280 A^IEEICAN FORESTRY 



priatioii asked for trails and telephone lines. Without these improvements 

 the forests cannot be made safe, even with ten times the present patrol. 



The one million dollars asked for actual fire fighting and cut by the 

 Agricultural Committee to one-fifth that amount, is simply a fund made 

 available for the use of the Forest Service in times of grave emergency. It may 

 be less necessary than the money required to build roads and bridges, tele- 

 phone lines, and trails. Unless the fires occur, this money would be neither 

 needed nor si)ent. But should the need arise there could be no more criminal 

 extravagance than not to spend it. It cost $900,000 beyond the appropriation 

 of the Service to fight the big fires of 1910. If this money had not been spent, 

 these fires would probably have wiped out the bulk of the forests of Northern 

 Idaho, Montana, and Western Washington. 



Fires have already broken out on National Forests in the Southwest as 

 the result of the exceptionally light precipitation this winter. It would be 

 hardly less unpatriotic and unwise to withhold money to equip troops against 

 an invading army, than to refuse the appropriation needed to fight these fires 

 and prevent the greater fires which may easily follow. 



The Agricultural Appropriation Bill will soon be up in the Senate, and 

 every friend of the National Forests is urged to raise his voice on behalf 

 of adequate appropriation for protecting them. 



The first foiest fire for the year has been reported at the office of the 

 Tahoe National Forest. Supervisor Bigeloio reports that sixty acres of land 

 on Squaw creek, in the canyon of the north fork of the American river, caught 

 fire on February 24 «w(Z burned for two or three days. 



Requisitions have been made by the Supervisors of 20 of the National 

 Forests within the Second United States Forestry District, with headquarters 

 in Denver, for 10,000, 000 trout fry. Efforts of Colorado to r-estock high 

 altitude streams and lakes will be greatly enhanced by the cooperation of the 

 Forestry officials. 



Twenty-eight forest service timber sales, some of them very large ones, 

 have been in progress on the Kootenai National Forest during the winter. A 

 number of sales are nearing completion, and the field force of forest officers, 

 who have been employed on the sales are beginning preparations for the coming 

 season's field work. 



