Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1911-07-14
Government to Cooperate with
Vermont Against Forest Fires.

vermont against crest Tres.
A cooperative agreement which has
been entered into between the L. S.
Department Of Agriculture and the
State Of Vermont provides for an ex-
penditure by the Government of not to
exceed 81, 600 during next year toward
meeting the expenses of forest fire pro-
lection in Vermont. The cooperative
agreements made possible by the terms
Of the Weeks law; which Congress pas
sed last winter.
This law, besides providing for the
purchase by the National Government
Of lands on the headwaters of navi-
gable rivers for the purpose of Great
ing national forests to protect these
rivers, carried also an appropriation Of
5000, coo which the Secretary of Agri-
culture might eXpend in order to pro-
tect from fire, in cooperation with the
states, similar lands in state or private
ownership 1t was provided in the law
that expenditures by the Federal Gov
eminent in any state should not exceed
the amount spent by the state itself in
the cooperative work. Other states
which have signed similar cooperative
agreement with the Government are
Maine, New Hampshire, New Jersey,
and Wisconsin.
The secretary Of agriculture con-
cluded that the most effective way to
use the money available would be by
requiring, as preliminary to entering
into an agreement with any state for
cooperative fire protection, that the
state authorities should submit
definite plan showing in detail ex-
actly what it was proposed
do. With these plans We're re-
CURED maps showing areas to which
protection would be given. All plans
submitted are carefully examined by
the Department Of Agriculture. to see
both that the area to be protected is
actually forested land on the headwaters
of navigable streams and that the plan
of protection proposed is well conceived
and thoroughly practical, with an or
gained and effective system of admin
istratiOn by capable state officers. 1t
was decided for the present year that
the amount spent in any one state bv
the National Government should be linn
tied to $40, 900.
The funds of the Federal Government
will be used solely for paying patrol
men. The state officials select these
patrolmen, subject to the approval of the
Department of Agriculture. The maps
submitted to the Federal Government
show where each of these patrolmen will
be located, the approximate routes of
patrol, and all matters necessary to a
clear understanding of the states plan
of fire control, including the location of
lookout points, telephone communica-
lions, railroad patrols; location of state
forest fire wardens and other officials
and the like
In short, the basic idea is that efficient
fire protection can be given only by the
development of carefully worked
out, well manned, and capably Differed
scheme, which studies the situation be-
fore hand and makes provision for the
most effective disposal and use of the |
available forces, with view both to |
fires from getting started |
and concentrated upon them quickly if |
they do get started. In the national
forests OF the Vest, where the fires |
must often be fought at a long distance
from base of supplies, a further con-
sideration, often of great Importance
is how to provision the forces which are
on the fire line, perhaps for DAYS at q
time. To provide for this every forest
officer is expected to know beforehand
from what stores, construction or lum-
Der camps, and ranches he can Obtain
food, tools, pack horses, and men. and
in what quantities. In fact, the train
ing of the forest officers includes a sort