56 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



operated with the biological survey in 

 placing over two hundred elk on various 

 national forests. A large number of 

 streams were stocked with trout fry. 



CL.-MMS ON TIIK NATIONAL FORESTS. 



A large part of the report is devoted 

 to a discussion of various kinds of 

 claims under which title to land within 

 the forests is sought. Nearly a thou- 

 sand homesteads were taken up under a 

 special act which provides for opening 

 to settlement land suitable for agricul- 

 ture. The report states, however, that 

 some old homestead claims were insti- 

 tuted for the purpose of securing tim- 

 ber, and the same is still true of some 

 mining claims. 



"As attempted frauds under the min- 

 ing laws are usually resorted to by in- 

 terests in no way associated with min- 

 ing, similarly the vast majority of home- 

 stead frauds are not chargeable to prac- 

 tical farming; but the appeal to popu- 

 lar prejudice has been made in the 

 name of the mining industry and in the 

 name of the farmers of the country." 



MINING CLAIMS. 



"The mining laws," Mr. Graves says, 

 "afford the greatest cloak for land 

 frauds in the national forests, and 

 fraudulent mining claims are initiated 

 by men and interests having no connec- 

 tion whatever with the mining indus- 

 try." The mining laws, for example, 

 have been used to cover townsite and 

 timber claims, to secure farms and 

 ranches, to secure mineral springs, sites 

 for saloons, water-power sites, and 

 stock watering places. 



It has often been asserted that the 

 national forests have operated as a bar 

 to legitimate mining development. Fig- 

 ures collected in Colorado during the 

 past year show that, if anything, there is 

 more activity in prospecting on the na- 

 tional forests than outside. 



"As with the stock industry, the 

 proper relation of the forest service 

 with the mining industry should be co- 

 operative." 



CLASSIFYING LANDS FOR USE. 



One of the largest tasks of the serv- 

 ice during the past year has been the 



classification of lands within the na- 

 tional forests in respect to their highest 

 future use. This work was undertaken 

 during 1913 on a more comprehensive 

 scale than ever before, because there 

 was a specific appropriation for the pur- 

 pose. Large areas are being classified 

 where the amount of land chiefly valu- 

 able for agriculture warrants its being 

 taken out of the forests, and it also 

 takes care of areas on which detailed 

 classification will disclose small areas 

 suitable for agricultural development 

 within the forests. The work is being 

 carried on with the assistance of the 

 bureau of soils and the bureau of plant 

 industry. One result of this work was 

 the elimination of 340,000 acres from 

 the Nebraska national forest, 23,000 

 acres from the Rainier, in Washington, 

 and 413,770 acres from the Deschutes 

 and Paulina, in Oregon. About 300,000 

 acres in small isolated tracts were listed 

 for settlement during the year. The 

 areas now being examined for classifi- 

 cation have a total area of about 3 mil- 

 lion acres. 



WATER-POWER DEVELOPMENT. 



The development of water power 

 upon the national forests increased rap- 

 idly during the year, particularly in Cal- 

 ifornia. It is the purpose of the service 

 to encourage power development in 

 every possible way, while safeguarding 

 the interests of the public. The mini- 

 mum output from the permits now in 

 force is nearly MOO thousand horse- 

 power. 



Regulations now in force aim to safe- 

 guard the interests of the public, pre- 

 vent speculative holding of power sites, 

 provide for complete and proper devel- 

 opment and continuous operation, se- 

 cure a return to the Government for the 

 privilege granted, provide a means by 

 which States and municipalities may ac- 

 quire power permits, and prevent un- 

 just charges being placed on the con- 

 sumer. 



IMPROVEMENTS ON THE FORESTS. 



The forests are being made increas- 

 ingly accessible. More than 350 miles 

 of road, nearly 300 miles of fire lines, 

 nearly 4,000 miles of telephone lines. 



