Custer weekly chronicle. [volume] (Custer City, S.D.) 1890-1931, 1910-02-19
THE NATIONAL FOREST
Plans for Correction of the Boun.
daries Approved by the
President
WILL OPEN UP FOR SETTLEMENT
A Large Amount of Land Suitable fer
Dry Land Agriculture and
Grazing Purposes.
WILL OPEN UP FOR SETTLEMENT

The examination Of National Forest
boundaries carried on by the Forest Of
ficers last summer and fall upon the in
itiative of Secretary. Wilson and under
bis direction, has resulted in new infor-
nation, which will make il possible to
restore to the unreserved public domain
much land along the edges of and with
In Forests that is not best suited to for
est purposes. This is to be done under
a plan Just approved by President Taft.
The plan was formulated by Secretary
Wilson and Secretary Ballinger jointly
and submitted to the President in the
following letter:
FEBRUARY 7, 1910;
THE PRESIDENT, THE WHITE HOUSE.
SIR:-After having very carefully cor. g.
sidered the matter of eliminations from
and additions to the National Forests,
we respectfully recommend that the
following general policy be adopted.
!. Lands wholly or in part covered
with brush or other underground which
protects stream flow or checks erosion
on the watershed of any stream import
ant to irrigation or to the water supply
of any city; town or community, or open
lands on which trees may be grown,
should be retained within the National
Forests, unless their permanent value
under cultivation is greater than their
value as protective forest.
2. Lands wholly or in part covered
with timber or underground, or cut-over
lands which are more valuable for the
production of trees than for agricultural
crops and lands densely stocked with
young trees having a prospective value
greater than the value of the land for
agricultural purposes, should be retained
within the National Forests.
3. Lands not either wholly or in part
covered with timber or underground,
which are located above timber line
within the Forest boundary or in small
bodies scattered through the Forest,
making elimination impracticable, or
limited areas which are necessarily in
cluded for proper administrative boun-
Diary line, should be retained within the
National Forests.
4. Lands not either wholly or in part
covered with timber or undergrow
except as provided for in the preceding
paragraphs upon which it is not expect
ed to grow trees, should be eliminated
from the National Forests.
We have the honor to be, very re-
spectfully; your obedient servants,
JANIS WILSON,
Secretary of Agriculture.
r. A. BEtLINGER,
Secretary of the Interior.
A definition of the lines along which
action should be taken was called for by
the fact that reports and maps are now
in the possession of the Department oi
| Agriculture which show the character OF
the lands and the cover along the lines
of the National Forest boundaries. The
purpose of the Department in securing
this information was to make possible a
correction of the boundaries on the prin.
ciples now approved by the President,
for IL has never been intended that the
National Forests should include agri-
cultural land or grazing land not suitable
for forest purposes. Plans for gathering
the data were drawn up under Secretary
| Wilson's direction a year ago, and in
structions for going over the &C, 900 miles
of boundaries were issued to the Ma
tional Forest officers last May. As re-
suit the boundaries can now be more
carefully corrected than has ever before
been possible.
On the whole the changes which are
| round TO pc called Tor are relatively o.
minor Importance, but in their aggregate
they open to settlement large amount
of land. The application of the rules
which the President has approved will
mean the early restoration to the public
domain Of 4, 900, 900 acres or more of Ma
tional Forest land. This is something
over two per cent of the total National
Forest area. Three-tentbs of the forests
have yet to be mapped.
Some of the land is suitable for dry
land agriculture, though the greater part
is grazing land. In Idaho, which has g
large National Forest area, about 470,'
600 acres will be eliminated, of which
"a per cent. is tillable. Examinations in
similar proportion will be made in 9
number of the other Western States
which have large amounts of land in Ma
tional Forests.