AMERICAN I'ORESTRY 



1555 



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STATE NEWS 



CALIFORNIA 



'T'HIi number of fires and the damage re- 

 suiting in the area covered by the 

 Weeks Law agreement in California during 

 the 1919 fire season conclusively shove's the 

 necessity of increased co-operation under 

 this law. 



An appropriation, made by the Califor- 

 nia Legislature for fire protection work, 

 became available July 22 and on July 25 

 four Weeks Law patrolmen were appoint- 

 ed by the State Forester and took up the 

 task of preventing and combating fires. 

 Approximately three million acres of the 

 Sierra Nevada watersheds in Northern 

 California were thus, for the first time, 

 brought under protection. 



The district assigned to each patrolman 

 was large, too large in fact, to permit the 

 effective patrol work that is necessary. 

 The area placed under protection is one 

 of great fire hazard due to climatic con- 

 dition. At the same time its value as a 

 watershed is immeasurable. 



One hundred and sixteen fires occurred 

 in the protected area during the eighty-two 

 days of the fire season that remained after 

 the appointment of the Weeks Law men. 



Several of the fires, had they not been 

 systematically fought, would have swept 

 from the foothills into the National For- 

 ests. 



Residents of the districts in which fires 

 occurred expressed great satisfaction with 

 the assistance given them to combat flames 

 that threatened their property. Several 

 landowners expressed a desire to aid finan- 

 cially the work of the fire patrolmen. In 

 one county the Supervisors, wishing to do 

 their share toward protecting property in 

 the county, voted to pay bills for food re- 

 quired by fire fighters called by patrolemen. 



Sentiment in favor of fire protection 

 work was greatly increased in the counties 

 in which Weeks Law men worked. While 

 the men were kept busy much of the time 

 with fire fighting they still found time 

 in which to organize voluntary fire fight- 

 ing companies, arrange for the placement 

 of county equipment in districts of fire haz- 

 ard and at all times they preached the 

 gospel of fire prevention. 



The fire season just closed has been 

 one of the most serious on record in Cali- 

 fornia, owing to a succession of dry sea- 

 sons and the presence, during the fire 

 season, of extremely high winds. It makes 

 one shudder to think what would have 

 been the result in the Sierra foothills dur- 

 ing the recent summer months had there 

 been no fire protection work. As it is the 

 fire-blackened district is far too large and 

 additional co-operation under the Weeks 

 Law as well as increased appropriations by 



the state are necessary if tlic ravages of 

 fire in the foothills of tlie Sierras arc to 

 be stopped. 



IDAHO 



TN accord with almost unanimous senti- 

 ment in Idaho and in response to consid- 

 erations vitally affecting adjoining National 

 Forests, Congress has set apart 1,116,000 

 acres of land in Idaho known as the Thun- 

 der Mountain region, as National Forest 

 lands. This great tract, difficult of access 

 and having not over one per cent of its 

 area suitable for agriculture, has for years 

 been the scene of destructive fires and 

 devastation due to overgrazing. It is now 

 to be added to the Payette National For- 

 est which adjoins it on the south and west, 

 and the Idaho National Forest which ad- 

 joins it on the north and west. The area 

 lies approximately 100 miles northeast of 

 Boise. Because uncontrolled, it has been 

 a recurring menace to the adjoining 

 National Forests by reason of fires that 

 have gained great headway in its vast un- 

 patrolled regions. 



IOWA 



A REPRESENTATIVE of the Forest 

 Service who recently visited Iowa calls 

 attention to the fact that there is still a con- 

 siderable area of timberlands in the State. 

 The value of these lands has been only 

 partially appreciated, according to the 

 forester. Three-quarters of the Nation's 

 timberland is privately owned, while but 

 one-quarter is Government owned, and 

 consequently it is in the privately owned 

 forests, as well as the others, that con- 

 servation must be practiced. To avoid an 

 increasingly serious timber sliortage, it is 

 essential that all of these lands be prop- 

 erly handled to produce timber and other 

 forest products. 



Because of the present high price of 

 lumber the timber resources of Iowa have 

 assumed an importance entirely unlocked 

 for a few years ago. The representative 

 of the Forest Service declared that there 

 is a good opportunity for farmers of south- 

 eastern Iowa, particularly, to make use of 

 their nonagricultural lands and the islands 

 of the Mississippi by planting quick-grow- 

 ing trees, such as cottonwood. He also 

 urged farmers to use small corners of tlieir 

 farms for this purpose. 



MAINE 

 'T'HE Legislature of 1919, by making an 

 appropriation of $5000.00 for the year 

 1919 and $10,000.00 for the year 1920, for 

 purchase of lands and general forestry pur- 

 poses, made it possible for the State For- 

 estry Department to start two new pro- 



jects, namely. Forest I'ire Protection and 

 Slash Disposal in Organized Towns. 

 Prior to this year, the organized towns 

 with a forest area of about 4,.500,000 acres 

 never had any fire protection of any kind; 

 while the unorganized towns (so called 

 wild lands) are protected by a good sized 

 appropriation and a good organization of 

 Chief Wardens. Deputy Wardens, Watch- 

 men, and Patrohncn. The present forest 

 law makes the selection of each organized 

 town Forest Fire Wardens of their respec- 

 tive towns, but does not provide for any 

 funds either to protect the forests or fight 

 fires. Without funds these Forest Fire 

 Wardens are almost helplesss. By the pas- 

 sage of the above named appropriation it 

 gave the State Forestry Department a 

 chance to start some forest protection in 

 organized towns. Two steel lookout tow- 

 ers were erected, one on Agamenticus 

 Mountain in the town of York and the 

 other on Ossipee Mountain in the town of 

 Waterboro, both in the County of York. 

 These towers are located in the heart of 

 the best white pine section of the State of 

 Maine and are equipped with telephone 

 communication with the Selectmen of the 

 towns covered by these places, panoramic 

 maps, binoculars, and range finders. The 

 department contemplates establishing two 

 more stations, one in the town of Den- 

 mark and the other in the town of Par- 

 sonsfield. The view from these two sta- 

 tions will reach the view from the nearest 

 station in the Maine I-'orestry District 

 which is located in the unorganized town 

 of Grafton. 



MONTANA 



r\NE billion feet of timber killed by 1115 

 fires is the estimate given for Montana's 

 tremendous forest fire losses for the sea- 

 son just closed. Half of the fires were 

 started by human agency and were pre- 

 ventable. The fires burned over 570,000 

 acres of land and were suppressed at a 

 cost of $1,200,000. according to figures 

 compiled by the forestry office at Missoula. 

 A district logging engineer with head- 

 quarters at Missoula reports that he has 

 seen cedar trees more than 2000 years old, 

 still alive and growing in the Kaniksu for- 

 est which is in the extreme northeastern 

 corner of Washington. "These trees," says 

 the engineer, "varied in size from a foot 

 to ten feet in diameter. I used a boring 

 instrument on them and found that the 

 trees were in all cases 2000 years old and 

 some of them nearly 3000. The wood is 

 firm and is a potential source of higli 

 grade timber. I know of no place in the 

 United States, except the redwood forests, 

 where trees of that age may be found." 



