The Ely miner., 1927-08-26
FIRE PROTECTION
THE MAIN ISSUE
Commission FINDS THAT A
FIRE PROTECTION AN REFOR-
ESTATION POLICY MUST BE
ESTABLISHED = COMMISSION
CONCLUDES TRIP.

the state interim forestry commls-
sion following a nine-day tour OF
Northern Minnesota that took the
members into the forests, state
parks, lumber mills, wood conversion
plants, iron mines and recreatlonal
,.>Is o. the Ten Thousand Lakes
country.
Lieutenant-Governor William l.
Nolan, chairman of the commission
who headed the party of state sena-
tors and representatives, forestry
experts and newspapermen on the
tour, declare that Minnesota's
policy must be changed with regard
to the conservation of its natural
resources.
"We have grown to better know
the conditions by going over the
territory" said Lieut--Gov. Nolan,
"and in some cases have received
valuable suggestions. Personally l
have been interested in retoresta-
ton for some time principally, l
suppose, for sentimental reasons.
1t seems sad that the forests have
gone, reducing the value OF the
state for recreational purposes.
r'I cannot speak for the commits
sion as a whole, but / believe that
we are all of one mind that these
lands should be reforested. The
great question is how to do it. we
must WORK out some policy to in
duce private owners to take up re-
forestation, and to have the state
utilize its own lands, which COM
prise 100000 acres. Should the
state reforest its own lands, Mime
sofa would have a park that would
not be equaled anywhere else in
the world.
"For years / have heard much
about the ruthless lumberman who,
when he cut his timber, swept every
thing before him, leaving nothing.
But l have learned with surprise
that the state does the same, so
there should be a change in that
policy. Something must be left for
reseeding, and nature will do the
rest if the growing timber is pro-
tected from fire. The matter of
fire protection, it seems to me, is
the most important of the whole
problem.
eve are going to try to get all
the information we can, not only
here but about what has been done
in other states where the same
problem has been met. We will
hear all interests alike and no par
ticular interest will be shown favor
tism.
81 would like to feel that the next
generation is not going to say the
unkind things about this one that
we have been saying about the last
that they took away the beauty
and left nothing; but that the next
generation will say that we tried to
restore it."
The trip by bus, logging train and
automobile through Northern Min
nesota was taken to give the COM
mission first-hand information with
which to prepare the reforestation
program to be presented to the 1929
legislature. Lieut.-Gov. Nolan said
that the general study and investi-
cation will continue in Minnesota,
as well as in other forestry states,
before a definite policy is recon-
mended.
The commission went from St.
Paul to Sartell and Little Falls on
Augusta, the first day of the trip,
the tour including Brainerd, Itasca
park, Park Rapids, Cass Lake, Min
nesota National forest, Hibbing, Vir-
ginia, Ely, the Canadian border
lakes, Superior National forest,
Grand Marais, Duluth and Cloquet.
Fred D. Vibert, executive director
of the Minnesota Arrowhead asso-
citation, who arranged the details of
the trip for the commission, accom-
panied the members on the tour and
presided at the dinner given by the
association in honor of the commits
sion at the Spalding hotel in Duluth
last Friday evening. The gather
ing was attended by more than $50
business and professional men of
Duluth and towns in the Arrowhead
country.
Figures given out by Mr.. Vibert
at the completion of the trip show
that the valuation of raw materials
and payrolls in the forestry indus
try in Northern Minnesota, the ter
ritory visited by the commission last
week, totals $18,898,OOO. In Du-
luth alone it is $3,O00,000, the
other cities following: Cloquet
$4y000,000; Braincrd, $1,393, 900;
Bemidji, $1,020,5O0; Virginia, $4,-
100000; Park Rapids, $745,O0O;
Grand Rapids, $2,6O0,OOO; Cass
Lake, $4,000 and Tower, $110, 900.
Those who made the trip follow:
Senator Adolph Larson, Sandston;
Louis Enstrom, Malung; Gen. w. B.
Douglas, former attorney general,
st. Paul; Lieut.-Gov. w. I. Nolan,
Minneapolis; Senator Fred w. Bes-
sette, Orr; Mrs. Estelle Flanders,
Minneapolis; Senator Fred D. Long,
Park Rapids; R. s. Johnson, Forest
Lake; Senator Louis P. Johnson,
Ivanhoe; State Forester G. M. Con-
zet, st. Paul; Arthur F. Opel, as
sistant Forester, st. Paul; Speaker
John A. johnson, Preston; John
Nordine, Lake City; John I. Levin,
st. Paul; secretary of the commits
sion; Prof. II. H. Chapman, New
Haven, Conn. Fred D. Vibert, Du-
luth; John Haugland, Montevidio;
Senator George Nordlin, st. Paul;
AL Evans of the st. Paul Dispatch