American Forestry 



VOL. XVIII 



JULY, 1912 



No. 7 



A DEFINITE STATE FOREST POLICY 



New York State's Progress in Reforesting the Adirondacks 



Bv E. A. Sterling 



IXTENSR'E forestry is depend- 

 ent, among otlier thmgs, upon a 

 ready and accessible market for 

 both major and minor forest products, 

 adequate transportation facilities, and 

 the use of capital drawing a low rate 

 of interest. Stated inversely, intensive 

 forest work is not practical in remote 

 regions, and crude, wasteful lumbering 

 methods, through no fault of the lum- 

 bermen, must be followed where den- 

 sity of population and stability of con- 

 ditions do not permit more conservative 

 methods and provision for the future. 

 The State of New York, by virtue 

 of age, population, wealth, and trans- 

 portation facilities, would seem to have 

 approximated European conditions suf- 

 ficiently to justify intensive forest 

 management, both on State and private 

 lands. As bearing this out, we find 

 that forestry principles are finding ap- 

 plication on large forest areas under 

 ownership Ijy the State, this policy hav- 

 ing developed for the first time in 

 America in the State which is fore- 

 most in many lines of industry and 

 perhaps best fitted to father such 

 a policy. AA'hile the existence of a 

 definite State forest policy is an actual 

 fact, it happens that it cannot be pri- 

 marily attributed to the theoretical fac- 

 tors mentioned, nor based on the same 

 conditions which obtain in Europe. But 

 the work is no less commendable on 

 this account. The real cause for the 

 extensive forestry policy on State tini- 

 berlands in New York is founded pri- 

 marilv on the preservation of the 

 Adirondacks watershed and on the de- 

 sire of wealthy citizens, particularly in 

 the larger cities, for the maintenance, 

 at the State's expense, of the enormous 



natural ])ark and playground in the 

 wild and yet easily accessible region 

 comprising the Adirondack mountain 

 uplift. 



A brief historical review is necessary 

 to a clear understanding of the condi- 

 tions existing and the work going on 

 todav. As far back as 1872, Horatio 

 Seymour, twice Governor of the State 

 and once a candidate for President, 

 perceived the need for State ownership 

 of the Adirondack watershed. Through 

 his initiative a State Park Commission 

 was appointed, which, after investiga- 

 tion, found that the State then owned 

 only 40.000 acres in that region. Eleven 

 years later, in 1883. the recommenda- 

 tion of the first Park Commission for- 

 bidding further sales of State lands and 

 their retention when forfeited for the 

 non-payment of taxes received consid- 

 eration. By acting upon these recom- 

 mendations the State came into posses- 

 sion of 600,000 acres of delinquent 

 tax lands. A Forest Commission was 

 appointed under the Act of 1885 and 

 was superceded ten years later by a 

 Commission of Fisheries, Game and 

 Forests; while in 100;> the Commission 

 w'as changed to a single Commissioner, 

 and in 1910 to a Conservative Com- 

 mission. 



In 1897 new legislation was passed 

 and an arbitrary area was set aside as 

 a State preserve, bounded by the so- 

 called "blue line." A Forest Preserve 

 Board was appointed to purchase ad- 

 ditional forest lands within the pro- 

 scribed limits, and some $3,500,000 was 

 spent up to 1907 for the purchase of 

 forest lands. This ]~)olicy of consoli- 

 dating the holdings within the pro- 

 scribed forest park limits has been fol- 



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