336 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



lune 



lumber. Millions of young trees and sap- 

 lings, which were too small to have any 

 commercial value, were crushed by falling 

 timber, or were cut to make room for log- 



SOUTHERN YELLOW PINE 



Native to the Region of the Proposed 

 Southern Appalachian Forest 



ging roads. Those that escaped the ax of 

 the loggers fell victims to forest fires, the 

 destruction by which can only be counted 

 by the millions of dollars — a further melan- 

 choly evidence of the carelessness with 

 which our forests tracts were guarded. 



"To-day we are beginning to feel the pen- 

 alty for this indifference. Our proud posi- 

 tion as the greatest timber state of the 

 Union has passed to others. Thousands of 

 acres of land of no value for agriculture 

 have been rendered bare and practically 

 worthless ; our swamps are drying up, and 

 as a consequence many of our streams have 

 shrunk to but a small proportion of th«"ir 

 former size. Ihe destruction of our for- 

 ests has taken from us that great regulater 

 of the streams, for with no forests to pro- 

 tect the head water of rivers and to detain 

 the water upon the soil, we have frequent 

 freshets and floods and are confronted with 

 the problem of dealing with rapidly rising 

 and falling stream volume — a condition 

 which has already rendered many of our 



one time valuable water powers practically 

 worthless. 



"Wisconsin has, however, awakened to 

 its duty to the public; it created the first 

 state forest commission ever appointed by 

 any of the states, and this commission has 

 already developed into a Board whose la- 

 bors are characterized by a continuous and 

 progressive policy of forest administration. 

 Vast tracts of public lands have been made 

 into state forest reserves. Agriculturally 

 profitable land has been sold and the pro- 

 ceeds used to extend the resources in less 

 fertile soil. The United States Govern- 

 ment has added a large tract, aimed to pro- 

 tect the head waters of our large rivers; 

 while lumber companies, at last recognizing 

 the state's wise policy, have dedicated sev- 

 eral thousand acres to the forest reserves. 

 Wi-sconsin has acquired over 300,000 acres,, 

 and this acreage is constantly being ex- 

 tended. It has been the policy to concen- 

 trate these holdir; s in counties having the 

 greatest number of lakes feeding into large 

 streams, and in some counties the state now 

 holds ten per cent of the entire land area. 



"For the further protection of its water 

 powers, the legislature has authorized cor- 

 porations to erect series of reservoirs on 

 certain streams, thus producing a uniform 

 water flow throughout the season. The lo- 

 cation of such reservoirs and dams, the 

 height of dams, the amount of land which 

 shall be overflowed, and the time and man- 

 ner m which the stored water shall be re- 

 leased, is determined by the State Board of 

 Forestry; and the law also provides that 

 holders of such storage reservoirs shall be 

 permitted to charge reasonable tolls for 

 water used, provided a certain previously 

 agreed upon storage capacity is realized — 

 such tolls not to exceed a net annual re- 

 turn of 6 per cent on the cash capital ac- 

 tually paid in. The capital of companies 

 such as these, and the rates charged, are 

 under the strict regulation and supervision 

 of the State Railroad Commission. 



"Forestry is a new science in America, 

 and no country has greater need for the 

 adoption of its teachings. The state and 

 National Governments still possess millions 

 of acres of rich forests, a part of which 

 should be preserved for the benefit of fu- 

 ture generations. The public forests must 

 be protected for the benefit of the public, 

 enlarged as conditions permit. When tim- 

 ber shall have ceased to be possible for fuel 

 purposes, when coal beds have approached 

 exhaustion, it is in our great forest tracts 

 that we will find conservators of the sub- 

 stitute for fuel — water power — and, in ad- 

 dition, such forest tracts will rank as a most 

 prolific source of public revenue." 



Upon motion of Governor Folk, the 

 morning session then adjourned. 



