28 Pioneers and Principles 



conservative use of these resources in no way conflicts with their 

 permanent value. 



You will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the reserves 

 are conserved and wisely used for the benefit of the home builder 

 first of all, upon whom depends the best permanent use of lands 

 and resources alike. The continued prosperity of the agricultural, 

 lumbering, mining, and livestock interests is directly dependent 

 upon a permanent and accessible supply of water, wood, and for- 

 age, as well as upon the present and future use of their resources 

 under businesslike regulations, enforced with promptness, effective- 

 ness, and common sense. 



Creation of forest reserves put a stop both to trespass on them and 

 to their acquisition by private owners at a tithe of their real value, but 

 that it arrested the legitimate development of the lumber industry or 

 any other industry is highly unlikely. Multiple use of the reserves for 

 "water, wood, and forage" (as well as for minerals, the utilization of 

 which was not under the control of the Department of Agriculture) 

 was extended to include recreation as a growing population, auto- 

 mobiles, and the call of the wild steadily increased their value for this 

 purpose. The extensive tracts set aside as "wilderness" and "wild" 

 areas, as well as the program entitled "Operation Outdoors," testify 

 to its importance in current administration of the national forests. 



In view of the popularity that the theory of multiple use has re- 

 cently attained as the key to land management in the public interest, 

 it may be well to emphasize the fact that it is neither new nor a 

 panacea. Its practical application immediately raises the question of 

 what uses are to be favored, where, when, and by whom. How much 

 water, wood, forage, minerals, wildlife, and recreation do we want, 

 and who is to produce them? How do we compare tangible and in- 

 tangible, material and spiritual values, for which there is no common 

 measuring stick? Answers to such questions as these must be sup- 

 pUed in the first instance by legislators and administrators on the 

 basis of the best information available, and in the long run by the 

 general public whose interest it is the function of conservation to 

 protect. Fifty years from now we shall know better than we do today 

 how wise the judgments of these groups have been. 



Decision as to what we want from our natural resources in the 

 way of goods and services must be followed by management that will 

 result in their actual production. This is no easy task. Very little, if 



