The Twin Falls times. [volume] (Twin Falls, Idaho) 1905-1916, 1915-03-23
NATIONAL FORESTS
Good Work Done by the Forestry De-
partment.


Selling some billion and half board
feet of timber and supervising the cut
ting on several thousand different
areas, overseeing the grazing of more
than ], 100000 cattle and 100000 sheep,
and building more than 600 miles of
road, 1900 miles of TRAIL 1900 miles of
telephone line, and 700 miles of fire
line are some of the things which the
government forest service did last
year, as disclosed in the report by the
chief forester for 1914. These activi-
ties were all on the national forests,
which at present total about 1885, 00,-
600 acres.
There is need, says the chief forcs-
ter, to increase the cut of timber from
the national forests wherever a fair
price can be obtained for the stumpage,
because great deal of it is mature
and ought to be taken out to make
room for young growth. Unfavorable
conditions in the lumber trade caused
new sales of national forest timber to
fall off somewhat during the past year,
| though the operations on outstanding
sales contracts brought the total cut
above that of the previous year by $780,
100000 board feet. There was, how
ltNtl, DlS lutI tdSt III Sllldil lllHDSl
sales, these numbering S,29S in 1914
against 6,1S2 the previous year. De-
sirable blocks of national forest timber
have been appraised and put on the
market, and it is expected that these
will find purchasers when conditions
in the lumber industry improve All
| told, the government received 1.30i,-
053,66 from the sale of timber on the
forests in 1914. The receipts from all
sources totaled s2,437,710.21.
After eight years of experience
stockmen are we'll satisfied. says the
chief forester, with the way the graz
| ing of livestock on the forests is regu-
lated, and have even urged upon con-
gress the application of the same
method of control to the unreserved
public range. Almost $4,000 permit
tees Craze stock on the national for
ests, and these paid to the government
in the fiscal year 1914 fees amounting
to over a million dollars. The present
tendency to raise fewer sheep and
goats and more cattle and horses is
shown in the fact that the number of
cattle and horse permittees on the
western forests increased last year by
1879, while the number of sheep and
goat permittees fell off by a total of
26S. The western stock business, the
forester points out, is becoming at
taehed to the soil, and the itinerant
sheep grower and the speculator in
cattle are giving place to the perma
nent resident and owner of improved
ranch property The latter is always
given preference in the use of national
forest range.
Some 100000 was spent by the for
est service during the year for perma-
nent improvements on the national for
ests to make them accessible and to
insure their protection from fire.
These improvements include 270 miles
of new road, 2,153 miles of TRAIL, 1903
miles of telephone line, IT'S miles of
fire line, and LOG lookout structures, |
besides bridges, corrals, fences, and
cabins In addition, 642 miles of road
We're built for the public by the use of
10 per cent of the national forest re-
ceipts as authorized by congress.
Under another law, 20 per cent of the |
national forests receipts for the year, |
amounting to 1886, 59339, were paid |
over to the various states in which the |
forests lie for the benefit of county |
schools and roads.
Since 1909, when systematic classifi- |
cation of national forest lands was be- |
gun, more than 100000 acres have |
been eliminated. Scattered interior
tracts which it is not practical to elm
mate are opened to settlement through !
listing, which allows them to be TAX |
en- up under the forest homestead law. |
Anyone may apply to have land within |
a forest examined to determine wheth- |
er it is best suited for agriculture, and |
If found so it is opened to settlement |
under this law. During the year $3.50 |
tracts, totaling 2S3 ,4S3 acres, applied |
for by individuals were opened for en- |
try. BY elimination and listing the |
percentage of unpatented agriculture
land within the national forests, never
large, has been reducted to a very
small amount.