6o8 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



put the principles of forestry into practice. 

 The reason why the need of prompt action 

 is not appreciated is that, except locally, the 

 effects of forest destruction have not yet 

 been keenly felt. It is true that the prices 

 of certain grades of lumber have tended to 

 increase. This increase is in part due to 

 the reduction of supplies, but is also due to 

 the same causes of increased cost of pro- 

 duction as have raised the price of other 

 manufactured commodities. The devel- 

 opment of railroad transportation and of 

 methods of logging have constantly opened 

 new forest resources and furnished a supply 

 to the public. There are to-day over 30,000 

 saw mills throughout the country cutting 

 timber and competing for the market. Al- 

 though the prices of lumber may seem high 

 to the consumer, it is still true that in some 

 sections the competion among manufac- 

 turers is keeping the prices down to a point 

 where it is hard to market Tow grades and 

 to utilize in full any but the best trees in 

 the forest. As long as the value of timber 

 is below what it will cost to produce it by 

 growth, the general public will not realize 

 that our supplies are being depleted. It is 

 after the virgin supplies are exhausted — and 

 that will come in a comparatively short 

 time — that the great increase in values will 

 come and the public will suffer. We are 

 urging action now in order that there may 

 be new supplies produced to meet the needs 

 of the nation at that time. 



The general public fails to appreciate the 

 effect of forest destruction on stream flow 

 and on soil erosion. Some even go so far 

 as to deny the connection between forests 

 and stream flow. There are many factors 

 which determine the stability of water flow. 

 Climate, character of soil, topography and 

 vegetable cover, have an influence on the 

 run-off of water. There may be a change 

 of conditions of one or more of these in- 

 fluencing factors sufficient to upset the equi- 

 librium established by nature and to alter 

 the manner of run-off of the water in a 

 given watershed. In humid regions, when 

 the forest is cut off or burned, a cover of 

 young trees or bush often springs up quickly 

 and protects the slopes before the character 

 of the stream channels is changed. A single 

 clearing of the forest may thus have only a 

 small or temporary effect on water flow. 

 The repeated destruction of the cover may, 

 however, result in a permanent change and 

 finally produce torrent conditions. Thus in 

 the southern Appalachians it is not so much 

 the present and past conditions — although 

 those are serious — which demand forest 

 conservation, as what will mevltably be the 

 result of continued destruction of the cover. 



Where the conditions for forest growth 

 are critical and the soil and topography 

 such that the balance of nature is easily 

 disturbed, the effects of forest destruction 

 are much more quickly felt. In certain parts 

 of the West we find already examples of 



flood and torrent conditions equal to those 

 in France and Asia. For example, in Utah 

 there are watersheds where on account of 

 the burning of the forests and the over 

 grazing of slopes torrent conditions are al- 

 ready definitely established. One of the 

 most extreme and striking instances in the 

 West is found on the watershed of Kanab 

 creek, flowing through southern Utah and 

 northern Arizona. As the result of over- 

 grazing, the tributary streams have already 

 become deep washes, many new and deep 

 gulches have been formed running into the 

 main channel and into the side channels. 

 The water which falls on the surface is 

 quickly carried to some stream or wash, 

 which becomes a miniature torrent. The 

 gathering of these together In the main chan- 

 nel makes a flood which is irresistible. The 

 loss from the destruction of dams and 

 bridges, the washing away of arable lands 

 and deposits of rocks and gravel on culti- 

 vated fields has been enormous. The resto- 

 ration of vegetation alone will not cure the 

 evil. It is now an engineering problem to 

 check the torrent flow of water in the vari- 

 ous streams and washes. 



In spite of the increasing evidence of the 

 effects of forest destruction the public still 

 fails to appreciate the need of prompt action 

 to prevent the scarcity of timber and to 

 protect the flow of our streams. The time 

 for action is before a disaster and not after- 

 ward. The small public investments neces- 

 sary for forest protection are insignificant 

 when contrasted with the losses and hard- 

 ships to communities from forest destruc- 

 tion. 



The forest problem is peculiarly difficult 

 on account of the length of time required to 

 produce timber of useful dimensions. We 

 to-day are using trees which, for the most 

 part, are over 150 to 200 years of age. The 

 time required to produce trees suitable for 

 lumber varies from about forty years with 

 our most rapid growing species to about 

 100 years in many mountain regions. The 

 production of timber requires a long invest- 

 ment. It requires the permanent use of 

 land for forest growth and a stable policy 

 in handling the forest. At the present time 

 in this country there is a great risk of fire, 

 which discourages the investment of private 

 capital in the growing of timber. By its 

 very nature, therefore, the problem of fores- 

 try presents great difficulties to the average 

 private owner of forest land, who has 

 bought the property to market the merchan- 

 table timber and not to grow trees. For- 

 estry always involves some investment. Pri- 

 vate owners will not, as a rule, make this 

 investment, unless there is a return clearly 

 in sight. On account of the long invest- 

 ment, risk of fire, a burdensome system 

 of taxation of growing timber, and the pres- 

 ent uncertainties of market, most lumber- 

 men to-day are not practicing a system of 

 forestry which takes into consideration the 



