The Salt Lake tribune. [volume] (Salt Lake City, Utah) 1890-current, 1911-03-05
LIMITING FOREST RESERVES.

The debate in the L. S. Senate on
Wednesday on the forestry policy of
he Nation was Illuminating in many
ways. 1t brought forth, first of all,
the hypocrisy of the forestry prctepsc
that there is desire or purpose of re
foresting the timber areas Of this
country where forests formerly grew
1t brought forth also the fact that i'm
mcnsc sums of money are spent in the
forestry service to no purpose, except
TO give employ 10 political favoritcs
and recreation TO those who are on
the ''inside. - And it brought forth,
further, the fact that immense areas
never had any forests on them, that
never will have, and that the forestry
service never intend shall have.
Senators Hepburn Of Idaho and Clark
of Wyoming, who demonstrated TO the
Senate the impostures. thus bringing to
public attention the doubt of benefits
of the forestry service, were fully JUS
tilted IN their course. Senator Hey
burn was unsuccessful in his effort TO
cut the appropriation down to a million
dollars; the five millions already car
ricd in the bill was retained But he
was successful in his second motion to
forbid the expenditure of any part Of
the forest appropriation upon areas that
show less than four thousand feet of
merchantable timber per acre in con-
tiguous areas of 100 acres, but later it
was stricken out in conference. But
this amendment, were it carried out in
good faith. would limit the expenditure
so that the money would be spent
upon an area probably not more than
one fourth of the present forestry re-
serves. But az TO the so.called for
est areas here for the most part being
grazing areas, upon which there is
fierce contention year by year to get
privileges for the pasturing of sheep.
In all those grazing areas there is no
timber and never was any timber, aud
there is no intention on the part of
the forestry service that there ever
shall be any timber. But the revenues
from The grazing fees are immediate
and large, and the forestry officials
have a power Of imperious dictation
that is agreeable to them no matter
how much the owners of the stock that
eat the grass are annoyed, badgered,
and bullied in their applications for
grazing privileges, and in the restric.
tlons imposed upon them even when
they pay their good money for the
privileges.
The best possible thing that could
happen would be to have scientific
survey of all this mountain region
and the real timber areas designated
as true reserves, releasing all the rest
of the public domain to the free use
Of the people as they need the same,
under such restrictions a would be ap-
propriate under the law, eliminating
the forestry pretense and putting tho
matter fairly and squareIy as grazing
proposition without reference to forest
ry or the preservation of SHOWS at tho
heads Of the streams
The principal purpose Of the forestry
reserves has been set aside, necessarily
so, because no intelligent practical cf.
fort has ever been made to carry out
that original purpose. 1t was at first
the idea that forestry areas should be
laid out to prevent the early and sud |
den floods caused by the too swift |
melting of the SHOWS. But the at |
tentlon Of the forestry bureau has been
directed chiefly to the granting of
grazing privileges that have nothing to
do with the preservation of the SHOWS.
nut which require the melting of the
SHOWS as rapidly as possible In the
spring, SO that the grazing can begin.
The forestry service ought to be seq.
regated in two parts; that is, il the