FORESTRY AND GAME CONSERVATION 



By Aldo Leopold 

 Secretary, Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce 



The technical education of the American forester aims principally 

 to teach him how to raise and use timber. This is obviously proper. 

 Handling timber lands is his major function. 



But when the forester begins actual work on a forest he is called 

 upon to solve a much broader problem. He is charged with the duty 

 of putting land to its highest use. 



When foresters took charge of the National Forests in 1908 they 

 were not slow to see that they were responsible for the regeneration 

 and development of the Forest ranges. The fact that large areas were 

 overgrazed was considered no reason for letting them remain so. The 

 fact that selfish interests stood in the way of reorganization and prog- 

 ress was considered no obstacle against going ahead. The fact that 

 nobody had ever heard of scientific range management was considered 

 no reason for the continuance of an obsolete system. Foresters under- 

 took to regenerate the ranges on a scientific basis, and succeeded. To- 

 day National Forest range management has the opportunity of becom- 

 ing the most efficient in the world. 



When foresters took charge of the National Forests they found their 

 game resources, like their grazing resources, to be in a depleted and 

 non-productive condition. But instead of pushing the work of regen- 

 erating the game, they have, by and large, met the situation only as it 

 has pushed them. Today the game resources of the National Forests 

 are, in general, in just as depleted a condition as they were ten years 

 ago. when the Forests were established. Such real work as has been 

 done has been based almost solely on the hand-to-mouth policy of pre- 

 serving a little sport for the immediate morrow. There has been little 

 vision — little effort to lay broad foundations for an aggressive game 

 policy dovetailing into the policy for the development of timber and 

 range and the recreational needs of the public. In short, the job bears 

 all the earmarks of defensive instead of offensive tactics. 



There are, of course, reasons for this anamolous bit of history — 

 reasons no doubt already on the tongues of those who see no cause for 

 dissatisfaction. But it is beginning to be suspected that these reasons 

 will no longer hold water. 

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