Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1915-03-04
j. 5. FAIRGROUNDS.
National Forests to Be Open to
Pleasure Seekers.
Hundreds of Permits Already Granted
for Camps and Cottages in the
Woods Belonging to the
People.

WaS0lngIOQ.-lO make the ndLlOudl
forests with their aggregate area of
1877 100000 acres a vast camping and
recreation ground for the people is
one of the ambitions of Henry ).
Graves, chief forester. Already hun
dreds of canyons and lake shores are
dotted with camps and cottages built
on sites obtained through permits Of
the forest service.
The combined area of the national
forests equals that of Chile and is
nearly half as big as Germany. While
most of the forests are in the Pacific
coast and Rocky Mountain states,
with several million acres in Alaska,
there are acres in various other states.
All types of American scenery are
included in these forests of the peo-
pie.
The forests embody the Cascades
and Sierras of the Pacific coast, snow
capped peaks in Alaska, rugged wild
sections of the central and northern
Rockies, desert lands in the south
west, the fiat lake regions of Minneso-
ia, semitropical swamps of Florida,
Ozark highlands, southern Appalachi-
ans and North woods of New England.
Special provision is made by the
| forest officials and rangers for ena-
bling pleasure seekers to get the full
worth of their holiday. Four-fifths of
| the people in the national forests dur
ing the last fiscal year were pleasure
! seekers, numbering over 100000. But
| they were not drop in the bucket
I compared with the number that could
be taken care of.
Those who do not care to camp and
| settle down in one spot may travel
| from place TO place without let or him
| drance so long as they observe reason
! able caution to prevent fires. Those
who want particular spot for camp
are required to pay a nominal sum for
| a permit This enables the forest Off
Ger in charge to keep track of them.
| Forest rangers are under special in
! structions to assist the tourists and
campers in every reasonable way.
They can always be depended upon to
advise the traveller how best to reach
/ his destination or to direct him to
places or trips of special attractive
procure a physician for him if needed
or to give him a neighborly lift.
Straight sight seeing" in the ma,
tional forests may be had for the tax.
ing. At certain of the ranger stations
interesting collections of plant and
| tree specimens are on exhibition. Spe
| cial attention is paid to poisonous
forage plants, which are a menace to
the stockman's grazing cattle or sheep
and to the campers pack animals.
Many lines of activity are constant
" carried on in the national forests
but they do not in any way interfere
with their use as a national recrea
ton ground. numbering does not
leave such scars on the mountains as
usually occur where private timber
lands are being logged. The slash and
debris of the logging operation Is
cleaned up as the work proceeds, anc
later is burned or otherwise disposed
of. This reduces the fire hazard, pre-
pares the ground for the reproductisr
| Ol d new 1oASS SAOP anu az INC 9e'AAA>
time makes the area more accessible
and less unsightly.
One of the great recreation attrac
tions of the national forests is hunt
ing and fishing, and numerous camp:
are maintained for this purpose. Tbs
fish and game laws of the particular
state in which forest is located gov
ern the use of the forest for thes'
purposes. Many of the streams, which
are very numerous, are kept stocked
by the bureau of fisheries.
The spare time of the rangers il
spent in building, with other workers
the trails and other permanent i'm