The San Francisco call., 1906-12-30

less than eighteen months ago.
The States efforts are exerted
through the State Board Of Forestry.
created by the act of March Is. 1905.
and consisting Of the Governor. Secre-
tary OF State, Attorney General and
the State Forester, who Is appointed
by the Governor. The first State For
ester was appointed on July IL. 1905.
The Board of Forestry organized i'm
mediately and adopted policy to guide
future efforts. founded on the recon-
mendations resulting from a study of
| the forest resources OF the State by the
Federal Forest Service in cooperation
with the State during the two preced
ing years. Briefly stated, this policy
comprehends work along the lines of
forest protection, forest replacement
and forest management.
| Realizing that security from losses
by forest fires Is fundamental to the
| success of forestry in the State, the
| first efforts Of the State Forester were
directed toward fire prevention. The
law guiding these efforts was trimmed
so numerically by the Legislature dur
ig Its passage that an educational cam
paign calling attention to the great.
but generally avoidable, losses from
means of attack left. Authority was
given the State Forester to appoint pub
lic-spirited citizens as fire wardens, and
permission was given county Super
yisOrs to appropriate funds for the
payment of .wardens acting within
county limits, but in order to secure
favorable action by county boards the
State Forester had to visit them and
advance arguments to show the prac-
ticability of the plan. When it is re-
called that there are fifty-seven coun-
ties in California, and that the Super
visors in most cases meet from one to
three days only during each month, the
physical difficulties of this scheme be-
come apparent.
Nevertheless attention was irnme-
dfately given to fire protection work by
the circulation of all sorts of education
al literature, by press notices and in
personal visits to county boards. Lum-
bermen, stockmen, water users and, In
deed, the representatives of all indus
tries which depend on a cheap and
abundant supply. of wood and water.
were also approached with offers of
State backing in dealing with fires. The
response from the latter was generally
prompt and favorable, as evfnced by the
fact that 136 volunteer fire wardens
have been appointed who act without
pay from public sources.
Much difficulty beset the county
work, however. partly due to the hesi-
fancy of some county officers to favor
a new movement which they imagined
might react to unsettle their political
security, or to the poverty of the coun-
ties they governed, or to the ignorance
| of officials as to the vital Importance
to irrigation Of preserving even a
brush cover on the catchment basins
or. supply streams. More frequently,
however, county officers refused to act
because of the inconsistent stand taken
! by the State, which left all expense
on the counties but demanded that the
proceeds of all fines collected for vio-
| lations of the forest laws be forwarded
! to the State. 1t will be seen that the
State shirked all responsibility and
complacently regarded it's duty done
when it urged counties to set aside
| fund to hire men to hunt up trouble
from which it demanded the proceeds
Owing to these causes the ten coun-
ties that have provided for the pay
ment of wardens are situated In the
southern part of the State and upper
San Joaquin Valley, where protracted
drought and the high value of water
| has been important enough to force
public attention to the necessity of
conserving every drop. In these ten
counties 103 fire wardens have been
appointed.
|
Service to cooperate with the State
has led the forester to direct that
supervisors and rangers on the several
reserves in California accept appoint
ments as fire wardens. These Federal
employees under appointment number
12S. The authority conferred by ap-
/ pointment is of value to them In deal
ing with fires on private lands within
the reserve boundaries and contiguous
| to them. On the other hand their
services to the State are particularly
valuable from the fact that they are
| Independent of local factions and act
fearlessly and fmpartially.
Among the results of the past sum-
mer's work may be mentioned work by
| fire wardens on seventy-six out of 120
fires reported on lands exclusive of the
forest reserves. These fires burned
over upward of $4,000 acres of land,
and In many cases destroyed standing
and harvested crops, buildings and
cattle. Twenty-four arrests of viola
tors of the forest laws were made.
| These resulted In twelve convictions.
with fines aggregating $425. Three
cases were dropped owing to INSULT
| cient evidence. One was dismissed
without conviction and eight are pend
ling.
| The statutes fix the salary of assist
ant State foresters at $1,000 per year.
This is not enough to attract technic-
ally trained foresters, and the efforts
made at first to secure them were un-
successful. Nine months passed before