The Bridgeport evening farmer., 1912-08-12
OUR NATIONAL FOREST
 AS RECITATION GROUNDS
GncIe sarn's Wood Lots Welcome BOG. 900 Visitors Annuany-The Government Protects Scenery As Well As Trees-Federal Forest Ser vice Caters to Campers.
HENRY S. GRAVES
Chief Forest Service, U. $. Depart
 ment of Agriculture.
Exclusive Service The Survey Press
 Bureau.)
The National Forests include all u

The National Forests include all the principal mountain regions between the Great Plains and the Pacific, from the Mexican to the Canadian line. They are the natural playgrounds ana summer resorts of a large part of the country Their scenic beauties and natural wonders not only attract tour ists from the East but also bring many from overseas, while the big-game hunter finds in them the principal hunting grounds which the advance of settlement has left in state of natural wilderness. Their streams are full of trout which are an attraction to fishermen while campers and ber- fy-pickers by the thousand journey everx- year- into 4Uncle-s-Sam's great W0od-fots.
 It is estimated that we'll on toward half a million people enter, the Ma eional Forests annually for recreation purposes. Principally owing to the at trection furnished by Pike's Peak, the Colorado Forests take the lead in pop ularity, with 15O,0OO visitors. Califor- mia has over 100000. of whom half are credited to the,. Angeles, covering the San Rernardino Mountains which rise 50 4ttttfsctire1y above the low-ly1ng and 1densely peop1ed Los Angeles plains The Tahoe, Sierra, and Se- quoia National Forests are also pop ular resorts for Calnornians. Arl- u6~ II, other States in which recreation use of the Forests is heavy.
 The use of the National Forests as recreation grounds is increasing stead ily As local resorts they will be fre- quented more and more largely, while their notable features will also\ att tract larger numbers from distance as the means of access and provisions fer comfort multiply. There is no bet ter place for application of the motto See America First'' than on the Ma tional Forests.
 The administration and protection r of these forests is in the hands of the Forest Service of the Department of Agriculture. and is conducted not only with view to the utilization Of their economical resources but also to make them serve the public in every posS1- b1e way By protecting them from fire the government does much to make them enjoyable by visitors, for with out their covering of trees the beauty and attractiveness of the mountains would be largely lost. Great burns make unattractive and depressing scenery. Further, they are often the cause of the drying up of streams and of erosion which makes muddy wa ters and fills mountain lakes with sed- iment.
 The Forest Service works in co-op- eration with state authorities to pro- tect game and fish and to restock streams and lakes with trouI. It also employs hunters to keep down the predatory animals such as wolves, lynxes. and mountain lions, which prey on the big game as we'll as on the millions of sheep and cattle that feed on the National Forest range. In some regions 1t is working in co-oper-' ation with State authorities and the BioIigical Survey of the Department of Agriculture to reintroduce elk and other kinds of big game. !
 An important part of the work of the EeFest Service is the construction of trails, bridges, and roads to make the forests. Where the influx of visi- tors is heavy regular camping places are often established, and signs are placed along the way indicating the distance to the next camping place or where water may be found. Another provision for the needs of summer vis- itors is made through the reservation of forage for their saddle and their pack horses \ system of visitors registers is maintained on some for ests, at the forest rangers headquart- CTS. so that those who care to record their movements can be readily found in case a message from outside is to be conveyed to them. When timber sales are made the cutting areas are 30 located as to prevent unsightlines5 in the neighbOrhood of lake snofes, travelled roads, and other places where protection of scenery is especially de- - sirable. & [&z
 The National Pa31zs of the West are generally in the same regions as the National Forests, (which often sur round them, but they are under the charge not of the Forest Service, but of the Department of the Interior There are also various National Mon- umentE which have been set aside by Presidential proclamation to protect historic landmarks, historic and pre- historic structures, and other objects of historic Or scientific interest,"; some