390 Proceedings of the Ohio Academy of Science 
Report of the Committee on State Parks and Conservation. 
The following report of the Committee on State Parks and 
Conservation was received and ordered filed: 
Wooster, O., April 1, 1925. 
To the Ohio Academy of Science: 
It was impracticable to have a meeting of the full committee, but 
the chairman has requested members of the committee to send him 
suggestions or remarks concerning the possibilities of work in the com- 
mittee and has had replies from several members with varied suggestions. 
It is hoped that the committee may have a meeting in the future and 
formulate some definite suggestions concerning the management of the 
State Forest Areas, the Forest Parks and the Game Refuges, which are 
now under control of state authorities, and we believe that these areas 
offer a very practical means of preserving the State fauna and flora, and 
that with the cordial support of the authorities in charge of them, it 
would be possible to adopt measures which will furnish the most desir- 
able conditions for the use of the parks as well as for the preservation of 
the native fauna and flora. 
The most recent advancement has been the acquisition of a number of 
tracts for state forests and I cannot do better than quote a statement 
from Professor Secrest, the State Forester, and a member of this com- 
mittee, concerning the progress in this line: 
“The state department of Forestry was given authority by statute 
in 1916, to acquire lands for state forest purposes. The price of such 
land cannot exceed $10.00 per acre. In 1923 the state forest law was 
amended, permitting the Department to acquire ‘areas of outstanding 
scenic value, virgin woodlands, and lands containing unusual flora.’ 
In the purchase of such tracts the price is not limited “by statute. 
“From 1916 to 1921 it was difficult to secure funds for acquiring 
state forests. Increased appropriations from the Legislature were secured 
in 1921, and in 1923 were doubled, being $100,000 for the biennium. 
“To date six state forests have been acquired totaling approx- 
imately 14,420 acres. These tracts comprise the Dean State Forest of 
1,500 acres in Lawrence County; Waterloo State Forest, of 221 acres 
in Athens County; Scioto County State Forest, 5,200 acres, in Scioto 
County; Scioto Trail State Forest, of 5,900 acres in Ross County; Pike 
County State Forest, 1,100 acres in Pike County; and Mt. Logan State 
Forest of 500 acres in Ross County (under lease from Federal Gov- 
ernment. ) 
‘The state forests are located for the most part on ‘absolute forest 
land,’ and the tracts are to be devoted not only to experiments and 
demonstrations in timber culture, but to park and recreation uses as 
well. The present areas are in some cases nuclei to be further extended 
in the future. This is particularly true of Dean, Pike, and Scioto Forests. 
Land can be purchased within the limit of $10.00 per acre. The topog- 
raphy is rough, the soils thin, and the land largely stocked with second 
growth hardwood and pine forest. The open area is under 10%, and is in 
