PROCEEDINGS. 635 



"Whereas, It has come to the knowledge of the California Academy of 

 Sciences that efforts are being made in Congress to reduce the government 

 reservations, particularly that so recently established in the Sierra Nevada 

 Mountains, near to and south of the Yosemite and San Bernardino. 



Therefore, The Academy respectfully and most earnestly protests 

 against such reductions or encroachments, it being a trespass or spolia- 

 tion of an inheritance which should by every legitimate means be pre- 

 served by this generation for those who are to come after us. 



We respectfully ask that no encroachments be allowed, for the good 

 reason that we have a most ample supply of timber and of grazing lands 

 for all present demands without such encroachments; and if we owe any 

 duty to the coming generations, it surely is that we protect for and leave 

 to them a reasonable portion of those vast timber regions with which nature 

 has so abundantly enriched us. We ask this protection for the reserva- 

 tions so wisely granted by a thoughtful and generous government, inas- 

 much as that we have sufficient forests for all our demands, independent 

 of the present reserves. 



Our population is now sparse and small, but with our vast plains of 

 fertile and unocciipied lands and oiir unequaled climate, we must in all 

 reason expect our population in the not distant future to double, and even 

 treble, many times over; and when that condition shall be found to exist, 

 then will be seen and appreciated the foresight and wisdom of our govern- 

 ment in reaching out its protecting arm to save for those conditions at 

 least a small portion of our great supply of timber. Under proper contro^ 

 and management our reservations may be utilized for grazing purpose,^ 

 without detriment and possibly to some advantage, but under no circum-^ 

 stances should any encroachment upon the timber be permitted. 



The time will come when no man will be allowed to fell a tree without 

 planting another to take its place, as is now the case in many countries. 

 It has been conclusively proven that the terrible droughts, floods and. 

 f amines in southern Russia are directly caused by the great destruction of 

 timber, i^ermitted by the unthinking generations of the past. 



It is also a well-established fact that the droughts and failures of crops 

 in a large area of France are due to the change in climate, caused by the 

 destruction of forests since the revolution in the last century. It is fur- 

 thur known that the French Republic has, within the last twenty years, 

 expended thirty millions of dollars in endeavoring to renew their forests in 

 the most needed parts of the country, and that it has been estimated that 

 eight hundred millions of dollars are yet required to reforest the country 

 sufficiently to protect it from devastation by droughts, floods and damag- 

 ing frosts caused by destroying the timber from the water-sheds during 

 the past ninety years. 



Therefore, We earnestly recommend that no reduction of our now lim- 

 ited reservations be permitted, and that many other reserves be judiciously- 



