Vernon County censor. [volume] (Viroqua, Wis.) 1865-1955, 1910-09-07
WISCONSIN WILL
RENEW FORESTS
Hold Conservation Is a Question
for State.
PRESENT RESERVES LARGE
As Soon as Scattered Area Can BE
Sold New Land Is Being PGr-
chased in the Lake and
Upper River Territory.

Mse:3on.-The state of Wisconsin
&c greatly interested in the general
subject of conservation. but the men
In charge of the state government
have an idea that It is largely a ques-
ton which states must work out for
themselves. No state in the union
has made more progress with the
conservation of its forests. The state
board OF forestry is only about five
years old, but in that time has done
vast amount of work.
The states forest reserves now
aggregate total of about SOC, 900
acres-an area surpassed only by
those Of New York and Pennsylvania.
In a general way the state is follow
ing the plan of the United States gov
eminent in its western reclamation
scheme. At the outset all the state
public land was turned over to the
forestry board. This land was widely
scattered.
AS rapidly as the scattered area can
be sold, new land is being purchased
In the lake and upper river territory
The plan is to have all the forest re-
serves In the lake and upper river
regions as far as possible. Four
years ago, through the efforts of Sen
ator La Toilette. the United States
gave the state twenty thousand acres
OF federal land to be added to the
state forest reserve.
this public land over to the state after
Senator La Toilette made it clear
that 1t was a matter of national rather
than state importance He explained
the policy of the state forester to
create forest reserves at the head.
waters of the Wisconsin. Chippewa
and st. Croix rivers, all of which are
important tributaries to the Missis-
sippi. His chief argument was that
the federal government would, by
turning over the land, be assisting in
the Mississippi, caused by the rapid
lessening the annual food damage of
destruction of the forests along its
course.
OF course, the noteworthy feature
of both the state and the federal
grants is the permission given to the
state forester to sell such parts of
the reserve as are considered insult
able for timber or more valuable for
agriculture, and to devote the proceeds
to the purchase of land more suitable
for forest purposes and for the gen
oial Improvement and protection of
the reserves. The work Of disposing
of the lands granted by the state and
the federal government, and the re-
investment of the proceeds in lands
more suitable for forestry has gone
on rather slowly because of a depres-
sion in land values that has existed
since 1907 but in good time the state
forester expects to have something
like two million acres in fairly com
pact body. He will then be ready to
go ahead with the large plans the
state has for the future.
To begin with the forests that al
ready exist on the reserves will be
carefully protected from fire. The
second step will be to reforest such
parts of the newly acquired lands as
are not well covered with forests
now. SO far. no actual work has been
done toward renewing the forests
Within the next year or so nurseries
will be established in the reserve re-
gionR and a few years later the actual
work Of planting trees by the millions
will begin