INSECTS AND FOREST MANAGEMENT — CRAIGHEAD 371 



areas have in late years become of even greater moment than those 

 involving only commercial timber. 



DEVELOPMENT OF BARK BEETLE CONTROL 



As our reserve supplies of timber became depleted from utilization, 

 fire, and insects, and recreational activities continued to spread into 

 more and more remote areas, private timberland owners and Federal 

 administrators of timbered areas became more conscious of the need 

 of any action that would delay part of this depletion. A short 

 sketch of this work is of interest. 



The first control project, as mentioned previously, was initiated 

 on the Black Hills National Forest in South Dakota in 1906, 

 when $2,700 was expended in an effort to check an epidemic 

 of the Black Hills beetle. Since then many projects have been car- 

 ried out, some of them covering areas of more than 1,000,000 acres. 

 Up to the present time (fiscal year 1941) approximately $8,000,000 

 has been expended in the control of bark beetle infestations, mainly 

 in reserves of timber which are being held until conditions warrant 

 logging and marketing of the lumber. 



The annual expenditures from 1906 to 1921 were small — rarely 

 over $20,000 and usually much less. Since 1922, with the fuller 

 appreciation of the importance of insect losses, increasing amounts 

 have been spent each year for the protection of valuable timber 

 stands. From regular appropriations the Forest Service has spent 

 $100,000 to nearly $200,000 annually, the Park Service from $40,000 

 to $50,000, and the Office of Indian Affairs from $10,000 to $20,000. 



During late years it has been possible to meet the needs for forest 

 insect control more adequately by means of increased funds avail- 

 able to land-managing agencies through emergency legislation and 

 Civilian Conservation Corps labor. During the fiscal year 1937, and 

 for several years since, nearly a million dollars or its equivalent in 

 manpower was utilized in insect control work on Federal lands. 



As control work proceeded, year by year the need for competent 

 technical advice became more and more apparent. Trained men were 

 needed to appraise the character of the insect infestations, to make 

 recommendations to the timberland owners or administrators, and to 

 direct technical features of control. This resulted in the development, 

 within the Bureau of Entomology, of a service for these purposes. 

 The objectives of such a service were set forth in a memorandum by the 

 Secretary of Agriculture dated February 16, 1920, covering the re- 

 sponsibilities of the Bureau of Entomology and the Forest Service. 

 In time this understanding has been interpreted as applying to all 

 other Federal agencies managing timberlands. Briefly, the instruc- 

 tions stated that the Bureau of Entomology shall be responsible for 



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