The Emmett index. [volume] (Emmett, Idaho) 1893-1925, 1921-05-19

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forest hrrs the forest service of Ii
United States department Of agrieu
ture spends over = million dollar
cash year and state ard private In
divic,als one and half million do
Z lars.
, The virgin forest area Of the Uni,
ed States is estimated to have been i
the neighborhood of s22 million acres
Much of this land supported a mag
nifcent forest Of old-growth timber
wonderfully rich IN variety of specie
ard quality of material. England
In colonial days, sent across the At
hntic to this country for fine shil
masts and spars- People then tho
that the supply of timber in the thir
teen colonies would last not only thi,
country but the world forever
4 When the Civil War came most Of tn.
forests Of the eastern states were cui
/ over, and after the war a great lum
Der industry sprang up in the lax.
statess Here, again the people thoi
the supply of white and Norway pint
and spruce was inexhaustible.
Some fifteen years ago the lake
states yielded the palm for lumber
production to the great southern pine
ries, with their billions Of feet Of tim
be-- But this supply rapidly dwin-
died, 80 that today the center of lum-
Der production has moved to the
Northwest where so per cen. of the
remaining timber of the country is
now found IN the three Pacific coast
states.
Our forests have now shrunk to q
little more than one-half of their or
iginal area, or 463 million acres, in
cluding all classes Of forest land
Some 81 million acres-an area equiv
a3ent TO the combined forests Of
France, Switzerland, Germany, Den
mark, Holland, Belgium, Spain and
Portugal-have been so severely cut
and burned as TO become an unpro-
ductiye waste. We also have in this
country today soc million acres that
no longer bear useful timber. This
land should be growing trees TO help
out our waning timber supply. Some
of it Is producing timber, but the
bulk of this tremendous acreage is
being wasted Why7 Because the
fires which burn over it year after
year and in time makes the land,
which once supported magnificent
forests, desolate waste.
The fire problem is one which re-
luires concerted action by the feder-
Il and state governments to do the
'hings which must be done by public
agencies Today, through co-Spera-
ion by "a states with the U. S. for
st service, $50 million acres of
he principal timber regions of the
ountry, outside of the national for
sts, are receiving a greater or less
mount of protection against devas-
alton by fire. In the western states.
There the bulk of forest land is stu
ted within the boundaries of nation
! forests, a very effective system of
re detection and suppression is
by the federal govern
rent
There are, however, some Il states,
18th total Of over 100. .0O0. GOO acres
timbered land, which to date have
lken little or no action IN forest fire
matters These are Ala
ANA, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida,
eorgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, /
[ississippi, Missouri, Ohio, Oklaho-
a, South Carolina and Tennessee.
ack of public sentiment for. organ
ed control of forest fires is preva-
Mt in many of these states. In 9th
5, fire prevention legislation has
.en pending fo- q number of years
Ithout favorable action. Education
citizens in the evils resulting from
forest fires is badly need
especially in the south.
Is there q remedy for this need
IS destruction of timber and other
tural resources. Yesl And a
~ simple one 1t may all be sum-
ID up in the pertinent phrase
[eip protect the forests-be careful
tn fire. This done, seventy-five
r cent Of our forestry problems will !
solved.
Forest Protection Week, TO be OBJ
-yed Nay 22-2s, is great move
nj to which the public must lend
best efforts and willing, whole
irted cooperation, if it is 70 be
'ried TO successful finish. You,
! the organizations of which you
a member, can do much through
Icational and instructive exercises
the people in watching for
preventing fires, so that the for
! and wild life and Fairgrounds
our country may be preserved un-
lice for the nse and enjoyment Of
sent and future generations.
River on Rampage