FOREST SERVICE. 531 



executing certain purchase agreements following action by the com- 

 mission, 30,470 acres of this amount could not be contracted for be- 

 fore June 30, 1912, leaving a net total covered by purchase agree- 

 ments during the year of 225,352 acras. The lands approved by the 

 commission during the fiscal year 1911, amounting to 31,876 acres, 

 proved not to have title acceptable to the Government. The purchase 

 agreement for this reason failed, and the lands were brought under 

 condemnation. The total area in process of acquisition by purchase 

 or condemnation at the close of the year 1912 was 257,228 acres. 



These lands are situated in eight separate purchase areas in New 

 Hampshire, Virginia, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. In 

 all, 18 such areas have been designated. They comprise 6,383,000 

 acres, situated in the above-named States and in the States of Mary- 

 land, AVest Virginia, and South Carolina. These areas have been 

 selected on the basis of the topographic maps of the United States 

 Geological Survey and the field work done by the Forest Service in 

 the Appalachian region during the past 12 years. They were selected 

 by the Forest Service, with the approval of the Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture, and all occupy situations of controlling importance on the water- 

 sheds of na\'igable streams. 



The Forest Service has also been authorized by the Secretary of 

 Agi'iculture to receive offers of land under the Weeks law as well as 

 to examine, appraise, and recommend to the National Forest Reserva- 

 tion Commission for purchase such lands as it believes should be 

 acquired. 



It is unnecessary to acquire all of the land within the designated 

 areas. In some probably not more than half of the acreage should ever 

 be recommended for purchase. Many valleys of fertile agricultural 

 lands are included which it would not be wise to acquire. It will 

 probably not be necessary even to acquire all of the mountainous 

 nonagricultural lands within the areas. There is every reason to be- 

 lieve that the pui-poses of the Government may be fully subserved 

 by the acquisition of compact bodies each containing from 25,000 to 

 100,000 acres well situated for protection, administration, and use. 

 These bodies may be separated from one another by a distance of 

 from 10 to 25 miles or more. With careful protection from fire and 

 Avith the introduction of conservative methods of logging they will 

 become demonstrations of practical forest conservation. It will 

 doubtless be practicable to cooperate with surrounding private owners 

 in fire protection and conservative lumbering, and thus in the end 

 to bring most of the Appalachian region to a high state of forest 

 productivity. To bring about this result it may be necessary to des- 

 ignate additional purchase areas, but at this time it does not appear 

 that it will be necassary to acquire more land than the 5,000,000 

 acres in the Southern Appalachians and 600,000 in the White Moun- 

 tains, which was stated in the report to Congress by the Secretary 

 of Agriculture in December, 1907, to l>e all that would need to be 

 acquired. 



iVs a result of the invitation for proposals of lands within the 

 purchase areas 2,102,330 acres have been olTerod for the considera- 

 tion of the Government. During; the year the Forest Service exam- 

 ined 665,891 acres, all lying within the several purchase areas. With 

 174,562 acres examined during the preceding year the total area 

 examined prior to June 30, 1912, was 840,453 acres. 



