The San Francisco call., 1904-03-21
Savnig orr Forests.

BEFORE any GlSCUSSlOu OF the lolCSt
reserve question in the West there
should be a clear understanding of the
Governments policy in creating and
managing these. reserves.
Through ignorance of this policy,
possibly justified in some measure by
occasional mistaken Interpretation of
II by overzeaIous or incompetent Of
hcials. many citizens have objections
10 reserves which they would be the
first TO drop if they understood the
true situation. The Government has
but one aim in creating forest re-
serves-the best permanent use Of the
land by the people and the prevention
OF waste of any of its resources.
The possible uses Of most forest
areas are manifold. They may in
clude the production Of lumber, or of
mineral, or of pasture, or the conser-
walton Of water. one Of these func-
tiOns may be the most important or
all may be fairly well balanced, but
In any case the industries and re-
sources of a region. or a State, should
be considered as parts of a whole,
each contributing to and sharing the
general good. Practically every i'm
pOrtant industry in the intermountain
States. whether mining, agriculture,
grazing or numbering, depends for its
existence upon the forests of these
States. and the forests can serve all
these interests best only if placed un-
der a management which will prevent
undue promotion of one at the eX-
pense Of the aggregate good Of all.
trip through the white pine
States OF the Great Lakes region, or
through a hundred other once forested
districts of the world, will convince
any man Of the short sighted abuse Of
timber resources, and of the effect Of
attendant forest fires on permanent
prosperity. For q while times are
good: towns and railroads are built;
farms are cleared and prosperity is
evident everywhere, but it does not
last. Only the best timber is cut,
while millions Of dollars worth of
poorer material. which in time would
be worth quite as much, is destroyed
by fires. These fires also kill all young
growth and seed trees and eventually
turn the land into a desert, which is
abandoned by its owners and does not
even pay taxes. The mills are moved
away, the towns abandoned, the far
mers find themselves without a mar
ket and the enterprises, and some
times even the counties, which were
built upon such unstable foundations,
become bankrupt. This is not theory;
il is history written in lumber district
after lumber district. not only all over
the United States, but throughout the
world.
The lumbeFmen were not to blame;
it was only the natural outcome of
conditions which obliged them to con-
duct their business in this way or lose
money. The private owner of tim
ber often cannot afford TO do other
wise. But the Government can, and
this is the reason why every civil
lied country in the world, including
our own, has adopted the forest re-
serve system.
II sufficiently large and we'll dis
tributed areas can be held as re-
serves, only the mature timber cut,
and the young growth protected from
fires, there is no reason why lumber
ing should not be a permanent and
profitable industry. Small mills scat
tered over the timber districts viii
perpetuate local prosperity, and the
price of lumber TO the resident will
be low. Without reserves the pres
ent tendency toward syndicate own
ership of all commercial timber is
apt to result not only in wasteful use,
but in the disappearance of the small
mill and in high prices for lumber.
Almost if not quite as important
is the relation of forest reserves to
fa1r
immense amount Of timber and a sus-
tanned supply of water. In all cases
its profits depend directly upon the
cheapness of these commodities. With
out protection from fire, and from en-
terprising lumbermen who may ac-
ouire all the timber around them and
ship it out of the States, many i'm
portant mining camps are certain to
be in serious straits in a few years.
One OF the objects of forest reserves
is TO preserve the timber for its logical
users Reserves DO not make it more
difficult for miners to secure timber, for
prospectors are allowed free use of all
they need ard large concerns can pur-
chase as cheap or cheaper than from
private spectators. There is no inten-
tion Of working hardship on legitimate
industries, for the desire is simply to
secure the following objects:
1-Maintenance of the area intact
under one mana cement.
Establishment of fire protection
3-Preservation Of resources for local
use.
s-Reguiation. as far as practicable,
CT grazing and timber cutting so as to
prevent waste and utilize the full pro-
duction cf forest and range.
5-Protection Of young growth so as
10 insure future supply.
Prospecting and locating Of mining
claims are in no way iaterfered with
by. reserve regulations. for the mining
laws apply exactly as on the public do
main. Settlers and others are allowed
free all the timber they use. Reser-
vOirs, roads. stores. and similar enter
prises are permitted upon application.
Grazing by sheep and cattle is permit
ted with only such restrictions as prove
necessary 20 preserve the range and
protect settlers. or others having rights