The Fairmont West Virginian. (Fairmont, W. Va.) 1904-1914, 1913-09-26
TO protect
1.-THE FORESTS
PETER SYSTEM WILL BE EsTAB.
LIsHED BY GOVERNOR
HATFIELD.
LOSS BY REASON C0NFLAGRA.
TONS HAS BEEN EN0R-
NOUS.

CHARLESTON, Sept. 26.-That Il
better system to protect the forests
Of the staterfrom destruction by fires
Is to be established in West 1lrglnla
has been definitely decided as a re-
;ult of conference between Governor
Hatfield and ]. A. Yiquesney, state
,'crest, game and fish warden.
The last session of the Legislature
appropriated $4,000 from the fund
# $4,000 raised from the sale Of
resident hunters license during tho
Two years that heretofore. that this
law was in effect, for the protection
of forests and the protection and. pro-
pagation of game and fish. The APP
preparation Is to cover the period. MA
til June 80, 1915.
Governor Hatfield has decided tc
use about $4,000 of this fund dur
ing the next two years in establish
ing u system. and in protecting tho
forests from destructive fires. HI
believes that not only our future sup
ply of game and fish, but the watel
supply of the whole state depends or
the conservation of our forests.
Lookout Stations.
Five lookout stations are to bt
erected at once and properly equip
ped with field glasses and fire fight
ing equipment. Telephone cOnnec'
lions will be made with these stations
from all the surrounding country
end watchmen stationed there durinG
all the danger season to give an
alarm in case of discovery OF fire
This system will be extended
throughout all of the forest area OIL
the state as rapidly as proper co
operation with timber owners ant
organizations can be effected ant
federal cooperation secured.
The timber area to be protected by
this system is composed of the coun'
ties of Greenbrier, Pocahontas, Ran
Golph, Webster, Nicholas, BraXton
Tucker, Pendleton, Grant, Hardy
Hampshire, Mineral and Preston
These thirteen counties not only COM
pose the principal forest area of the
state, but also compose the water
sheds of all of the navigable streams
of the state.
West Virginia has been rightly
called the birthplace of rivers. In
the thirteen counties above named
more navigable streams take Their
rise than in any other similar terri
tory in the world.
The Little Kanawha, Great Kama
.wha, Monongahela, Ohio and POto-
mac, with their numerous tributar-
les, all take their rise in these coun-
ties. While there are 2S2 naVigable
streams in the United States, ii is
shown by statistics that the two
West Cirginia rivers, the Mononga-
hela and Ohio, carry almost $4,000,
900 tons of freight each year, or
about one-fifth of the whole tonnage
carried on the navigable streams OF
the United States.
Warden ViQuesney in his last re-
port published shows the fire losses
in West Virginia in 1905 to have
heen S5,Oy7,S25. There were Tle
fires that year, and i,70S,S5O acres
huIued, while the cost Of eXtlll-
onishing the fires amounted to $S9''
100. In 1909 and 1910 the number
Of fires we're 193, and the value oil
the timber destroyed, $15O,927, Gov
oring 1S2,73O acres, with $4,9S% us
the cost to Cxtinguish the fires. In
1911 and 1912 period there was u
further reduction in every way. The
number OF fires were Lut lib, the
yalue of the timber destroyed $64'-
547; the acres burned, 65,l56' ana
the cost to cxtinguish the fires, 81
900.
Loss Enormous.
II is estimated by the Forestry de-
portment of the United States gov
eminent that an average of 10000
am acres of forest lands has been
burned over annually in the United
states for the past several years, with
~ annual loss of $2O,OOO,OOO. The
'Ill IL. uirrinin alone for the