The Minneapolis journal. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1888-1939, 1904-11-19
MINNESOTA FOREST
RESERVE UNIQUE
First Ever Made by Direct Act Of
Congress, It Stands
Alone.

forest reserve stands alone as the only
forest reserve ever created by act OF
congress, not by presidential proclama-
tion. Executive authority is limited to
otherwise appropriated: The Minnesota
reserve is a part of the land formerly
set aside for the Chippewa Indians, and
hence was not PUBLIC land subject, to
presidential action. Congress alone had
i IN 1902, known s ' as the morris n
regulating the sale Of the pine timber
on the 100000 acres coded to the gov
eminent by the Indians, and setting
aside 225,ooo acres Of it as forest re-
serve. i
In addition, certain specified tracts
and all the islands in Cass and Leech
lakes were reserved as Indian lands, to-
gether with 6,4OO acres more to be desig-
mated by the buFea4 of b forestry Try and
settlement. Of the 225,0O0 acres 100000
must be selected from land classed as
ffpine land" and the remaining $4,000
acres from lana 4, classified as "agrieu!l-
was also assigned to the same bureau.
The 6,4O0 acres chosen lie along the east
and south shores Of Cass lake, and all
around an arm Of this lake extending
southwark. called Pike bay, and four or
Nature has made the locality exceeding
~ attractive, and reserving it from the
ak and settlement will keep from de-.
struction the wilderness beauty Of these
lakes 6x get n box f ere OF virgin pine:
already selected 105, 900, lying in a fairly
compact body northeast, east and south
east Of Cass lake. The selection of the
remaining 10000 acres awaits the COM
pletion Of the Indian allotments to be
made in that region and the delineation
by the war department Of the exact flow
age lines for the areas that will be sub
merged when the water reaches the legal
height behind it's two dams, already
constructed. -. .s..-
The law requires that on the 100000
acres of pine land IS per cent of the pine
should be immediately. cut, leaving 5
Z per cent for reforestation. Far better
results would have followed had the law
PROVIDED j for a the e. protection d from cut
was all that could be obtained at the
time the Morris bill was passed.
The law of 1889 provided for the sale
Of the land and the pine at the same
two. The pine was to be. Sold but the
denuded land was to be classed as agri-
cultural and to be opened to homestead
sale and settlement, except the portion
care was taken to prescribe such meth
DDS of sale as would permit the realiza-
tion of the highest possible price for
the timber, the proceeds from the sale of
which were to go to the Indians. Briefly
put, therefore, the intent of the law
was to secure for the Indians the full
market price for the timber Sold to
IL provide against the destruction Of a for
est part of which might advantageous
ly be made permanent by leaving a small
percentage of the. merchantable trees,
and to open to agricultural use the land
suitable for this purpose.
The pine timber on the 100000 acres
already selected by the bureau has been
sold, subject to the per cent reserva-
tion clause. It brought better price
than did similar timber outside the re-
serve, sold without such restrictions.
The bureau has marked on $4,000 acres
left standing, and the work Of marking
the remainder is rapidly going forward.
It is estimated that IL will require three
or four years to remove the timber from
the lands already selected, and that it
Will be seven or eight years before the
timber Of the whole 100000 acres is re-
moved. 49,.
In the meantime the bureau has per-
formed its duty under the law carefully
and as expeditiously as possible. 1T
4 located the reserve on the headwaters of
the Mississippi, where it will most eff.
fectively serve It's function. The loca.
ton OF the 6,4o0 acres comprising the
ten sections reserved from sale, OF set:
Element is also conceded to be the most
advantageous possible. The agents OF
the bureau have more than half finished
marking the per cent of trees to be
left. on the first selection, and in this
work will easily keep ahead Of the lum
bering under the sales that have beer
made. l.~
With the question of what further
equitable claims against the govern
ment the Indians may have, the bureau
OF forestry OF course has nothing to do