The Use of the National Forests

WHY NATIONAL FORESTS WERE FIRST MADE.

In 1891 Congress authorized the President to establish forest reserves (now called National Forests), and President Harrison created the first one—the Yellowstone—that same year.

Congress took this action because the forests of the great mountain ranges in the West were being destroyed very rapidly by fire and reckless cutting. It was realized that unless something were done to protect them, the timber resources of the country and the many industries dependent upon the forest would be badly crippled. So the law aimed to save the timber for the use of the people, and to hold the mountain forests as great sponges to give out steady flows of water for use in the fertile valleys below.

At the start there was much opposition to the Forests. Often this opposition was just; for although Congress had set apart the lands and their resources it had made no provision for their use or their protection. The timber was simply locked up and left to burn. This mistake was remedied in 1897, when a law was passed which made it possible to use all the resources and give them suitable protection.

Plate I. A Forest Fire. The Destruction of National Wealth. Millions of Dollars' Worth of Timber Go up in Smoke on the Unprotected Public Domain.

HOW THEY ARE MADE.

At first a great many of the National Forests were made without knowing exactly where the boundary lines should run. This was unfortunate; because some agricultural lands which should have been excluded were taken in, and a good deal of timber land which should have been included was left out. This could have been avoided by making examinations on the ground, but there was no money for the work, and so the boundaries had to be drawn very roughly.

Since 1900, however, men and money have been available for field examinations, and rough and inaccurate work has been done away with entirely. The old and carelessly made National Forests have been surveyed and mapped, and the President has put back into the public domain those lands which should not have been included. Now, before new Forests or additions to old ones are made, all the lands are examined on the ground.

The greatest care is used in this work. Every section of land is examined, mapped, and described, and the boundaries are drawn to exclude, as far as possible, everything which does not properly belong in a National Forest. Two very detailed maps are made. One shows just what is growing on the land, the other shows who owns or claims the land. Every bit of cultivated land is located and mapped, as well as the land which is suited to cultivation but which is not cultivated at present. Men trained under western conditions are employed in the work. They report very thoroughly about all matters, such as the importance of the forest to regulate the water flow, its present and future value in supplying the local demand for timber, and how the creation of a National Forest would affect all the local industries of the region; especially, how it would affect the home builder.

Before any new National Forest is made it is known just why it should be made, just what effect it will have, and just where it should he located.

There are now about 145,000,000 acres of National Forests in the United States and about 5,000,000 acres more in Alaska and Porto Rico. The list in the Appendix shows where they are located and what they are called.