Chippewa National Forest

USES OF THE CHIPPEWA

A forest serves many purposes beside the obvious and very important one of providing lumber and fuel. It holds soil in place, preventing the erosion of land and the silting of river beds. It makes possible the gradual, steady absorption of rain, helping to maintain rivers and streams. It provides recreation for thousands of people, renewing their courage and strength through holidays in the great outdoors. It is the source of work and livelihood for farm and townspeople within its boundaries.

Loading logs with home-made power jammer. F—401035

Cutting railroad ties means employment. F—392453

Making logs into lumber keeps the sawmills going. F—401067

Workers loading jack pine pulpwood from national-forest sales for transportation to the mill. F—401051

The essence of land-use planning, upon which the administration of the Chippewa National Forest is based, is putting each section or type of land to its best use.

No other national forest has more varied use than the Chippewa. Its supplies of timber are located close to market, and the large majority of its timber sales are made to local people and small operators. They buy it on the stump, cut it according to Forest Service standards, and sell it at a profit.

The Chippewa has about 40,000 acres of hay meadows, and permits are granted to local people to cut the hay.

In farm communities cultivation and pasture are permitted on certain Government lands to supplement the small holdings of individual farmers.

Gravel pits acquired in the purchase of forest lands are made available to towns and counties for road construction.

Farmers may acquire fuelwood, fence posts, and dead and down sawlog material by permit.

Permits are issued for electric lines and right-of-way privileges along Forest Service roads, and the Rural Electrification Administration has brought the conveniences of electricity to many farm families on the forest.

Other permits include those for tapping maple trees and for cutting Christmas trees and cedar and balsam branches.

Checking and scaling ties and sawlog material cut from a Chippewa timber sales area. F—392450

RETURNS TO COUNTIES

Twenty-five percent of national-forest income is returned to the counties in which the forest is located, in the case of the Chippewa to Itasca, Beltrami and Cass Counties. An additional 10 percent is set aside for the construction of roads by the Forest Service within these counties.

Previous to a land exchange this settler was located 12 miles from town and 4 miles from a road which was kept open in winter. His new location is on a main highway, less than a mile from a good town. The house was moved intact, the barn in sections. F—388288

Permission is granted for public school sites within the forest area. F—389137

FOREST-FARM COMMUNITIES

In addition to the areas set aside for timber production, recreational purposes, and wildlife propagation and protection, 15 areas on the Chippewa have been designated forest-farm areas because of the agricultural possibilities of the soil and because of their location in relation to schools, roads, and stores. Within these areas the Federal Government owns certain tracts of land suited to agriculture. These are reserved for the purpose of relocating, through land exchange, poorly located farmers living within the forest.

Under this procedure any land-owning farmer in an isolated spot where it is difficult to get to market, school, and stores, or where the soil has proved unfit for agriculture, may offer his lands in exchange for lands of equal value in a forest-farm community.

Many benefits are derived from these exchanges. The farmer and his family benefit directly, and county taxes are lowered because of the reduced costs of schools, roads, and relief. The standard of living is improved in the forest, and nonagricultural land is returned to its best use.

Old fields in Government ownership are cultivated under permit. F—388301

OTHER SERVICES

A complete list of uses of the Chippewa is given at the end of this booklet. Most of them are of decided economic advantage to forest residents. In addition to all the people indirectly dependent upon the forest for their jobs or business, nearly 2,000 families on the Chippewa have one or more members employed in work on the forest.

Second only to the preservation of the natural resources of land, timber, and water for the benefit of all the people is the Forest Service function of providing for the employment and welfare of the people who live within the national forests.