New Britain herald., 1915-10-06
|ASKAN FORESTS
 STROYED BY FIRES
100000 Acres Burned in Past
 Fifteen Years

ashington, Oct. 6.-Bringing news
 le destruction of timber in the in
 IT. of Alaska by forest fires on \ so vast that nothing ever ex-
 enced in the United States can
 ster of the United States, has re-
 ed from @ several weeks tour of
 northern territory. The visit is
 first MT. Graves ever made to
 ka, and it was taken for the pur-
 of getting first hand information the national forests in the north htry and also to familiarize him.
 with the great acreages under
 public domain not as yet taken
 by homsteaders or included in the
 st reserves.
 r. Graves estimated that the area he'd in Alaska in the last fifteen Frs comprises approximately 15,-
 0O0 acres, the timber in this he'd region having been destroyed.
 estimates of the area burned the
 summer is 100000 or S,000,-
 acres. N
 e declared he passed through
 e than 100 miles of forest either hing or recently burned on the dez trail. Besides the fires in the Eral part of Alaska great areas the forests of the Copper River,
 Susitna and the Matanuska dis ts have been burned over, and re are reports of extensive fires he upper Yukon region.
 Forest of Interior.
 &The purpose of my visit to Alas he said, twas to inspect the na-
 al forests which are under my
 sdiction and also to study the est problems on the public domain side of the national forests. Ac- aingly I not only examined the tonal forests but went into the in or, down the Yukon to Fairbanks
 out over the Valdez trail, in or
 to study the forest conditions of tral Alaska.
 The national forests are confined the forests of the southern coast
 include but small portion of the ensive forests of the interior. A at many persons have an idea t with the exception of the south Stern coast there are no forests in 8ska. This is due to the prevail
 conception of the country as be-
 cold, barren and uninhabitable. It Eue that there are lofty mountain ges (any they furnish the most lime scenery in the world,) and
 L1,,, I of 0e,4 zd there are in the far north areas &h soil so cold that no trees can ! st.
 S 1, 1000, ,OOO Acres a Year Burned. stBut the great interior river sys- ns were originally largely wooded, only along the water courses, but ck on the low lying hills that char #erize the country. I say originally oded because forest fires have ought fearful havoc with the for ] s. Tn fact, I would estimate that the last fifteen years there have len burned not less than 100000 Eres year, and this summer, which s an unusually dry one, the total is #ice or three times the average. R'The great interior forest is com |sed of white spruce, white birch Nd cotton wood. The trees are not .-ge and the yield measured by Lndards of the coast is small, but |ese forests are one of the most i'm |rant factors in the development Alaska. They are absolutely nec- eary in the establishment and Hiding up of he chief industries, ming and agriculture. They are |sential in the construction and hintenance of the pioneer roads, for 'idges, culverts, corduroy, cribbing, 'cs. Their presence is often an in- 'spensa ble factor in making the |untry habitable at all
 No Steps Of Protection. "Yet the Government is not taking single step to protect these forests. August I passed through more Ian 100 miles of forest either burn |g or recently burned on the Valdez hil. Many culverts. bridges, cor hroy and telephone poles had been estroyed, and still worse, the trees hd been destroyed along the trail hd these trees will be needed for re- hirs in the future. The actual Rmage to the Valdez trail itself is much as it would have cost to fevent the fires entirely. Great )rests of the Copper river the Susi- ma and Matanuska, and reports