WHERE FORESTRY AND RECREATION MEET 



I 



From an Administrative Standpoint 

 By C. J. Stahl 



If I were writing a story, I should keep you in the dark until the 

 final paragraph had been reached. But since that is not the purpose of 

 this paper, it is just as well to announce my convictions at the outset 



Forestry and recreation do not meet in the commonest usage of the 

 verb. They are co-existent. 



The earliest use of forests by man was probably that of a domicile. 

 Later it became a place of refuge. As civilization advanced, they were 

 chosen as pleasure grounds and their popularity as such seems to have 

 increased with the march of time. 



One of the most cherished prerogatives of the King of England, 

 at the time when his power was at the highest, was that of converting 

 any portion of the country into a forest in which he might enjoy the 

 pleasures of the chase. At common law, it appears to have been the 

 right of the King to make a forest where he pleased, so long as certain 

 legal formalities were observed. The King having a continual care 

 for the preservation of the realm and the peace and quiet of his sub- 

 jects, it was regarded as his privilege to have his place of recreation 

 wherever he chose. 



It was much the same in France and Germany. Until fairly recently, 

 those employed in the European forests were expected to perform 

 duties in connection with the chase, and hunting usually had superior 

 claims to forestry, even after scientific management had been initiated. 

 Stock was permitted to range within the forest ; but the main incentive 

 for the regulation of forest use, on the part of the King, was the 

 interests of the chase. 



And while the characteristically American habit of profit-making 

 seems now to have become the principal and controlling element in 

 the management of both public and private forests, a change in the 

 program is due. Visitors are coming to the forests, solely for pleasure 

 and recreation, by the millions, and in the semi-arid regions every little 



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