Albuquerque morning journal. [volume] (Albuquerque, N.M.) 1903-1926, 1915-01-02
FOREST DISPLAY
IS ONLY ONE At
BIC EXPOSITION
Exhibition Made by Federal
Bureau in Connection With
State Is Unique at San
Diego,

Mexico building Is singularly appro-
pirate In its insta lation In that struc.
ture 1t IL the federal government tx.
hibit 1T the Panama. California expo
sition, and inasmuch as this exposi-
ton Is devoted particularly to the
west and southwest and New Mexico
Is the only portion of that corner OF
tho country participating In the eX-
position which has important forest
resources, the exhibit WIN attract o
great deal of attention. Arizona,
which also has large and valuable
forest areas, is not participating
Forests, waters. minerals, livestock
ranges and irrigated lands are the
great resources of New Mexico The
rivers depend, in large measure, upon
the forests on their watersheds, which
feed them and act as reservoirs for
| impOunding their excessive flow
against periods OF drought and the ef-
ficicncy OF the ranges Is closely con-
nected with the work OF the national
| forests. The forest resources of the
state. their relation TO the resources
of water and range and the work be-
| ing done on the national forests to
| insure the protection and wsest use
of their resources form the forest SER
| vice display.
! That New Mexico has valuable and
varied timber resources, that more
| than eight and a half million acres OF
its timber land is protected within the
| boundaries of national forests, and
that the rivers OF the state which are
important for irrigation and power
take their rise in the protected slopes
of these national forests are shown
fCE the exposition. Transparences at
the windows, bromide engagements
stereopticon slides displayed in auto
matte machines show the character
Of the forests of the state the ravages
wrought in them where fire has swept
and grazing has been excessive and
uncontrolled. the excellent conditions
maintained on the government for
csts, the national forest system of fire
protection, the manner in which ma
tional forest tim er is logged where
unnecessary waste is avoided brush,
which ordinary Is fire menace,
safely disposed of. only mature trees
cut the young growth protected, and
a future forest insured, the handling
Of livestock on the ranges within the
forests so that they can carry the
limit Of their capacity of livestock
and yet are not excessively graZed
and their capacity thereby diminished
and so that the small local stockman
may have an equal chance on the
range with the large owners living in
another state, forest planting and
sowing of tree seeds on treeless areas.
and the building Of trails, roads and
bridges. stringing telephone lines and
other similar work which makes the
forests more accessible for fire pro-
lection and other business, and open
up vast wilderness to travellers, set
tiers and prospectors
Protection of the forests from fire
is the most important work of the
forest service and SO also is given
greatest prominence in the exhibit.
In the center of the exhibit hall is a
full size platform of one of the types
of fire lookout towers used on the ma
tional forests in New Mexico equipped
with binoculars and protractor and
alidadc for discovering and locating
fires and with the patrol box register
and telephone for recording patrol
and reporting fires. Each lookout
station is in communication with a
rangers or supervisors office, where
master maps protraetors similar to
those at the various lookouts and
similarly mounted. Reports from two
or more lookouts Of the radi along
which the fire is seen gives an inter-
esting point which definitely locates
the blaze. A fire fighting equipment
box is next seen at the exhibit filled
with rakcs. mattUcks, shOVels, hoes,
canvas water bags and buckets, emer-
geney rations and coffee, beans and
L. IA
Warnings to campers and other users
of the forests TO handle fires careful |
ly and not leave their camp fires UNI
are posted as IN the for
ests.
The close connection between for
ests and stream flow and surface tor
nation is graphically shown by a
working erosion model, on which wa
ter in the form of rain falls on two
slopes. one forested. the other bare. |
The water falling on the forested |
slope is absorbd by the protected and |
porous soil and seeps out later as clear !
water. No soil erosion occurs. On
the bare slope the water rushes Off
the hardened surface Immediately, |
cutting away the soil as II goes and |
deposits 1t in the channel of the river
and in the reservoir below and upon |
the farm land in times of flood. II
is this relation of forests to stream
flow which make the national forests !
of New Mexico so vital to successful !
irrigation Reservoirs rapidly fill up
with silt and are soon rendered use /
less when the watersheds above them |
are denuded of their forests. The |
great government irrigation projects |
in New Mexico are supplied from wa !
tersheds on national forests.
Work of Forest Service.
The whole story of national forest |
the mountainous nom asri- !
cultural character of the land and |
how the forests are used by the peo-
pie, is told by a model OF portion |
of an localized national forest III New
Mexico Upon this model are grouped |
examples of most of the more import
ant kinds of work carried ON by for |
est officers 1 nd of the many and diff |
ferent ways in which the resources of |
these forests are used by the public /
This is supplemcnted by chart Civ
ing actual figures of USES to which the /
national forests in New Mexico were I
put by the public in 1914. This shows /
that the forests were very much used /
indeed and are far from reserves
ANNktu w tiRfii NSNs iiN LIS NitS SiN-
en- are as follows.
21.766.000 board feet of timber cut /
by purchasers.
ig,2S5.0000 board feet cut By set
tiers and other local users free of
cost
l,4SO permits in force for other
special uses OF land.
1000 recreation seekers visited the
forests.
1900 lived within the forests.
Fifty-seven municipal water sup
plies protected.
90 Of ,.aa.s.t.