REPORT OF THE FORESTER. 



United States Department of Agriculture, 



Forest Service, 

 Washinf/ton, />. 6'., October 4, 1920. 

 Sir : I have the honor to transmit herewith a report of the work 

 in tlie Forest Service for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1920. 

 Respectfully, 



William B. Greeley, 



Forester. 

 Hon. E, T. Meredith, 



Secretary of AgHcuUure. 



A NATIONAL FORESTRY POLICY. 



In the report of the Forester for the fiscal year 1919 my prede- 

 cessor. Col. Henry S. Graves, set forth the urgency of a national 

 forestry policy. During the major part of the fiscal year covered 

 by this report the movement gathered headway under his leadership. 

 Since his resignation, on April 15, 1920, the movement has continued 

 along the lines laid down by him. and the program which he formu- 

 lated has been further developed. 



This program is based on the conviction that the problem of halt- 

 ing forest devastation is fundamentally a national, not a local, 

 problem, and must be faced and handled as such. At the same time' 

 it is felt that the speediest, surest, and most equitable action can be 

 secured through dependence on the police powers of the States for 

 the enforcement of such reasonable requirements as should be made 

 of private owners and on the State governments for providing or- 

 ganized protection of private lands against fire. Because the prob- 

 lem itself is essentially national — that is, one affecting the public 

 welfare of the entire country and requiring to be attacked as a whole, 

 not piecemeal — both Federal leadership and a large measure of 

 Federal aid arc obligatory. It should be obligatory upon private 

 owners to ai)ply the safeguards necessarj^ to prevent devastation. 

 There is a practical unanimity of agreement that the first and most 

 essential step is nation-wide protection from forest fires, applicable 

 to all classes of forest land and borne jointly by the landowner and 

 the public. 



When the movement was inaugurated the chief effort was directed 

 toward laying the need for action -before those having first-hand 

 knowledge of forest conditions and most directly concerned in forest 

 industries. Conferences were lield in various j:»arts of the country 

 with representatives of the lumber, jiaper, and other forest-using in- 

 dustries, antl with State officers having to do with forest matters. 

 The widest discussion of the situation and the precise measures 



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