The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1908-11-13

reserves, now sixteen in number, up to
444,11 acres, of which 273,912 acres
or 81 per cent, belongs to the govern
ment. Forest reserve projects amount
! ing TO total of 62,1S0 acres now only
await formal action by the Board OF
! Agriculture and Forestry and the Gov
/ ernor before being set apart. The
/ most important forest reserve projects
now pending are the proposed Kohala
| Mountain Forest Reserve, on Hawaii
and the proposed Lihue-Koloa and Ki.
/ lauea-AliOmanu forest reserves, on
! Kauai. With the setting apart of the
two last-named proposed reserves, the
entire upland region in the central
part of Kauai will be included within
the forest reserve limits, making Ka-
uai the first island on which the re-
serve system has been brought to COM
pletiOn.
Reference to the forest reserves
brings up matter in which this asso-
citation by its influence and support may
be of material assistance in strength
ening the forest policy of the Terri
tory. AS has been frequently pointed
out, the primary value of the Hawaiian
forest lies in the protective influence it
exerts on the watersheds of the streams
needed for irrigation. Consequently
practically all the forest reserves are
essentially protection forests, which it
is desirable should be held strictly in
tact. This means that the reserves
must be protected from fire, from cat
tie and from other forms of trespass,
and must be rid of wild goats and other
destructive animals. So far as possible
the boundaries of the reserves are made
to follow natural barriers. But it often
happens that there are stretches where
fencing is required. In many cases a
short stretch of fence, as, for example,
between two gulches, will protect a
large area. Often such stretches of
fence should be on government land
where it is impracticable to make fence
building condition of a government
lease TO meet such contingencies and
also to provide for the fencing jointly
by the government and given corpora
tion of certain forest lines, there
should be available an appropriation
on which the Division of Forestry could
draw. The amount need not be large.
Five thousand dollars would go a long
way in such work. But some money
certainly should be available.
Two further matters of similar tenor
should also be mentioned in this con-
nection-the Inauguration of a definite
system of administration of the forest
reserves by forest rangers, paid out-of
Territorial funds and responsible only
to the Territorial forest officials; and,
second, the appropriation of a fund, to
be used only in case of emergency,
from which could be paid expenses in
Cured in fighting forest fires. Not
until the Hawaiian forest reserves are
protected by the necessary
fences, and adequately guarded against
fire and trespass by forest ranger
force, backed by an appropriation for
fighting fire, can the reserves do their
full duty or be made of the greatest
benefit to the Territory.
In saying this / do not forget the
excellent work that has for many years
been done by a number of the large
plantation companies in carefully pro.
tecting their own forest lands, nor do
1 underestimate the strong sentiment in
favor of forestry that has made posi- !
bic what has already been accomplished
by the Territorial officials But look
ing W INC IuLuIG, do III Is essentially
the business of the Forester to do, !
can not but urge most strongly that
the members of this association, both
and as individuals, exert
whatever influence they may have to
secure from the coming Legislature APP
sufficient for these pur-
poses.
The second main line of forest work
in Hawaii is tree-planting 1t was in
this way that both the government and
the private owner began 20 practice
forestry in this Territory. / do not
need to remind you of the good work
that has been done with increasing in
terest for the past thirty years. But I
10 want to bring home to you all the
lesirability-nay, the necessity-of do
ng more of it,
In Hawaii there are four main OBJ
iects in tree-planting. First, CONNER
'ial return, be the need for posts, rail
'oad ties, construction timber or fuel;
second, to provide shelter belts or wind