National forest

“ The young Forester must make himself familiar with the administration of the National Forests. He must know how the business of the forest is handled, how it is protected against fire, how the timber is sold, how claims and entries are dealt with under the public land laws, how land in the [Pg 140] National Forests is used to make homes, how trespass is controlled, how the livestock industry on the National Forests is fostered and regulated, and how the extremely valuable watersheds they contain are safeguarded and improved. ”

“ Through forest management and its implements, including timber cutting, National Forests are cared for in their own best interests and in the interests of man. The most useful trees are perpetuated in their proper environment through silviculture (silva, the forest, and culture, to cultivate) , the science of producing and caring for a forest. ”

“ The axe and saw are insanely busy, chips are flying thick as snowflakes, and every summer thousands of acres of priceless forests, with their underbrush, soil, springs, climate, scenery, and religion, are vanishing away in clouds of smoke, while, except in the national parks, not one forest guard is employed. ”

“ The uses to which National Forest lands are put are almost unbelievably various. Barns, borrow pits, botanical gardens, cemeteries and churches, dairies and dipping vats, fox ranches and fish hatcheries, hotels, pastures, pipe lines, power sites, residences, sanitaria and school-houses, stores and tunnels, these and many others make up, with grazing and timber sales, the uses of the National Forests, for which already more than half a million permits have been issued. ”

“ A system of forestry which will provide sufficient lumber for the needs of our country and keep our forest land productive must be built on the extension of our public forests. Our National Forests are, at present, the one bright feature of future lumbering. Their tree crops will never be cut faster than they can be grown. A balance between production and consumption will always be maintained. Our needs for more timber, the necessity for protecting the headwaters of streams, the demands for saving wild life, and the playground possibilities of our forests justify their extension. ”

“ Much has already been done to protect our forests. Of the 191 million acres of National Forest, 34 million have been set aside as part of the wilderness preservation system, a system that safeguards wilderness for future use and enjoyment. National Forests include more than 4,300 miles of designated segments of the National Wild and Scenic Rivers Systems. ”

“ In order that the reader may fully appreciate the gigantic task that has been accomplished in bringing the National Forest administration and organization to its present state of development, it is necessary to briefly sketch the conditions that led up to the inauguration of the Federal Forest Policy before we stop to consider that policy and the establishment and organization of National Forests.
Prodigality Leads Finally to Conservation. Every great movement, which has for its object the betterment of the lot of mankind, lags far behind the times. ”

“ Nothing but forests will hold the rainfall, to release it slowly through a thousand rivulets and springs that are the source of countless rivers. With the forest cut or burned off these streams are dry most of the summer and raging torrents for a few weeks in the spring, washing out all the priceless accumulation of the ages which the forest has conserved for its own and our benefit. While the reservation of these great national forests has worked individual hardship, experience for many years back in India and Germany shows Federal ownership or control the only wise policy. ”

“ The protection of these valuable watersheds by the Forest Service from fire and destructive lumbering is of such vital importance to the welfare [xxxviii] of the nation that it has been made one of the main reasons for establishing National Forests.
Civilization Brought to the Mountains. What the National Forest movement has done for settling and building up the Western States can hardly be overestimated. It has brought civilization into the wilderness. ”

“ The protection of National Forest grazing interests is secured by the prevention of overgrazing, by the prevention of damage to roads, trails, or water sources, by the proper bedding of sheep and goats, by the proper disposition of carcasses, by salting the stock and by the proper observation of the national and state live stock and quarantine laws. ”

“ In order to protect these trees, the government has set aside certain forest preserves which are called National Forests. There are 152 National Forests in the United States. Each of these National Forests has a supervisor in charge. He has under him wardens, rangers and lookouts. These men all work to detect and suppress fires.”
“That is a large organization,” said Bill. “Why are so many men needed?”
“The forests in the United States cover a large area,” replied Cecil. “About twenty-nine per cent of the land area of the United States is covered with timber. ”

“ Is it too much to hope that before the close of another decade every state and territory will have a school of forestry, and that all national forest domains will have been brought under rational supervision and control? ”

“ During National Forest Products Week, we recognize the invaluable contribution forest products make to our daily lives, the forest products industry's importance to our economy, and the incredible beauty and recreational opportunities provided by our Nation's woodlands. This year, many of our forests and surrounding communities face blazing wildfires, so we also pray for the safety of our people, our first responders, and our forest habitats.
Our Nation is blessed with millions of acres of forested lands. ”

“ Besides these, examples of our northeastern forests, the pines of the southern Appalachians, the everglades of Florida, the tangled woodlands of the gulf, and other typical forests which perchance may have escaped the desolation of civilization, should be added to the splendid forest reserves of the national parks of the West, first-grown as Nature made them, forever to remain untouched by the axe. ”

“ The guiding philosophy of National Forest management is known as “multiple use.” This term describes a broad program involving the inter-relationship of wild life protection, livestock 231 grazing, logging, mining, irrigation watersheds, wood chopping, recreation, summer home areas, and hunting and fishing activities. Railroads and other roads are built in National Forests according to plan and under supervision. How much of this esteemable policy and program has been derived from the National Park experience? ”

“ Forest Management Studies. Experiments in forest management are carried on to determine the best methods of cutting National Forest timber to secure natural reproduction and at the same time to improve the quality and productivity of the remaining stand. ”

“ To this the Forest Service replied by throwing open to agricultural settlement every acre of land, lying within the limits of the national forests, which was more suitable for agriculture than forest culture. ”

“ Thus the average National Forest comprises about one million acres of government lands. The many private holdings scattered through the Forests make the average gross area of each Forest much greater. These Forests are located in Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Idaho, Michigan, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Oregon, Porto Rico, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. ”

“ The most important tasks of the trained Forester on a National Forest are the preparation of working plans for the use of the forest by methods which will protect and perpetuate it as well, and the carrying out of the plans when made. ”

“ It is not the government's plan that the National Forests shall remain unused, but they are to be used wisely, so as to be of the greatest permanent good to the greatest number of people. The men who have been placed in charge of these lands are called "forest rangers," and their duties are of many kinds. ”

“ The history of forestry in the United States, however, is far more important. The Forester must know the story of the growth and change of National Forest organizations, the Forest Officers and their duties, the cost, size, and effectiveness of the Government Forest Service at different times, the Civil Service regulations under which it is recruited, and other similar matters. ”

“ The people who have camps on government land use their places for week-end excursions during the snow season when the roads are passable. The White Mountain National Forest is used more for winter sports than any other government woodland. ”

“ My connection with the United States Forest Service in various parts of the West has given me ample opportunity to study every phase of the problem. I am attempting to chronicle a wonderful accomplishment by a wonderful organization of altruistic Americans,—an accomplishment of which every American has reason to feel proud.
Few people realize that the bringing under administration and protection of these vast forests is one of the greatest achievements in the history of forest conservation. ”

“ Much of this was cut-over and so severely burned before the creation of the forests that it bears no tree growth. Some of these lands will reseed themselves naturally while other areas have to be seeded or planted by hand. In this way the lands that will produce profitable trees are fitted to support forest cover. Because the soils and climate of our National Forests are different, special experiments have been carried on in different places to decide the best practices to follow. ”

“ I urge that all our National parks adjacent to National forests be placed completely under the control of the forest service of the Agricultural Department, instead of leaving them as they now are, under the Interior Department and policed by the army. ”

“ This area is also one fifth larger than the entire area of France. We marvel sometimes at the ability of a ruler to rule a country as large as France or Germany; why should we Americans not marvel at the ability of the man who practically rules over our National Forests, who keeps in perfect working order the great organization which protects and administrates the Forests?
The Topography and Climate of the National Forest Region. ”

“ Today, Americans continue to be responsible stewards of national forests and grasslands. Through the commonsense management approach of my Healthy Forests Initiative, the Forest Service is working with State and local governments, tribes, and other Federal agencies to help prevent destructive wildfires, return forests to a healthier, natural condition, and maintain a full range of forest types. The Forest Service is also providing important work, education, and job training to citizens in need. ”

“ A network of good roads is constructed in every forest to improve fire fighting activities as well as to afford better means of communication between towns, settlements and farms. The road and trail plan followed in the National Forests is mapped out years in advance. ”

“ In India systematic forest management was begun about forty years ago, under difficulties—presented by the character of the country, the prevalence of running fires, opposition from lumbermen, settlers, etc.—not unlike those which confront us now. Of the total area of government forests, perhaps seventy million acres, fifty-five million acres have been brought under the control of the forestry department,—a larger area than that of all our national parks and reservations. ”

“ If he looks forward to entering the United States Forest Service, he should not fail to get also the Use Book, the volume of directions and regulations in accordance with which the National Forests are protected, developed, and made available and useful to the people of the regions in which they lie. ”

“ The Shoshone Forest is no exception. Most national forests contain sufficient summer range for present game herds and some increases. However, the situation regarding winter range is different. Most of the land at the lower elevations where the game originally wintered is outside the forest. Much of it has been homesteaded and is in livestock ranches and farms. In many sections of the West game, especially deer and elk, are faced with the desperate choice of raiding ranches in the valleys and foothills or starving in the snowdrifts of the high mountains. ”