The gazette-times. [volume] (Heppner, Or.) 1912-1925, 1922-12-28
Call to Get TOgette, on
Our Forest Problems

Lumbermen, timber owners, state
forest officials and others are being
asked to give thought and construc-
tive suggestions to the forest pro-
blems of the Douglas fir region Of the
Northwest in an appeal just issued by
District Forester Geo. II. Cecil's Of
fee in Portland. A preliminary draft
Of statement of fundamentals of the
forest problem has been drawn up by
local forest officers and sent out to
other interested agencies Of Oregon
and Washington. This tentative draft
is technically called minimum sill
vicultural requirements" in plain
English, the least things to be done
in order to insure continuous timber
production on forest lands Of the
Northwest.
Fire prevention during logging,
"fire- -proofing" cut-over land, and
protection from fire after logging
are the key notes of this report. The
aim of the get-together is to decide
on the essential measures necessary
to keep forest land in the Douglas
fir region productive of forest crops
after the virgin timber is removed.
This is subject which has been dis
cussed considerably during the past
year in forestry and numbering cir
cles, as result Of the proposal of
Colonel W. B. Greedy Of the Forest
Service TO make study for each re-
gion of the country of the minimum
silvicultural requirments" necessary
for reasonably successful continuous
forest productions.
This study has been undertaken CO.
operatively by the Forest Service,
State Foresters, Lumberman's or
ganization, forest protective organ
izations and the like in the hope of
embodying in the report the best
thought of all those interested in this
topic. The first draft of the report
for the Douglas fir region has just
been prepared by Thornton T. Munged
Of the Forest Service, and copies
have just been sent to some twenty
five cooperating organizations and
individuals in Oregon and Washing
ton for their review and criticism.
Upon the basis of these criticisms
revised statement will be prepared
and then given general circulation.
This report is concerned only with
the steps that must be taken in the
woods to secure the continuous pro-
duction Of forest crops and is not con-
cerned with the economic readjust-
ments and legislative enactmens that
may be necessary to carry out these
forestry measures, foresters say. 1t
Is brought out very clearly that to Sc
cure reforestation by natural means
in the Douglas fir region is very
simple matter, that no radical change
in present methods is necessary and
that by adding but few cents per
thousand board foot to the cost of
logging a new crop of young trees
is practically assured. Foresters say
that perhaps nowhere in the country
is the problem of natural reforesta-
tion so simple as in this western Or
egon and Washington country, un-
less 1t be in the redwood region. A
greater part of the report is devoted
to a discussion of fire protection dur
ing and after logging, for fire is the
great enemy of reforestration now.
Very much better fire prevention,
especially on logged-over lands which
should be growing up to new crops.
than is now practiced is urged. 1t
is the first essential of forestry here
in the Northwest the statement says.