The Rathdrum tribune. (Rathdrum, Idaho) 1903-1963, 1904-04-01
SAVING OUR FORESTS.
The National Forester Discusses
Forest Reserves.

''BefOre any discussion OF the forest
reserve question In the West, there
should be a clcar understanding Of
the Governments policy IN creating
and managing these reserves" said
Mr.. Clifford Pinchot, Forester, Of the
Bureau OF Forestry.
! Through ignorance OF this policy,
possibly justified 10 some measure by
occasional mistaken Interpretation Of
1t by over jealous or Incompetent
officials, many citizens have object.
ions to reserves which they would be
the first to drop II they understood
the true situation. The Government
has but one aim In creating forest
resersrs--the best permanent use or
the land by the people and the pre-
vention Of waste Of any Of its rcsour-
ccs.
"The possible uscs Of most forest
areas are manifold. They may in.
cludc the production Of lumber, or Of
mineral, or Of pasture, or the conser.
vatiOn Uf water. One Of these func-
tions may be the most important or
all may Dr. fairly well balanced, but
] in any case the industries and resour-
ces Of q region, or u state, should be
considered as parts Of q whole, each
contributing to and sharing the geo.
eral good. Practically every import
ant industry ia the ntcr-monntain
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 IL placed
! under management which will pre-
vent undue promotion OF one at the
expense OF the aggregate good Of all.
"a trip through The white pine
etates OF the Great Lakes region, or
through hundred other once forest
cd districts OF the world, will con.
vince any man OF the short sighted
abuse Of timber resources, and OF the
effect of attendant forest fires on
permanent prosperity. For a while
/ tinles are good; towns and railroads
are built. farms are cleared, and
prosperity is evident everywhere, but
IL does not last. Only the best tim.
Der IL cut, while millions OF dollars
worth Ut poorer material, which In
time would be worth quite as much,
is destroyed by Ores. These flres also
kill all young growth and seed trees
and eventually turn the land into
desert, which Is abandoned by Its
owners and does not eveo pay taxes.
The mills are moved away, the towns
abandoned. the farmers hnd them.
srlves without a market, and the
enterprises, and sometimes even the
counties, which were built upon such
unstable foundations, become bank.
rupt. This is not theory, 1t is his
tory written in lumber district after
lumber district, not only all over the
United States, but throughout the
world.
''Thc lumbcrmen were not to blame;
it was only the natural outcome OF
conditions which Obliged them to
conduct their business in this way or
lose money. The private owner of
timber often cannot afford to do
otherwise. But tie Government can,
and this is the reason why every
civilized country in the world, includ-
ing our own. has adopted the forest
reserve system.
III sufficicntly large and we'll dis
tributed areas can be held as reserves,
only the mature timber cut, and the
young g-"wth protected from fires,
there is no reason why numbering
should not be permanent and pro-
atablc Industry. Small mills, scat
tered over the timber districts, will
pcrpctuatc local prosperity, and the
price Of lumber to the resident will
be low. Without reserves the present
tendency toward syndicate ownership
Of all commercial timber is apt to
result not only in wasteful use, but
in the disappearance Of the small mill
and 10 high prices for luaaber.
s'AlnOst II not quite as important
| is the relation OF forest reserves to
miaing, which absolutely requires an
immense amount Of timber and a
sustained supply Of water. In all
cases its profits depend directly upon
the cheapness OF these commodities.
Without protection from fire and
from enterprising lumbcrmen who
may acquire all the timber around
.htm aud shlpit out Of The states