LANDS PROBLEMS 811 



timber and grazing in which he is interested, these being the only two 

 marketable values found in most cases. A more advanced legislation 

 provides for exchanges on the basis of equal values without regard to 

 area or National Forest timber for cut-over lands. The Oregon ex- 

 change act, designed to remove private lands from the Bull Run Divis- 

 ion of the Oregon Forest, provides for equal value exchanges. The 

 law, which was approved September 8, 1916, reads: 



"That for the purpose of consolidating forest lands belonging to the 

 United States within the Oregon National Forest, the Secretary of the 

 Interior be, and he hereby is, authorized and empowered, upon the rec- 

 ommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, to exchange, upon the 

 basis of equal value, lands belonging to the United States in the Oregon 

 National Forest for privately owned lands lying within the exterior 

 limits of the Oregon National Forest ; and upon the consummation of 

 such exchanges, the lands deeded to the United States shall become 

 parts of the Oregon National Forest." 



The most advanced legislation along these lines was enacted with 

 reference to the Whitman National Forest. This law provides that 

 timber in or near the Forest may be exchanged for private lands in the 

 Forest. This same act, by the way, provided for an addition of 50,622 

 acres to the Whitman Forest, most of which is patented, but most of 

 which will eventually, through a series of exchanges, be acquired by the 

 Government for the National Forest in exchange for Government tim- 

 ber. A general land-exchange law has been advocated by the Forester 

 and Secretary for the past few years and there is reason to hope for 

 its passage. One of the bills so introduced provides : 



"That for the purpose of consolidating the Government lands within 

 National Forests and where the public interests will be benefited, the 

 Secretary of the Interior is hereby authorized to accept title to non- 

 mineral lands within the exterior boundaries of the National Forests, 

 and, upon recommendation of the Secretary of Agriculture, to exchange 

 non-mineral Government lands within any National Forest, or timber 

 within such Forest, for privately owned lands of equal value and chiefly 

 valuable for National Forest purposes within the exterior boundaries 

 of the same National Forest; and, upon the acceptance of title, lands 

 deeded to the United States within National Forests shall become parts 

 of the National Forests in which they are situated ; provided, that not 

 more than two hundred thousand acres shall be exchanged within any 

 calendar year." 



It will take a great many years to get these exchange problems set- 

 tled. Work on them has gone slowly in the past, since no special ap- 

 propriation has been made and very little encouragement has been met 



