The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-07-06
CHANGES FOREST
RESERVE LINES

President Taft has just made ccnsid-
erable changes in national forests in
Montana, Arizona, Nevada, Utah and
California through presidential procla-
nations modifying the boundary lines.
BY these changes nearly 275,0O0 acres
OF land are eliminated from the for
ests, about $4,000 acres are added, and
$4,000 acres are transferred between
two forests, while a new forest is ere
ated by the division of an old unit
into two.
The net result is to bring down the
total gross area of the national forests
to about 1877 100000 acres, of which
nearly 27000,0O0 acres are in Alaska.
TO considerable extent, however. the
reductions, 80 far as land actually
owned by the government is concerned.
are apparent rather than real, owing
to heavy alterations in the tracts
eliminated. Some 22,0OO,0OO acres of
the national forest gross area are not
owned by the government.
The high water mark of the total
national forest gross area was reached
IN 1909, when the forest boundaries in
cluded over 1874, ,000,0 acres. 1t was
then realized, however, that In making
the examinations on which the presi-
Dental prOclamations creating the for
ests were based the work had been too
rapid to insure in all cases the best
boundaries. Sometimes land which
should have been included was left out,
while at other times land was taken
in which was not best suited to forest
purposes.
Consequently a complete overhauling
and rectification of the forest boun-
daries was planned, and has been going
on ever since. By successive procla-
nations President Taft has eliminated
nearly 100000 acres, while he has
added 100000 acres.
In Montana the new proclamations
eliminate total of 1880 acres
from six forests-the Custer. Absaro-
ka, Blackfeet, Kootenai, Lewis and
Clark and Flathead-while 14.64O
acres are transferred from the Black
feet to the Kootenai and 4O,640 from
the kootenai to the Blackfeet, to ia
cilltat administration. In Arizona
l06,54O acres are eliminated from the
Coronado national forest. In Nevada
49,S40 acres are eliminated from the
Humboldt and $3.50 acres added, of
which 12,S00 acres are included in the
new Ruby national forest, composed
principally of that part of the old
humboldt lying south of the Southern
Pacific railroad. In Utah 1,340 acres
are eliminated from the Sewer, while
in California $3.50 acres are added to
the Shasta and 4S0 acres to the
klamath.
The most important of the additions
to the northern part of the old Hum
boldt forest, which will retain the
name of Humboldt, is the inclusion of
$4,000 acres covering the Tx noun
tain region. The Nevada eliminations
are all from this northern part of the
old Humboldt. The unappropriated
lands in the elimination will be thrown
open to settlement and entry at the
discretion of the secretary of the in
terror, and after due notice by publ
cation in the local papers.
The new Ruby forest contains what
was formerly the Ruby Mountains di-
vision OF the old Humboldt, and also
an addition of 1880 acres at the
southern end. This will give the Ruby
forest total area of not quite 410,-
600 acres, while the Humboldt will
have little less than 720 acres.