Evening star., 1939-03-05
u. ). Forest Addition
Sought 10 Preserve
'HiawathaIand'
812,254-Acre Purchase
In Michigan Urged by
Representative Hook

: Completion of another great Ma
tional Forest to preserve the natural
4 heritage of the American people is
in the offing.
Legislative wheels are being oiled
on Capitol Hill to save another large
i portion of "HiaWathaland" - the
Shining Big Sea Water immortalized
Y in Longfellow' poem.
Il Representative Frank E. Hook,
II Democrat, of Michigan and men,
j Der of the House Agriculture Com
mittee, said Yesterday he will call
public hearings within three weeks
on his bill under which the Govern
ment would acquire, at a cost of
! Sl0000000, land lying in Northern
Michigan between the Wisconsin
Border. Lake Superior and the
keweenaw Peninsula to complete
Ottawa National Forest
Mr.. Hook introduced the measure
at the last Congress, but it was not
reported out of committee He hopes
for its passage in this session, he
says.
HG tllC ptCoCllb llllC llllS lldCl,
wherein is one of the few stands of
& virgin timber left east of the Rockies,
y is the only large national forest
4 acquisition before the Agriculture
Committee. Its purchase would pro-
n vide economic security for the in
] habltants of the area and at the
same time provide unparalleled rec
rotation facilities for populous Lake
u State cities, Mr.. Hook contends.
Valuable for Timber.
The area of the proposed Ottawa
National Forest is TAB ,308 acres. Of
this 5688 acres have been bought
or will be purchased by the Govern
ment. leaving 8l2,254 acres to be
acquired. The area comprises parts
of Baraga, Gogebic, Houghton, Iron
and Ontonagon Counties.
The area is described as broken
terrain abounding in lakes, woods,
streams, fish and game. In its
northwestern portion lie the Porcu-
/ pine Mountains, rising to more than
1000 feet From this high land the
area drains into Lake Superior. Lake
Michigan and the Mississippi River.
However, Mr. Hook pointed out
yesterday. about 80 per cent of the
land is chiefly valuable for timber
resources. These are at present
being numbered by the old clear ALL
method by private companies and
the wooded part of the area is i'm
medlately threatened with the de-
yr1,i oI, fona
this type of logging operation-no
trees left for seed, danger of raging
fires, soil erosion and attendant
dlminution of fish and game stocks.
He said that most of the land
already acquired is ut-over land
and that the land supporting timber
growth is still open to private ex-
ploitation.
Would Relieve Unemployment.
'Unless this uncut area is saved
by Government purchase, Mr. Hook
said, the area will go the way of
so many Lake State sections now
barren and desolate since the days
when the great mill towns of Michi-
gan were built on 40 solid feet of
saWdust"
In addition to conservational rea-
sons for completing purchase of the
area, Mr.. Hook and Forest Service
officials say the project would allie
viate the unemployment and relief
situations in the area.
In the past the section was part
Of the great Keweenaw copper min
ing region. Arizona, Montana, Chile
and South Africa, as we'll as in
creased cost and difficulty of mining,
ruined this industry. The poor soil
was farmed out and the white pine
Of early logging days was cut off.
Selective cutting and propagating
Of the forests and preservation of
recreative aspects of the land are
offered by the park hackers as the
sections solution. If this is done,
residents of the area who are losing
1theans of support (there are $4,000
persons on relief In the Upper Pen
insula) will be able to make a
living by part-time farming, lum-
bering and guiding, Mr.. Hook esti-
mates.