The Grangeville globe. [volume] (Grangeville, Idaho) 1907-1922, 1919-06-26
Set People Straight Regarding
Burned Over Areas in
National Forests.
PASTURE NOT RESULT
Rut Common Sense to Permit
Stock to Craze Therein to
Prevent Wastage.

The attention of the Forest Service
has been called to an article entitled
aTo Burn Timber, published in the
lewiston Morning Tribune under a
sites date line. The story is likely to
he confusing to people uniformed as
10 its policy relative to burned over
areas within the National Forests.
Nothing can present more uninvit-
ing appearance than a burned over
tract which before the fire was cover
cd with living trees. As the writer of
the story truly says, ''the aera is uGu-
ally mass Of standing and fallen
dead timber, crossing and recrossng
each other in heaps, rendering it i'm
possible for horses or cattle to get
through the debris.
The article emphasizes the fact that
certain townships have been thrown
out of the reserve thus becoming sub
ject to entry and that settlers who
have located these "isolated tracts"
are chiefly engaged IN stock raising.
Where ever land within a National
Forest is chiefly valuable for agri-
culture and not needed for public pur
poses ii will he opened for settlement
and entry if ii comprises an acreage
sufficiently large to constitute a practi
cal farm unit under the climatic. and
other natural conditions affecting it.
However. only very small percent
age of National Forest land is of this
character. What is not such must be
administered for the accomplishment
Of the purpose for which Congress au-
thorized the establishment of the Ma
tional forests. These purposes are thus
stated in the law to Improve and pro-
tect the forest within the reservation,
or for the purpose of securing favor
able conditions of water flows. and to
furnish a continuous supply of timber
for the uses and necessities of citizens
OF the United States 1t will be noted
that the furnishing of paSturage for
livestock Is not one of those purposes
and yet it is precisely for the increas-
ing of pasturage for the benefit of the
settlers who have located agricultural
lands, that the writer of the article
would have burned over forest land
cleared up and. seeded to clover and
other grasses.
There is naturally an immense
amount of pasturage within the Nation
al Forest whereon stock may Craze
without interfering with the accom-
plishment Of the purpose for which
the forests are established. Where
This condition exists it is nothing more
than common sense to allow stock to
craze In order to prevent the pastures
from going to waste. 1t Is economi-
cally beneficial to use this natural re-
source of the forests to the best adj
vantage. All this, however, does not
warrant the seeding down to pasture
natural forest lands which have been
burned over, Such areas may be re-
orested, either naturally or arti-
nclally and restored to a timber pro-
ducing state.
In the Elk City region, to which the
article referred to especially applies,
nature will restore the forest cover
on denuded tracts unless her process
Ne hterfered with. Natural methods of
reforestation are slow but they are
sure In tine the mass of standing and
Naiien dead timber encumbering a fire
swept tract will disappear, but mean
while young growth will come and III
uhately the forest cover will be fully
ieslaDnshed. Were the Forest Service
70 prevent the restoration of the forest
py seeding burned-Cver areas to forage
pants, 1t would he doing the very
opposlte of what is was created to do
allu would be defeating the specific
PURPOSES for the accomplishment OF
Thich Tor the public good. the National
Forests were established, and are main
tained
congress has deemed it necessary
~ ~ restrict the acreage to which a set
. .,er III the National Forests may oh
alh ute TO from the government t.
ny more than quarter section. II
urged In the article referred to thai
no' only should burned over areas bt
ssu seueu To pasture but that, to avoi(
a'i.'ioh @ among them. each settler bt
T., Sss,shed priority rights over others
8, 'ne use of selected tracts so seeded
nnn.s procedure would practically
boa,y boily the acreage limit of private
aIg aIpu'ilgs fixed by the law and would
so ~, ~hd to confine to n favored few
use or pasturage to which nj
Tuiu Tg nave equal opportunity.
sh ne suggestion that burned-over area
ulu De cleared up and seeded t.
n,,,, e nrasses and then assigned witt
nioIity rights to particular Individual
.saily Interested in them is fraugh
win great danger to the public wei
inc ouch a policy would be a stand
hn. invitation to selfish interests t
yaaa. oII the forests for their own ad-