings made with
the ax. When the Pilgrim Fathers landed at Cape Cod in 1620 they found
similar forests stretching in all directions from their town-site. After
the Atlantic seaboard became pretty well settled the home-builders began
moving westward through New York, Pennsylvania, and what is now Ohio.
Still nothing but unbroken, virgin forests were encountered. Westward to
the Mississippi civilization advanced and still forests reigned supreme.
Then the Middle West, the Rocky Mountain region, and finally the Pacific
Coast regions were settled. During 140 years civilization has spread
from coast to coast and of that vast wilderness of forest there is left
only a remnant here and there. The giant pines that sheltered De Soto
and his thousand followers on their ill-fated expedition in 1541 to
the Mississippi River have long since disappeared. Along the Allegheny
and Appalachian ranges the vast forests that once harbored the hostile
Narragansetts and Iroquois are now but a memory. The giant oak, ash, and
cypress forests of the Mississippi Valley are rapidly being decimated
by the big sawmills that work night and day to outdo each other. In
the north the dense and magnificent forests of white pine that greeted
Father Marquette, when he planted his missionary station at Sault Ste.
Marie in 1668, have been laid low. Unproductive wastes, sandy barrens,
and useless underbrush now greet the eye. In fact the pine forests which
covered the greater part of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Minnesota have been
leveled by the woodman's ax. The army of lumbermen has moved now to the
Coast to again turn virgin timberlands into unproductive wastes.
Thus forest destruction has followed civilization. Statistics show
very vividly how gradually one large lumbering center after another
has become exhausted, often leaving behind desolation and business
depression. In these large centers thriving towns sprang up only to
disappear again after the removal of the forest wealth. In 1850 about 55
per cent, of the annual cut of lumber came from the New England States;
even as late as 1865 New York furnished more lumber than any State in
the Union. By 1890 Michigan had reached the zenith of its production and
in that year the Lake States furnished 36 per cent. of the lumber cut.
By 1909 the Southern States had increased their cut to over 50 per cent.
of the total of the country. In 1913 the cut of the State of Washington
was the largest ever recorded for that State or for any other State,
even outdoing Michigan during its Golden Age. In 1915 about 20 per cent.
of the cut came from the Coast but the South still furnished almost 50
per cent.
_Our Lumber and Water Supply Imperiled._ In our prodigal use of our
forest resources we have become the most lavish users of wood in the
world. While the annual consumption per capita for France is about 25
cubic feet, and that of Germany about 40 cubic feet, our per capita
consumption is in the neighborhood of 250 cubic feet. And the most
terrible thing about our reckless methods has been that we have wasted
by crude lumbering methods and we have let great forest fires consume
many times as much lumber as we have used. There have been vast public
and private losses through unnecessary forest fires which not only
consumed millions of dollars' worth of timber every year, but which
also cost the lives of thousands of settlers. Then, as every one knows,
by being grossly negligent with our forests, our rivers have visited
their wrath upon the unfortunate people in the valleys. Many streams
have become raging torrents in the spring and only chains of stagnant
pools in the summer, thus destroying their value for water power and
irrigation. Cotton mills, which formerly used water power all the year
round, now must depend upon more expensive steam power generated by coal
to keep their mills running in times of water shortage, while during
high water there is the great danger that the entire factory might be
swept away.
THE FIRST STEPS IN FEDERAL FOREST CONSERVATION.
Gradually the national conscience became awakened to the need of a more
rational use of our forest resources. But it was not until after the
Civil War that the first steps were taken. As was to be expected, the
States in which forest destruction had reached its worst stages were the
first to attempt to mend their ways, thus leading the way along which
the Federal Government was soon to follow.
_The Upbuilding of the West._ The decade following the Civil War is
marked by the construction of some of our great trans-continental
railroads and the consequent development of the great western country.
In fact between 1865 and 1875 the railroad mileage of the United States
doubled. The first trans-continental railroad, the Union Pacific, was
completed in 1869. Others soon followed. To encourage construction and
settlement vast tracts of land were granted to the railroad companies
by the Government, and with the land much valuable timber passed from
government ownership. After the construction of the railroads towns
and villages sprang up like mushrooms. As was to be expected with this
increased development the destruction of our forests received an added
impetus. The Lake States, then the center of the lumber industry, began
to take alarm at the rapidity with which their hillsides were being
denuded. Destructive lumbering, usually followed by devastating forest
fires, was fast decimating the virgin pine forests. The young growth
that had escaped the lumberman's ax fell a prey to forest fires which
soon took the form of annual conflagrations. As the population increased
the new sections of the country were settled, and as manufacturing
operations were extended timber was getting higher in price.
_The Lake States First to Act._ The first attempt to remedy the
situation was made by the State of Wisconsin. In 1867 the Wisconsin
legislature suggested a committee who should report upon the
destruction of Wisconsin's forests. The next year Michigan took a
similar step and in 1869 the Maine legislature began to look into their
waning supply by appointing a committee to estimate the standing timber
of the State. As early as this observations and calculations upon the
rate of consumption of lumber pointed to a not far distant wood famine.
_The First Federal Steps._ The first step taken by the federal
authorities was at the urgent request of the Statistician of the
Department of Agriculture in 1870. At that time lands were recognized as
being either "improved" or "unimproved" farm lands. He recommended that
the category of "unimproved farm lands" be subdivided into "woodlands"
and "other unimproved lands." By thus dividing off woodlands from other
unimproved farm lands more attention was concentrated upon the former.
This attention was manifested in the investigations that followed
shortly in which it was estimated that 39 per cent. of the area of the
country was in woodland. This was the first and most logical step toward
taking an inventory of our forest resources.
Another early attempt to assist in forest conservation was an attempt
to reforest the treeless plains of our Western States. On March 3, 1873,
the Timber Culture Act was passed by Congress by which the planting to
timber of 40 acres of land in the treeless territories conferred the
title to 160 acres of public domain. At first this act seemed to work
out as intended but it did not take very many years before it proved
a dismal failure. Settlers had no knowledge of planting trees; the
restrictions of the act could not be enforced, and the act was open to
other abuses. The act was finally repealed in 1891. Many similar laws
for encouraging the planting of timber were passed by the legislatures
of some of the Middle Western States, but all met with little success.
In 1874 Nebraska inaugurated Arbor Day. By this act of the legislature
the second Wednesday in April of each year was set aside for planting
trees. Other States have followed the example of Nebraska, so that
to-day almost every State provides one day in the year for planting
trees. Thus Arbor Day has become practically a national institution.
_The Act of August 16, 1876._ The first constructive piece of
legislation enacted by the Congress of the United States was the Act
of August 16, 1876. This was the first of a series of Acts passed by
Congress which, although occurring many years apart in some cases,
put forest conservation upon a firm basis. Under the first act the
Commissioner of Agriculture was directed:
"To appoint some man of approved attainments who is
practically well acquainted with methods of statistical inquiry
and who has evinced an intimate acquaintance with questions
relating to the national wants in regard to timber, to prosecute
investigations and inquiries with the view of ascertaining the
annual amount of consumption, importation, and exportation of
timber and other forest products; the probable supply for future
wants; the means best adapted to their preservation and renewal;
the influence of forests upon climate and the means that have
been successfully applied in foreign countries, or that may
be deemed applicable in this country for the preservation and
restoration or planting of forests, and to report upon the same
to the Commissioner of Agriculture, to be by him in a separate
report transmitted to Congress."
Dr. Franklin B. Hough, an active, untiring, and intelligent scholar, was
the first man to be appointed by this act. As Commissioner of Forestry
he prepared the first report and submitted it to Congress. The next
year, in 1877, Congress granted its first appropriation of $6,000, "for
the purpose of obtaining other facts and information preparatory to
establishing a Division of Forestry."
_Further Work Under the Act._ The office of Commissioner of Forestry
gradually enlarged the scope of its duties and functions. Five years
later, due to the ever-increasing importance of the subject, a distinct
division, the Division of Forestry, was established in the Department
of Agriculture. The duties and powers of this Division were "to devote
itself exclusively to such investigations of the subject as would
tend to the fullest development of the resources of the country in
that respect, to discover the best methods of managing and preserving
our waning forests and to maintain in all its bearings the universal
interest involved in that industry."
In 1881 an agent of the Department was sent to Europe to study the work
of forestry there. In 1882 the American Forestry Congress was organized.
This organization had for its object the discussion and dissemination of
the important facts of forestry, and while strictly a private body, had
a considerable influence in later years in educating the people to the
needs of forestry and in helping to establish a rational forest policy
in the United States. Its first meeting took place in Cincinnati. At a
second meeting held the same year in Montreal the name was changed to
the American Forestry Association and since then has been the center
of all private efforts to advance the forestry movement. In 1898 this
association began the publication of a propagandist journal which is now
called _American Forestry_. In 1884 the duty of making experiments with
timber was added to the functions of the Division. The next year the
collecting and distribution of valuable economic tree seeds was begun.
In 1886 the study of the biology of some of our important timber trees
was taken up, while in the following year silvicultural problems first
engaged the attention of the Division.
THE FIRST FOREST RESERVES ESTABLISHED MARCH 30, 1891
_The Situation Before 1891._ Before 1891 the Division of Forestry was
simply a bureau of information. In general the information supplied
was of a twofold nature. It was technical in so far as it related
to the management of private woodlands and statistical in so far as
the knowledge of the conditions of our forest resources induced the
application of forestry principles. Up to that date Congress had
neither appropriated enough money for efficient outdoor work nor did
she attempt to put any government woodlands under the control of the
Division. Therefore there had been no management because there were no
forests to manage. This one-sided development of the forestry work of
the Division was greatly impeding a rational development of the forest
conservation movement.
_The Need of a Forest Policy._ The need for a well-defined forest
policy with respect to the government forest lands now began to be
felt. Railroad land grants, the Homestead Act, Preëmption claims, and
the Timber and Stone Act were taking much valuable timberland out of
government ownership. People secured claims under these acts merely
for the timber that was on them. The purposes of the laws and acts
of Congress were being fraudulently evaded. Also the Government had
restrictive and protective laws in regard to its lands, but it could not
enforce them on account of lack of appropriations with which to maintain
an administrative and protective organization. The time was now ripe for
an executive policy to manage the woodlands that still remained in the
possession of the Government before it was too late to save what was
left.
_The Act of March 3, 1891._ The Division of Forestry was designed by
the nature of its duties to be more than a bureau of information.
The existence of a governmental department to promulgate forestry
principles while the Government itself had made no provision to apply
such principles to its own permanent timberlands was an incongruity that
suggested further legislative action. This was in part supplied by the
law of March 3, 1891, which conferred upon the President the power to
establish Forest Reservations. The first exercise of power under this
act was the presidential proclamation creating the Yellowstone Park
Timber Land Reserve under President Harrison on March 30, 1891. This
was probably the wisest step yet taken in the development of a National
Forest policy; but, unfortunately, the act left the Division simply a
bureau of information as it was before.
AN ANOMALOUS CONDITION--FOREST RESERVES WITHOUT FOREST ADMINISTRATION
_The Need of Administration on the Reserves._ At first thought it
will be seen that this piece of legislation must necessarily remain
inoperative unless it were followed by the establishment of a proper
administration of the Reserves based upon sound forestry principles.
Furthermore, the law withdrew from public use all such lands that might
be acquired under it. It was now easy for the Government to acquire
lands; the question that next presented itself was how to protect and
regulate the use of these new acquisitions. Forest protection cannot be
secured without forest rangers and forest guards; nor forest management
without technical foresters. The very reasons for establishing the
Reserves would point to the absolute need of a system of managing them.
These reasons were briefly:
"to prevent annual conflagrations; to prevent useless
destruction of life and property by fires, etc.; to provide
benefit and revenue from the sale of forest products, fuels,
and timbers; to administer this resource for future benefit; to
increase the stock of game; to promote the development of the
country; to give regular employment to a professional staff; to
secure continuous supplies of wood and to get the maximum amount
of good from each acre."
Such arguments as these assume the presence of a force of men to protect
and administrate these Reserves.
_More Reserves Created._ In spite of this serious fault in the Act of
March 3, 1891, more Forest Reservations were created. By 1894 Presidents
Harrison and Cleveland had created about 17,500,000 acres and on a
single day, February 22, 1897, President Cleveland proclaimed over
20,000,000 acres. By the close of 1897 a total of almost 40,000,000
acres of Forest Reserves had been established.
During the six years following the law giving the President power
to establish Reserves, the Reserves were under the jurisdiction of
the General Land Office. The appropriations of Congress were small,
amounting to less than $30,000 annually. Such appropriations were used
mainly for testing timber strength and the conditions affecting quality.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF THE RESERVES UNDER THE GENERAL LAND OFFICE
_The Act of June 4, 1897._ The Secretary of the Interior in 1896
requested the National Academy of Sciences, the legally constituted
advisor of the Government in scientific matters, to investigate, report
upon, and recommend a National Forest policy. This resulted in the Act
of June 4, 1897, under which, with subsequent amendments, the National
Forests are now being administered. Under this act the Reserves remained
in the hands of the General Land Office, Department of the Interior. It
charged this office with the administration and protection of the Forest
Reservations. Later the Geological Survey was charged with surveying and
mapping them, and the Division of Forestry was asked to give technical
advice. It is very evident that the Division of Forestry containing all
the trained scientific staff had no relation to the government forestry
work except as the offices of the Department of the Interior might apply
for assistance or advice. It is true that an important step had been
taken, but the complete separation of the administration by the General
Land Office and the force of trained men in the Division of Forestry was
a serious defect.
The Act of June 4 might be called the Magna Charta of national
forestry. The U. S. Geological Survey undertook the task of surveying,
classifying, and describing the Forest Reservations. At a cost of
about one and one-half million dollars over 70,000,000 acres of Forest
Reserves were mapped and described. The General Land Office undertook
the administration and Forest Superintendents and Rangers were appointed
to take charge of the Reservations. The rules and regulations for
administering the Reserves were formulated by the Commissioner of the
General Land Office.
_The Division of Forestry in 1898._ On July 1, 1898, the Division of
Forestry employed 11 persons, 6 clerical and 5 scientific. There were
also some collaborators and student assistants. There was no field
equipment and no field work. But in the fall of 1898 an important
step was taken. From that time on the Division of Forestry offered
practical assistance to forest owners and thus it shifted its field of
activity from the desk to the woods. The lumbermen were met on their
own grounds and actual forest management for purely commercial ends was
undertaken by well known lumbermen. From that time dates the solution of
specific problems of forest management and the development of efficient
methods of attacking them. The work of the Division at this time,
therefore, consisted of activities along 4 distinct lines: (1) that of
working plans, (2) that of economic tree planting, (3) that of special
investigations, and (4) that of office work. Thus it will be seen, even
at this late date the Division had practically nothing to say about the
scientific forestry methods which should be used on the Reservations.
_The Bureau of Forestry._ In 1901 the Division of Forestry was raised
to the rank of a Bureau, but this was a change in name only and carried
with it no change in the handling of the Government's vast forest
resources.
THE CONSOLIDATION OF THE FORESTRY WORK IN THE DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE
IN 1905
_The Act of February 1, 1905._ The necessity of consolidating the
various branches of government forest work became apparent and was urged
upon Congress by President Roosevelt and by the executive officers
concerned. This was finally accomplished by the act of February 1, 1905,
by which entire jurisdiction over the Forest Reserves was transferred
to the Secretary of Agriculture. Matters of surveying and passage of
title, however, were still kept under the jurisdiction of the General
Land Office. By this act the Division of Forestry for the first time in
its career became an administrative organization. On July 1 of the same
year the Bureau of Forestry became the Forest Service and in 1907 the
change of name from "Forest Reserves" to "National Forests" was made to
correct the impression that the forests were like reserves which had
been withdrawn from use.
_Early Forestry Education and Literature._ The Act of February 1,
1905, was the final step which established the federal policy with
regard to our National Forests. At this stage it will be interesting
to note briefly the status of the science of American Forestry and
of forestry education. As late as the spring of 1898 there was no
science or literature on American Forestry, nor could education in
the subject be procured in the country. But soon thereafter several
forestry schools were established, namely, Cornell Forestry School in
1898, Yale School of Forestry and Biltmore Forest School in 1899, and
the University of Michigan Forestry School in 1903. The beginning of
the twentieth century saw the first professional foresters graduated
and taking upon themselves the task of applying scientific forestry
methods to the National Forests. Further evidence of the growth of the
profession of forestry was the organization of the Society of American
Foresters in 1900. The first professional journal was started in 1902
as the _Forestry Quarterly_, and other scientific forestry literature
was issued by the Government. The scientific knowledge gathered in the
field work since 1898 has taken the form of a rapidly growing literature
on the subject which has formed the basis of the science of American
Forestry.
_Changes in the Forest Service Personnel._ By 1905 the work of the
Forest Service had increased to such an extent that the number of
employees was increased to 821. With the opening of the forestry
schools, professional foresters became available and the National
Forests then began to be put into the hands of expert scientific men.
Gradually the old type of untrained, non-scientific woodsman is being
replaced by the trained forester. In addition, the entire force was
made a part of the classified Civil Service and the plan of political
appointees was banished forever.
_More National Forests Created._ While the administration of the
National Forests was being adjusted the area of National Forests was
constantly being increased. To the 40,000,000 acres of Reserves set
aside by Presidents Harrison and Cleveland before 1897, President
McKinley added over 7,000,000 acres until 1901. When Roosevelt became
President the National Forest policy received an added impetus and
vigor. Being a great lover of the out-of-door-life and being especially
well acquainted, on account of his extensive travels, with the great
western country, President Roosevelt threw his powerful influence into
the balance. With the close coöperation of Mr. Gifford Pinchot, his warm
personal friend, and at that time the Chief Forester, Mr. Roosevelt
set aside between 1901 and 1909 over 148,000,000 acres of National
Forests, more than three times as much as had been set aside by all his
predecessors together. Since 1909 a careful adjustment of the boundaries
has been going on, both Presidents Taft and Wilson adding small areas
here and there, which were found valuable for forestry purposes, or
eliminating small areas found to have no value. Acts of Congress passed
since 1907 prohibit the addition by the President to the National
Forests already established in Washington, Oregon, California, Idaho,
Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado. Additions can be made in these States
only by special act of Congress. A number of such acts have been passed;
some of them upon petitions of the people in these States.
_The Growth of the Forest Service._ The growth of the Forest Service
between 1897 and 1917 is little short of marvelous. The number of its
employees has increased from 61 in 1898 to 3,544 on June 30, 1917. The
annual appropriations have increased from less than $30,000 in 1897 to
$5,712,275 for the fiscal year 1918. But besides this appropriation
for 1918 the Weeks Law calls for an expenditure of $2,100,000 and the
Federal Aid Road Act for $1,000,000 more. The receipts of the National
Forests have also increased by leaps and bounds. In 1897 the receipts
were practically negligible in amount but by 1906 they had reached
approximately $800,000. In the fiscal year 1917 they were more than
$3,457,000.
_Recent Modifications in the Organization._ Further slight modifications
in the organization, as established in 1905, were made since that
date. Before 1908 all the work of the Forests was supervised from the
main office in Washington and this arrangement caused much delay and
inconvenience in carrying on the business of the Forests. In the fall
of 1908 six administrative districts were established, to which another
was added in 1914. By this arrangement the National Forests are divided
into 7 groups and each group has a district headquarters in a large
city or town centrally located in the group. The District Office acts
as sort of clearing house for all National Forest business. All matters
in the administration and protection of the National Forests that
cannot be settled on the Forest or appear to be of general importance
to the district are taken to the District Office, which is in charge of
a District Forester and several assistants. Beginning in 1909 Forest
Experiment Stations were established in each district and in 1910 the
Forest Products Laboratory, the first one of its kind in the world, was
formally opened at Madison, Wisconsin. The Weeks Law, passed on March
1, 1911, provides for the acquisition of forest lands on the watersheds
of navigable streams in the Appalachian and White Mountains. Up to June
30, 1917, over 1,500,000 acres have been approved for purchase in these
mountains. The Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina was recently
organized from purchased lands.
THE PRESENT ORGANIZATION OF THE FOREST SERVICE
_The Administrative Districts._ The administration of the National
Forests and the conduct of all matters relating to forestry which
have been placed upon the Department of Agriculture are in charge of
the Forester whose office is in Washington, D. C. To facilitate the
administration of the Forests 7 districts have been established with
headquarters in the following places:
District 1. (Montana, northeastern Washington, northern Idaho,
and northwestern South Dakota) Missoula, Montana.
District 2. (Colorado, Wyoming, the remainder of South Dakota,
Nebraska, northern Michigan, and northern Minnesota)
Denver, Colorado.
District 3. (Most of Arizona and New Mexico) Albuquerque, New
Mexico.
District 4. (Utah, southern Idaho, western Wyoming, eastern and
central Nevada, and northwestern Arizona) Ogden,
Utah.
District 5. (California and western Nevada) San Francisco,
California.
District 6. (Washington, Oregon, and Alaska) Portland, Oregon.
District 7. (Arkansas, Florida, Oklahoma, and the newly
purchased areas in South Carolina, Georgia, North
Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, New
Hampshire, Maine, and Alabama,) Washington, D. C.
Each administrative district embraces a number of National Forests and
is in charge of a Forest officer known as the District Forester who
is responsible to the Forester for all administrative and technical
work performed within the district. Each District Forester is aided
by several assistants and by specialists in various lines of work.
Each National Forest is in charge of a Forest Supervisor who may
have a Deputy and a Forest Assistant or Forest Examiner to assist
him if the amount of business on a National Forest warrants it. Each
National Forest is subdivided into Ranger districts for the purpose of
facilitating the protection work. Each Ranger district is in charge of a
Ranger who may be assisted by other Rangers or Forest Guards.
_The Washington Office._ The work of the Forest Service in Washington is
organized under the Office of Forester and the Branches of Operation,
Lands, Silviculture, Research, Grazing, Engineering, and Acquisition
of lands under the Weeks Law. The Office of Forester includes the
Associate Forester, the Editor, the Dendrologist, the Chief of Accounts,
besides Inspectors and Lumbermen. The Branch of Operation administers
and supervises the business organization of the Forest Service and
has general supervision of the personnel, quarters, equipment, and
supplies of the Service and all the fire protection and permanent
improvement work on the National Forests. The Branch of Lands examines
and classifies lands in the Forests to determine their value for forest
purposes, conducts the work in connection with claims on the Forests
prior to proceedings before United States registers and receivers,
and assists the Chief Engineer of the Service in handling matters in
connection with the occupation and use of the National Forest lands for
hydro-electric power purposes. The Branch of Silviculture supervises
the sale and cutting of timber on the National Forests and coöperates
with States in protecting forest lands under Section 2 of the Weeks Law.
The Branch of Research has supervision over the investigative work of
the Service, including silvicultural studies, studies of state forest
conditions, investigations of the lumber and wood-using industries and
lumber prices, and the investigative work carried on at the Forest
Products Laboratory and the Forest Experiment Stations. The Branch of
Grazing supervises the grazing of live stock upon the National Forests,
allotting grazing privileges and dividing the ranges between different
owners and classes of stock. It is also charged with the work of
improving depleted grazing lands and of coöperating with the Federal and
state authorities in the enforcement of stock quarantine regulations.
The Branch of Engineering has to do with the proper designing and
planning of roads, trails, and bridges; with the engineering problems
involved in granting permits to hydro-electric plants in the Forests;
and with the making of forest maps, surveys, improving the forest atlas,
and other drafting work. The Branch of Acquisition of Lands under the
Weeks Law has charge of examining and evaluating such lands which are
offered for purchase and recommending suitable lands for purchase under
the act.
_The District Offices._ Each District Office (of which there are 7) is
organized in the main along the same lines as the Washington office.
Each Branch in the Washington office is represented in the District
Office by an Assistant District Forester or some similar official.
The Office of the District Forester has in addition the Office of
Solicitor (Forest Service Branch), which is in charge of an assistant
to the Solicitor of the Department of Agriculture. He is the advisor
to the District Forester in all matters of law which arise in the
administration of the National Forests. His opinions are usually binding
except that, in urgent cases, appeal may be taken to the Solicitor of
the Department at Washington through the Forester. Many cases of law
arise on the National Forests such as cases of timber, fire, and grazing
trespass. All these are handled in the Office of the District Forester.
The Office of Accounts in the districts is in charge of the District
Fiscal Agent who is an assistant to the Chief of Accounts in the
Washington Office. Three of the districts have a Branch of Products. The
Experiment Stations in the districts are under the supervision of the
District Forester and the men in charge of them bear the same relation
to the District Office as the Supervisor of a National Forest. Most
of the districts also have in the Office of Silviculture a Consulting
Pathologist who has charge of all problems relating to tree diseases.
The following scheme will illustrate in a general way the organization
of the Forest Service and show how the National Forests are administered
at the present time: