Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1918-06-13
MILLIONS ACRES
CAMPING LAND
Hundreds Of Canons and Lake
Shores Dotted with Tents On
Forest Service Permits.
CAN ALWAYS HUNT AND FISH
Government Willing to Do All in lite
Power to Aid Recreation.Seek-
ers In Preserves.

Washington, d. C.-To make the ma.
tional forests, with their aggregate
area of 1S7,000,0O0 acres, a vast camp
Ing ground for the people is one of
the ambitions of Henry S. Graves,
chief forester. Already hundreds of
canons and lake shores are dotted
with camps and cottages built on sites
obtained through permits of the forest
service.
The cCmbiaed area of the national
forests equals that Of Chilli and is
nearly half as big again as Germany.
While mcst CT the forests are in the
Pacific Coast and Rocky Mountain
States, with several million acres in
Alaska, there are areas in various
other states. All types Of American
scenery are included in these forests
OF the people. 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
southwest, the fiat lake region of Min
nesota, semi-tropical swamps of Flori-
da, Ozark's highlands, Southern Appal-
achians and north woods of New Eng.
land.
Special provision is made by the for
est officials and rangers for enabling
pleasure seekers to get the full worth
of their holidays. Four-ifths of the
people in the national forests during
the last fiscal year were pleasure seek
ers, numbering over 100000. But
they were not drop in the bucket
compared with the number that could
De 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 kin
drance so long as they observe reason
able caution to prevent fires. Those
who want particular spot for camp
are required to pay nominal sum for
permit. This enables the forest Of
fcers in charge to keep track of them.
Forest rangers are under special in
structlons 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 10
places or trips of special attractive
ness, to aid him in an emergency, to
procure physician for him, if needed,
or to give him a neighborly lift.
Straight sightseeing" in the nation
al forests may be had for the taking.
AT certain of the ranger stations in
teresting collections of plant and tree
specimens are on exhibition. Special
attention is paid to poisonous forage
plants, which are a menace to the
stocknan's grazing cattle or sheep and
to the campers pack animals.
Many lines of activity are constantly
carried on in the national forests, but
they do not in any way interfere with
their use as a national recreation
ground. LAUNDERING does not leave
such scars left 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, and
the latter is burned or otherwise ais
posed of. This reduces the fire hazard,
prepares the ground for the reproduc-
tion of new forest crop and at the
same time makes the area more acces-
sible and less unsightly.
One of the great recreation attrac-
tions of the national forests is hunting
End fishing, and numerous camps are
maintained for this purpose. The FISH
and game laws of the particular state
in which forest is located govern the
use of the forest for these purposes.
Many of the streams, which are very
numerous. are kept stocked by the
Bureau of Fisheries.
The spare time of the rangers is
spent in building, with other workers,
the trails and other permanent i'm
provements in the national forests,
and the tyro will find the forest of.
ficerS ever ready tn ipstruct him in tha