O FOREST COMMISSIONERS REPORT, 



interests bring to the people of the State twenty million dollars 

 annually. 



The forests of Maine being so valuable in every way must be 

 protected and conserved. It is the great conservation problem 

 with which we have to deal and concerns not only the interests 

 of the present day but also the welfare of future generations. 



The greatest destructive agent in the forest is fire. It is 

 undoubtedly a fact that more timber has been destroyed and 

 wasted in the forests of the State than has been utilized, and 

 it is to do away with this destruqtion and waste that the people 

 of the State should be interested. 



The first great step toward conservation is adequate protec- 

 tion from fire, and only with this guarantee, can owners of 

 forest property practice conservative management. Ideal man- 

 agement maintains the producing capacity of the forest at a 

 maximum. It necessitates the leaving of trees in lumbering for 

 future growth, preserving the young growth at increased oper- 

 ating expense, and in many instances the planting of areas that 

 are not producing timber. 



The forests of Maine are divided into two classes as forest 

 protection is now carried out, namely, the great wild land sec- 

 tion, or that embraced in the Maine Forestry District of 9,467,- 

 773 acres, and the forested area of cities, towns, and plantations 

 of 4,824,125 acres. 



Forest fire protection in the wild land section is under the 

 direct supervision of the Forest Commissioner. The owners 

 of this property are assessed a special tax of one and one-half 

 mills for the support of the protective system. This assessment 

 for the year 1914 amounts to $71,166.31 less abatements for 

 1913 and 1914 amounting to $1,009.94. This territory is divided 

 into districts, each under the direction of a Chief Forest Fire 

 Warden, and this officer has supervision of all work carried 

 out in his particular territory. The lookout watchman, patrol- 

 men and deputy wardens are his subordinates. 



An important part of the protective system is the chain of 

 mountain lookout stations. These now number fifty-five. 

 Twenty-eight were added during the past two years. The first 

 lookout was established on Squaw Mountain in the Moosehead 

 Lake Country and as far as I am able to learn this was the first 

 station maintained for the purpose of locating fires in this coun- 



