The Savannah morning news. (Savannah, Ga.) 1900-current, 1904-12-07
PROTECTION or THE FORESTS.
The Governments Forest Policy One
of Vital Interest.

The Governments Forest Policy One
of Vital Interest.
1t is the cardinal principle of the
forest-reserve policy of this admins
tration that the reserves are for use.
Whatever interferes with the use of
their resources is to be avoided by
every possible means. But these re-
sources must be used in such a way
as to make them permanent.
The forest policy of the government
is just now subject of vivid public
interest throughout the West and to
the people of the United States in gen
eral. The forest reserves themselves
are of extreme value to the present
as well as to the future welfare of
all the western public land states.
They powerfully affect the use
and disposal of the public lands.
They are of special importance because
they preserve the water supply and the
supply of timber for domestic pur-
poses, and so promote settlement I'M
der the reclamation act. Indeed, they
are essential to the welfare OF every
one of the great interests of the West.
The Purpose of Forest Reserves.
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
importance, users and furnishers of
water power, and the users of water
for domestic, manufacturing, mining,
and other purposes. All these are di-
rectly dependent upon the forest re-
serves.
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 a cheap and accessible supply
of timber for domestic users is abso-
lutely necessary; miners and prospec-
tors, who are in serious danger of los
ing their timber supply by fire or
through export by lumber companies
when timber lands adjacent to their
mines pass into private ownership;
lumbermen, transportation companies,
builders and commercial interests in
general.
The Forest Reserve Policy.
Although the wisdom of creating for
est reserves is nearly everywhere
heartily recognized, yet in a few To-
calities there has been misunderstand-
ing and complaint. The following
statement 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. 1t
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
anxious to reap what they have not
sown and then move away, leaving
desolation behind them. On the con-
trary 1t is everywhere and always the
interest of the permanent settler and
the permanent business man, the man
with a stake in the country, which
must be considered and which must
decide
Within Land Grant Limits.
The making OF forest reserves with
in 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 in lieu
selection CASUALLY called scrip In all
cases where forest reserves within
areas covered by land grants appear tc
be essential to the prosperity of set
tiers. miners or others, the govern
ment lands within such proposed for
est reserves Will, as In the recent past
be Withdrawn from sale on entry pend.
ing the completion Of such negotiations
with the owners Of the land grants
as Will prevent the creation OF so-callec
scrip.
II was formerly the custom TO make
forest reserves without first getting
definite and detailed information as "a
the character OF land and timber
within their boundaries. This method
of action often resulted in badly
chosen boundaries ana consequent Ia.
Justice 20 settlers and others. There.
fore this administration adopted me
present method Of first Withdrawing
the ilrf from disposal followed by
careful examination on the ground and
me preparation 0f detailed maps and