The Winslow mail. (Winslow, Ariz.) 1893-1926, 1925-04-24
AMERICAN FOREST
WEEK WILL FOCUS
NATIONS THOUGHT
ON TIMBER NEEDS

American Forest week, which
the president has set for April II
to Nav 3. is intended to focus the
attention of all citizens on the
danger that faces the United States
through neglect of forests and to
unite all public and private inter-
ests in the task of working out
national forestry policy, according
to District Forester F. c.. w. POOler,
of Albuquerque, N. NJ, who states
that economists regard the neces-
sity for such policy as one of the
greatest subjects now before the
nation.
Foresters have been warning the
nation for a long time, the district
forester points out, that. timber rs
being cut and destroyed faster than
it is growing, but they were re-
garded largely as alarmists. Ever
since it was discovered few years
ago, however, through the gather
ing of reliable statistics, that the
industrial use of timber and forest
fires were together consuming The
timber from four to six times as
fast as it is being replaced by new
growth, increasing numbers of peo-
pie have become gravely concerned
regarding future lumber sources.
The same data showed that for
est areas in the United States have
become steadily smaller and small
er. From an original virgin forest
covering about 822 million acres,
forest areas have shrunk to less
than half that amount. The orig1-
nal forests were in well distributed
regions, but now half of the virgin
timber that is left is along the
Pacific coast hundreds of miles
away from the great centers of pop
ulation where the big industrial
use of lumber occurs, and more
than 80,000,000 acres of timberland
is lying practically idle.
Aroused public sentiment now is
demanding that the best thought
and craftsmanship of the country
be concentrated on the job of for
est renewal in the effort to avert
a severe timber shortage that is
threatening the nation. The pulp
and paper industry is running
short of raw material for its mills
and huge investments are in places
becoming useless. Organized labor
sees men out of employment as
forest areas become denuded, the
National Federation OF. Farm bu-
reaus fears disaster in irrigated
farm regions through floods from
General Federation of Women's
clubs is worried about building
material for future generations.
Forest depletion strikes hard at
every citizen.
President Coolidge says an abund-
ant reasonably priced supply of
timber is an elemental necessity
of good government. Congressman
Morrow, of New Mexico, in a recent
address in Congress deplored the
passing of a wilderness Of timber
where once abounded animal life
of all descriptions; where flowed
swift rivers teeming with fish, and
where primitive man found his
haunts and his food supply, but
congratulates the nation that it has
aroused from a dream of waste
with a desi e to reforest and re-
build what the people have permit
ted and acquesced in destroying.
Others of the greatest men of
America are thinking in the same
channels.
American Forest week has been
planned to offer the opportunity for
a flood of information that will
reach every thinking citizen in the
land. With something like a hun
dred organizations alive to the ne
cessity for education in the forest
needs of the nation and urging
thought and action on a national
forestry policy, the week is intended
to represent the biggest educational
campaign for the conservation and
renewal of fundamental natural
resource ever attempted.