The morning call., 1892-12-31
How Their Destruction
May Be Stayed.
IMPORTANT
REPORT.
The Board of. Forestry Commissioners
Point Out Some Grave Dangers
Menacing Prosperity.

brilla upon lrrlghioH the IepOi
=. se National Park reservation, the destrue-
ln of forests by fires. the subject ol storage
iservoirs. ana the "asteIul theIhouS OF
- mbermen. -
The. commissioners report shat their ur-
q ,anf appeals 10 Congress for assistance in
iraseryinE the forests have at last been
5aei1ed. and thafthe result Of their efforts
+ ..as sO6en:4ha.wthdrawal from entry and sale
+ flarG6 tracts in the Sierra Nevada and the
!. .fob3is6ment- of several reservations aud
oatfonil, parks, which have been guarded
hv United States troops against depreda-
tors. TIese.nationai PARKS have also served
s,obisff, lessons 10 the peo pie of California
the henFfcialresults Of the policy adopted
hv:t6e iIgyefnmeut have been SO marked
end 81 :abvi0us.:t that an Intelligent public
demand foT extension OF. the reservation
system: has arisen.
.,fs. one result memorial prepared by
= .f1nventi6f of citizens of several counties
+: :urtes.tlle reservation OF about 1000 square
G.. niles: between the one hundred and
o.. ghfeentil and one hundred and twentieth
=: ii,el7Gfi ans and The thlrly-ifth and thirty
...-FlshtL parallels. including the entire east
rS ,g5atershed of the San JOAQUIN. Kings.
: .KgNeal,: Tule. White, Deer and Kern
: rivers add:their tributaries.
@s'Fhe proposed reservation is mainly of a
mountainous character. with valleys and
- 3idt6ais of greater or less breadth, the
. -oiuit8ins ranging from 1000 to II, 600 feet
- height. 1t mbraces about dozen scat
red gEGYes of the famous sequoias, or big
.rees; aud GbOnDds with the pines, frs and
gruce commonly found IN the Sierra Ne
- ada>bdns6.
The nem6rialists ask for the establish
nent 81 this. reservation for two reasons:
'fTst5nd. above al. as being necessary to
! tf4 mo nj .af at of
y large eagTlcultur& region; second, as being
essential to tie preservation of those great
Cuii1S ties; the big trees, which are now
:h;eF.ened with speedy extinction.
- Timber spectators and sheepherders.
however, are already making havoc of these
forests, the former cutting timber reck-
trssly.s the latter destroying tile under
growth and;Often kiadling fires, by accident
: -0E'Qes sn, which cause widespread destru c.
. tQuOE Etle forest fora and vegetation of all
" kinds:
.The.result IS an alienation OF floods and
drousbis ID the valleys below, with which
any proper system of irrigation is incom-
= paub6 and. Which. If continued, will make
agfiC6NDTQl pursuits no longer practicable
snd JUrI this now fertile region into a
CESt II a-aln.: ..
=, TIE .dDdaTies Of the proposed Tulare
ts-natOh have not been established, but
aH agent 9f::the General Land Office is al
q. .3Tkf XamlnlTg the lands within the pro-
= sed mes: and upon the completion of his
Gork,-tbe reservation undoubtedly will be
.essdbi shed by pr0elamation.
=: One 4 the most. serious dangers which
.. tie DQaTd has had TO deal with is the forest
:, III Tes II 0. propeTly guard the forests would
. .TeGulIe- the employment OF a great number
.@9i.Ile y. at a large expense.
=. laeState shOuld either employ a sufficient
fC-Ce 10 patrol and efficiently protect the
forests, or adopt some other method of pro-
- ifetlQn. a s0lutl0nof the problem NAV be
II Ieundln the bill prepared by the board aud
g.: pEeselted.ln the report, which provides for
= re. appointment OF ire wardens in every
q. eounlE y bo shall be paid by the counties
for actual services rendered.
Ikese p0ints are further elaborated by
alien ,helly, executive officer of the board.
- In tie course of extensive travel throug b.
= ou! the State: he has gathered a mass of
: tacts shQWlng. that sheepherders have de-
r stLeyed .aq1mmense amount Of timber, and
t1at.they leave in their wake barren places,
s" where's few years ago there were forests
+. And YET. IN spite of all these facts, he
.saJ -, ,iEo1o' are sOuiS Ian yho deny the
.sltspnerders are responsible T0r the de-
StIUc5lou OF Hm Der 10 the Sierra.
= .0ne.od resident has invented an original
tleoTg tO.acc0unt. for forest fires. He at
:. tributes most of the fires to spontaneous
= cQnibasti0n, aud, what is more, he has seen
=. tie forests spontaneously combust. He
]afefs tlrar be has seen the top of sugar pine
Z,
.. ana itas seen nreS start on the top of
= Cathedral Rocks, where the foot of man
never trOd. *:His theory is that gIobuIes Of
; pgCh-c h-concen rate the rays of the sun, jus;
as haTnlng-glass does, and set fire 10 them
Serves but there has been no spontaneous
eomb,stTOn :iu Yosemite Park since 1890
and lAm IqcLlned to regard the absence OF
shfepA erders acd the nOn-occurrence OF
tolfst ilres. as something more than acei-
z s-coineldences.
! damage done to the great forests Of
t.llgh Sierra cam OF be appreciated nor
fentood Until one has Travelled through
.4t. .u, along 1.-The lines followed by the
sheep: Having been in structed by the
i grestfy g commissioners 10 make an ex-
-i01@1f the timber lands of the head
y at S of:.9e San Joaquin River. | accepted
vital on of Captain Wood 10 accom-
PAM In@nd a portion of his troop on a
p scout .rg tElD through the southeastern part
.el' tha.=1A &tlonal Park, where the North
t0rk ~ several tributaries of the San
Leaving >Wawona: eally one rainy morn
l8g#in September w9' marched all day
taIol IN. ra!1, hail aud snow and made
'galll az nlgf[ In the edge OF the tamaracK
'tcle- near Chlauita Lake. Between the
chihuahua Greek and the South Fork OF
ne Alerced"the forest had not been dam
-agei much by fire.:
> AQer crossing Jackass Meadows we got
d.. into;tbe 6r timber in the region drained by
the \ OTth Fork OF the San Joaquin. and the
F. etlscts Of reeentG9rest fires were evident on
ali SIDES. .The:large trees were mostly dead
: .0T.Aylrg, and. the absence OF saplngs was
no} eefble.. The ground was incumbered
wiih the esafred logs Of trees that had
been killed and had fallen, and blackened
COLUMNS OF: forest giants were scattered
through the groves.
e During the first days march few deeE
: } i4ped out OF the brush aud bounded away
as:the columns passed along the trails, and
993il frequently arose and whirred down
tiiel ellllsides, but after entering the country
tA@ Las Deen grazing ground fora sheep no
game OF any: kind was TO be seen. Deer
eahn0t live where sheep run, because the
.sAeeb destroy all the browse. The sheep
are lFiyen into the mountains at the time OF
me year when grouse and quail are nesting,
ana he eggs aud chicks of birds that nest
on .iheiground are destroyed by the patter-
ing l0ofs of the wOolly horde. The high
mountain region is tie natural nome of the
grouse, but In amarch of 80 miles only five
ei l1e.birds were seen.
I he desolatlon Of the country Is intensi-
nee .OY the absence Of animal life, but more
seIlCas than the destruction of game is the
.Hreparable injury to the forests on the
watersheds Of the large streams that are fed
Dy esaow IN the high Sierras.
~. e years ago last October when
a. ~ Agnew came down out Of the
20! s. he counted ninety-two forest
re ~ Il watershed Of the San Joaquin.
..t ~ "a hs place and Jackass Meadows.
me T. 'ep sd gone out just ahead of him.
y as,' gar iloTe were no sheep in that part
a -: e9ui:ry, and there was not single
II lolue rears it would have been diff
Su5-; o5- = .1mpany of eleven men. with
!, horse. and packtrain, 30 get
~ .h+-tle- 50untry on the route we took
- ~ Ieasonthat they could have found
~ leeo For their animals, and would have
tgen teen compelled to pack grain. Last year
.,.e sIass was plentiful on ali the meadows.
@1S a1 camp could be made almost anywhere.
Ine miners OF the North Fork and the
O"!eIss. of pre-emption and homestead
"a ms ithiu the park have not found it
: less q 10 stand guard with Wlnchesters
yer --ef grass lands, as they have found
sue to go away for day or two
Ht'" orryiig over the prObabl that