i88 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



will result from a careful, systematic con- 

 servation of the forest resources of the em- 

 pire drained by the great rivers at whose con- 

 fluence you are situated ; better, far better, 

 that many small lumbering plants should be 

 operated all over the interior country under 

 regulations that will assure the conservative 

 use of timber products, avoid monopoly, 

 guard against waste, and prevent the destruc- 

 tion of forest conditions upon which more 

 than upon any possible exclusive timber busi- 

 ness the continued growth and prosperity of 

 Lewiston and her tributary territory depend. 

 Conserve the forest resources, guard them 

 jealousl}', keep your rivers open and in the 

 highest state of utility for purposes of trade 

 and commerce, hold them as great public 

 highways. Above all, insist upon it that the^ 

 forest conditions favorable to the mainte- 

 nance in these streams of a stage of water 

 suitable to unimpeded navigation shall be 

 preserved and continued, and Lewiston will 

 attain to the proud position among the cities 

 of the West for which her natural location 

 and surroundings so eminently fit her ; and, 

 at the same time, the entire interior will 

 benefit by what you do and reciprocally en- 

 hance your prestige and material prosperity. 



)^' «i «? 



The National Forest Boundaries 



As a result of the examination last summer 

 of national-forest boundaries much land not 

 suited to forest purposes along the edge of 

 and within national forests will be restored 

 to the unreserved public domain, in accord- 

 ance with a plan submitted to the President 

 by the Secretaries of Agriculture and of the 

 Interior. Maps and reports now in the pos 

 session of the Department of Agriculture 

 show the nature of the lands and cover along 

 the national-forest boundaries and within the 

 forests. This information was secured in 

 order to rectify the boundaries, since it was 

 never intended that the national forests 

 should include agricultural lands, or grazing 

 lands not suitable for forest purposes. To 

 obtain it involved going over about 60,000 

 miles of boundaries. The report to the Pres- 

 ident follows : 



February 7, 1910. 

 The President, The White House. 



Sir: After having very carefully consid- 

 ered the matter of eliminations from the ad- 

 ditions to the national forests, we respect 

 fully recommend that the following general 

 policy be adopted : 



1. Lands wholly or in part covered with 

 brush or other undergrowth which protects 

 stream-flow or checks erosion on the water- 

 shed of any stream important to irrigation 

 or to the water supply of any city, town, or 

 community, or open lands on which trees 

 may be grown, should be retained within the 

 national forests, unless their permanent value 

 under cultivation is greater than their value 

 as a protective forest. 



2. Lands wholly or in part covered with 

 timber or undergrowth, or cut-over lands 

 which are more valuable for the production 

 of trees than for agricultural crops, and lands 

 densely stocked with young trees having a 

 prospective value greater than the value of 

 the land for agricultural purposes, should be 

 retained within the national forests. 



3. Lands not either wholly or in part cov- 

 ered with timber or undergrowth, which are 

 located above timber line within the forest 

 boundarj' or in small bodies scattered through 

 the forest, making elimination impracticable, 

 or limited areas which are necessarily in- 

 cluded for a proper administrative boundary 

 line, should be retained within the national 

 forests. 



4. Lands not either wholly or in part cov- 

 ered with timber or undergrowth, except as 

 provided for in the preceding paragraphs, 

 upon which it is not expected to grow trees, 

 should be eliminated from the national for- 

 ests. 



We have the honor to be, very respectfully, 

 Your obedient servants, 



(Signed) James Wilson. 



Secretary of .Agriculture. 

 (Signed) R. A. Ballinger, 

 Secretary of the Interior. 



On the whole, the changes which are found 

 to be called for are of relatively minor im- 

 portance, but in their aggregate they open 

 to settlement a large amount of land. The 

 application of the rules which the President 

 has approved will mean the early restoration 

 to the public domain of 4.000,000 acres or 

 more of national-forest land. This is some- 

 thing over two per cent of the total national- 

 forest area. Three-tenths of the forests have 

 yet to be mapped. 



Some of the land is suitable for dry-land 

 agriculture, though the greater part is graz- 

 ing land. In Idaho, which has a large 

 national-forest area, about 470,000 acres will 

 be eliminated, of which thirt],'-four per cent 

 is tillable. Eliminations in similar proportion 

 will be made in a number of the other 

 western states which have large amounts 

 of land in national forests. 



