STATE WORK 



Fire Protection 



Fire Warden Howell Thomas of Appleton, 

 Wis., who is stationed at Crystal Falls, Mich., 

 and has under his supervision about one-half 

 of Iron County, comprising some half mil- 

 lion acres, tells of what is being accomplished 

 in preventing forest fires in his district. The 

 work is being done by the Northern Forest 

 Protective Association. 



About 2,000,000 acres of forest and are rep- 

 resented in the membership of the associa- 

 tion, the fire wardens or rangers receiving 

 their compensation from a fund created by 

 an assessment of V2 cent per acre, which 

 means about $50,000 per year. While the 

 fire wardens devoted the greater portion of 

 their time to preventing fires and patrolling 

 their districts, says Warden Thomas, they 

 also did considerable educational work, in- 

 structing people residing in their respective 

 districts as to the safest methods of dispos- 

 ing of their huge brush piles and as to build- 

 ing campfires. In many ways, says Warden 

 Thomas, the fire wardens averted damaging 

 conflagrations by a timely warning to \yoods 

 people, who receive the rangers very kindly. 

 The term fire wardens is used in place of 

 forest rangers, by reason of the fact that 

 they have power to make arrests and to de- 

 mand assistance whenever occasion demands. 



As this is the first year of the association 

 the wardens have had considerable hardshio, 

 being obliged to make their patrol on foot. 

 The leaders in the association, which com- 

 prises large lumber interests, however, p'O- 

 pose to equip the wardens with horses and 

 other equioment next year. Warden Thomas 

 told of taking a fifty-mile trip with a fifty- 

 pound pack on his back in order to cover his 

 patrol and he says it was no simple task to 

 accomplish it. The association further pro ■ 

 poses to erect look-out or watch towers on 

 the higher points of land in the respective 

 districts, which will greatly enhance the ef- 

 ficiency of the patrols, and this will mean 

 that the wardens will be employed through- 

 out the entire year and not only during the 

 season when fires threaten millions and mil- 

 lions of feet of timber. 



In addition to keeping close watch on the 

 interests of the land owners in the associa- 

 tion the fire wardens fight fires on the prop- 

 erty of others in order to prevent its spread- 

 ing to property they are sworn to protect. 

 Coupled with fire fighting is the duty of the 



wardens to arrest land grabbers and in every 

 way possible make it a point to see that 

 nothing irregular takes place by way of trans 

 fers in lands and timber holdings. It will 

 not be long, says Warden Thomas, when 

 the protective association will have extended 

 its lines into Wisconsin and Minnesota, if 

 present plans of the organization do not mis- 

 carry, as things point most favorably in that 

 direction at the present time. 



Enforcing the Law 



The New Jersey State Forestry Commis- 

 sion, of which Governor Wilson is the presi- 

 dent, is strictly enforcing the forest fire serv- 

 ice law, as this letter, sent to the Wantage 

 township committee attests : 



Gentlemen: The Forest Commission has 

 decided that a forest fire service must be 

 maintained in Wantage township. You are 

 accordingly notified that unless a township 

 fire warden who shall be satisfactory to the 

 Forest Commission is appointed to serve for 

 the year beginning January 1, 1913. and the 

 necessary appropriation made for his salary 

 and possible expenses, the Forest Commis- 

 sion will appoint a state fire warden to be 

 fire warden of Wantage township as it is au- 

 thorized to do by Section 2, Chapter 123, 

 Laws of 1906. 



You are reminded that the effect of such 

 an appointment will be that no resident of 

 Wantage township can burn brush, or make 

 any fire in proximity to a forest, as provided 

 by Section 9 of the Forest Fire Law with- 

 out a permit from the state fire warden who 

 may be serving as township fire warden. It 

 is understood that this requirement will im- 

 pose some inconvenience and possibly hard- 

 ship upon residents of the township, but since 

 you as representatives of the people have seen 

 fit to ignore the requirement of the Forest 

 Commission to provide a township forest fire 

 service it is obliged to uphold the law even 

 if the means involve inconvenience. And you 

 may be assured that if the Forest Commis- 

 sion is obliged to resort to this course it 

 will also enforce the law against all offenders. 



The action indicated will be taken with 

 great reluctance, and it is hoped that it may 

 be avoided. The matter is therefore brought 

 to your attention thus early that you may 

 take the necessary steps to secure the needful 

 appropriation for next year. 



9.58 



