REPORT OF THE FORESTER. 



179 



COOPERATION WITH STATES. 



Protecting the forested watersheds of navigable streams from fire, 

 under section 2 of the Weeks law, was continued as the most impor- 

 tant and far-reaching piece of cooperation with the States. The 

 appropriation for this work was $100,000, the same as in the previous 

 year. Twenty-one States are now receiving cooperation of this 

 character, Texas having been added during the year. An allotment 

 has been set aside for expenditure in Louisiana, where cooperation is 

 expected to begin in the fall of 1916. Under the requirement of the 

 law Federal expenditure in any State must at least be equaled by 

 the State. 



While the expenditures are reckoned on the fiscal-year basis, 

 allotments to the States are made by the calendar year for the full 

 fire season. This makes it possible for the States to know before the 

 beginning of the season the amounts they are to receive for the full 

 danger period, and so make their plans accordingly. As an aid to 

 making allotments a budget is required of each State at the beginning 

 of each year showing (1) the prospective State income and expendi- 

 tures to be devoted to the various branches of fire-protection work, 

 and (2) the similar total estimated expenditures of municipalities 

 (towns, counties, etc.) and of associations of private timber owners. 

 The maximum allotment to any State was $8,000. 



The allotments for the calendar year 1916 and expenditures, both 

 Federal and Sate, for the fiscal year ended June 30, 1916, are shown 

 in Table 13. 



Table 13. 



The expenditure of Federal funds is restricted as closely as prac- 

 ticable to the salaries of lookout watchmen and patrolmen. This 

 greatly simplifies accounting, reduces to a minimum the Federal 

 fiscal regulations which State officers must observe, and facilitates 

 the checking of expenditures and the enforcement of uniform stand- 

 ards in the use of Federal allotments. Most important of all, how- 

 ever, it makes it possible to demonstrate the efficacy of a lookout 

 and patrol system in States where the law does not at present provide 

 for such work. 



The most important objects of expenditures under the Weeks Law 

 are (1) to promote forest-fire protection by States, municipalities, and 



