Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-06-25
Plan Examination of National Forest
Boundaries.

Through the establishment OF SIX
district headquarters in the west, the
work of the Forest Service has a0-
vanced so far that it is now possible
to undertake thorough-going exam
nation of National Forest boundaries
and an inquiry into the character OF
any interior areas which map appear
to be not suitable for National For
est purposes. In letter to the Dis
trict Forester in this city, Forester
Pinchot says:
"Plans formulated here last winter
and approved by the Secretary of Az
riculture call for a systematic and
complete going over of all National
Forest boundaries during the present
field season. The work which you
have been constantly doing in this
direction is along the right lines, but
the plan adopted calls for more con
centrated effort in this work through
out the Service during the coming
summer. With the field force at your
command, and your close knowledge
of local conditions and of the Nation
al Forest officers, you can so organize
this effort in your districe as to in
sure a thorough going over of your
part of the $4,000 miles of National
Forest boundaries by competent men
whose reports as to the character Of
the land within and without the For
nsfS a"d whose recommendations as
to lands which should be included OIL
excluded, checked by the information
already possessed by the Forest Ser
vice, can be relied on.
''To do this work in one summer
will make severe demands on you, but
it, is not beyond the capacity Of thu
Service, as now organized. Please
give. it your best efforts until the work
is completed, and bear in mind espec
tally that the quality of the worE
must be unimpeachable.
= "This work should all be COM
pleted by the close of the present
field season, and each District Forest
er should be able at that time t.
vouch for the correctness of the pro
posed boundaries of his Forests. If
however, there are changes recon
mended by examiners which you fee
are questionable, such cases may g,
over for checking until the next fell
season, in order that no mistakes ma
be made. Possible additions Shout
be noted as carefully in the six state
, where congressional action is neces
: sary to create additions to Forests a
elsewhere.
"As you know, the policy of tn
Service has always been to exclude
from the boundaries of a Nationa
Forest all agricultural land, except
as congress clearly intended, area
so small that they could be handlet
bmOre acceptably under the Act o
June II, 1906. We want all the Ian,
put to its best use, whatever that us
) may be. A good deal of time an,
money has been spent by the Servic
| in this most important work. | be
, ieve, however, that there is still Ian,
: which would serve the public inter
est best outside of National Forest
and which could therefore be ex
, cluded to the public advantage. | be
Eeve, TOO, that adjoining many of tn
: Forests are areas, which, because O
the value of the timber which the,
, support, their Importance under
J proper forest cover for watershed pr
of the existing Forest can be brough
about only through their inclusion
should be added to the National For
, eSiS.
I'm considering changes of bound
: airy the character of the land and it
future usefulness for Forest or ag
rlcultural purposes, the protection
that it may give to watersheds at tn
, head of streams from which towns
cities and irrigation projects draw