The Bemidji daily pioneer. [volume] (Bemidji, Minn.) 1904-1971, 1904-12-06

E. ~
resources must be used in such way
as to make them permanent.
The forest policy Of the government
- just now subject Of vivid public
interest throughout the west and to the
people of the United States in general.
The forest reserves themselves are of
extreme value to the present as we'll as
to the future welfare Of all the west
ern public land states. They powerful
~ affect the use and disposal of the
public lands. They are of special i'm
portance because they preserve the
water supply and the supply Of timber
Tor domestic purposes and so promote
settlement under the reclamation act.
Indeed they are essential to the well
fare Of every one Of the great interests
OF the west.
Forest reserves are created for two
principal purposes The first is to pre-
serve the water supply. This is their
most important use. The principal
users Of the water thus preserved are
irrigation ranchers and settlers, cities
and towns to whom their municipal
water supplies are Of the very first i'm
portance, users and furnishers of wa
ter power and the users Of water for
domestic, manufacturing. mining and
other purposes. All these are directly
dependent upon the forest reserves.
The second reason for which forest
reserves are created is to preserve the
timber supply for various classes of
wood users. Among the more impor-
tant Of these are settlers under the
reclamation act and other acts, for
whom cheap and accessible supply
Of timber for domestic uses is absolute
ly necessary; miners and prospectors,
who are in serious danger Of losing
their timber supply by fire or through
export by lumber companies when TIM
Der lands adjacent to their mines pass
into private ownership; lumbermen,
transportation companies, builders and
commercial interests in general.
Although the wisdom of creat ting for
est reserves is nearly everywhere
heartily recognized, yet In few locali--
ties there has been misunderstanding
and complaint. The following state
ment is therefore desirable:
The forest reserve policy can be sue
cessful only when it has the full sup
port Of the people Of the west. It can
not safely and should not in any case
be imposed upon them against their
will. But neither can we accept the
views Of those whose only interest in
the forest is temporary, who are anx-
ious to reap what they have not sown
and then move away, leaving desola-
ton behind them. On the contrary, 1t
is everywhere and always the interest
Of the permanent settler and the per-
manent business man, the man with
stake In the country, which must be
considered and which must decide.
The making Of forest reserves within
railroad and wagon road land grant
limits will hereafter as for the past
three years, be so managed as to pre-
vent the issue under the act Of June 4,
1897, of base for exchange or lieu Sc
lection Casually called scrip. In all
cases where forest reserves within
areas covered by land grants appear to
be essential to the prosperity Of set
tiers, miners or others the government
lands within such proposed forest re-
serves will, as In the recent past, be
withdrawn from sale Or entry pending
the completion Of such negotiations
with the owners Of the land grants as
will prevent the creation Of so called
scrip.
1t was formerly the custom to make
forest reserves without first getting
definite and detailed information as to
the character Of land and timber with
in their boundaries. This method of
action often resulted in badly chosen
boundaries and consequent injustice to
settlers and others. Therefore this adj
ministration adopted the present meth
cd of first withdrawing the land from
disposal, followed by careful examina-
ton on the ground and the preparation
Of detailed maps and descriptions, be-
fore any forest reserve is created.
have repeatedly called attention to
the confusion which exists in govern
Is scattered among three Independent
organizations. The United States is the
only one Of the great nations in which
the forest work Of the government Is
not concentrated under one department
in consonance with the plainest die
tates Of good administration and com
mon sense. The present arrangement
is bad from every point Of view. Merely
to mention 1t is to prove that 1t should
be terminated at once. As I have re-
peatedly recommended, all the forest
work Of the government should be con-
centrated in the department of agricu]-
ture, where the larger part Of that
work is already done, where practieal-
" all Of the trained foresters Of the
government are employed, where chief
ly in Washington there is comprehen-
sive first hand knowledge Of the prob
lens Of the reserves acquired on the
ground, where all problems relating to
growth from the soil are already gath
cred and where all the sciences auxil-
larry to forestry are at hand for prompt
and effective cooperation. These rea-
sons are decisive in themselves, but it
should be added that the great organi-
cations Of citizens whose interests are
affected by the forest reserves, such as
the National Live Stock association,
the National Wool Growers associa-
ton, the American Mining congress,
the National Irrigation congress and
the National Board of Trade, have uni
formly, emphatically and most Of them