MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



hardwoods were killed. The narrow Mance- 

 lona wagon road turned aside a heavy surface 

 fire for several miles. The old railroad grades 

 in Sections 12 and 1, in the path of the main 

 fire, also saved a tract of green timber, and 

 a number of temporary fire lines elsewhere 

 throughout the tract totally check the progress 

 of the fires. These examples are sufficient to 

 show that, with previously prepared fire lines, 

 accompanied with systematic patrol and fire 

 fighting, not more than one-tenth of the tract 

 at most would have been damaged by fire, 

 instead of the nine-tenths that was actually 

 burned over. 



So far as known, no assistance was rendered 

 the David Ward Estate by township or state 

 officials, except in one case, in which a town- 

 ship fire warden came over to the timber tract 

 at the request of the logging superintendent, 

 and warned a settler, who was determined to 

 set fire to his slashings where he was clear- 

 ing up land, not to set any fires. This warn- 

 ing was effective. 



The Fire Damage. 



A number of very careful estimates have 

 been made of the amount of timber now dead 

 as a result of the forest fires. These estimates 

 include 448,000,000 feet board measure on 

 about 75 per cent of the 128,000 acres which 

 have so far been examined, with the proba- 

 bility that this amount will be increased from 

 one to two hundred million feet by timber 

 that will die during the next two years. The 

 stumpage value of this timber is estimated at 

 $6 per thousand. 



The expense to the David Ward Estate in 

 fighting forest fires during the summer and 

 autumn of 1908 was $5,519.23. Of the timber 

 killed, from sixty to seventy million feet will 

 likely be cut during the present lumbering 

 season. It is impossible to state at the pres- 

 ent time what the exact ultimate loss to the 

 estate will be. This loss, however, will be 



very heavy. 



t 



Plan For Forest Fire Protection. 

 The following suggestions are given for the 

 future protection of the timber on the estate: 



1. An organized forest patrol service should 

 be established. This patrol will be needed 

 only during the dry and danger seasons of 

 each year, when fires are likely to spread to 

 the tract from adjoining lands, or are apt to 

 be set by railroad engines within the boun- 

 daries of the tract. The number of men 

 needed and their length of service will neces- 

 sarily vary with each season. The precau- 

 tions which the estate will need to take 

 against outside fires will be greatly diminished 

 if township and state organizations do effi- 

 cient work in preventing forest fires. The 

 estate should, of course, co-operate to the 

 fullest extent with township and state authori- 

 ties. The cost of patrol to the estate should 

 not exceed three cents per acre per year. 



2. It would be advisable to build fire lines 

 on the borders of the tract and at points 

 within it to assist in the prevention or control 

 of fires. These lines need be only extensive 

 enough to make them effective when manned 

 by the patrol service. Although the forest 

 fires of the past season were in many respects 

 unusual, they illustrated the locations at which 

 fire lines might be constructed. As far as 

 possible old railroad grades, existing wagon 



roads, streams, borders of swamps and lakes, 

 or the crests of ridges should be used. Among 

 such locations are the following: The wagon 

 roads on the west line of T. 29 N., R. 5 W.; 

 the Mancclona road; the road which follows 

 the D. & C. railroad running northwest from 

 Deward in the center of T. 30 N., R. 5 W.; 

 the road running south from Deward; the 

 road following the D. & C. railroad in the 

 northwestern part of T. 30 N., R. 6 W., and 

 other main lines of travel of similar character; 

 the old railroad grades on the eastern side 

 and in the center of T. 28 N., R. 5 W., which 



Old Grade Which Made an Effective Fire Line Near 

 Pine Cone Camp 



run north and join the main line of the 

 D. & C. railroad, or the old grades running 

 through the center of T. 29 N., R. 5 W.; and 

 such additional portions of old railroad grades 

 throughout the tract as will protect valuable 

 stands of timber from fires which may start 

 in the slashings. 



The amount of work to be done to put 

 these roads and grades in shape as fire lines 

 will vary considerably, and will depend upon 

 the character and present use of the wagon 

 roads, and upon the length of time for which 

 the old grades have been abandoned and their 

 consequent forest covering. Where roads 

 are used, it will be necessary merely to see 

 that all dead trees, or trees which are likely 

 to fall within a very few years, are cut and 

 removed from each side of the road for a dis- 

 tance of about two rods. All debris which 

 will only add fuel to a surface fire should 

 be removed or piled and burned during the 

 spring before the snow leaves the ground, 

 or when there is no danger from the spread- 

 ing of such brush fires. The absence of in- 

 flammable material on both sides of the road, 

 together with a clean road itself, will effec- 

 tively check a light surface fire. 



The old grades used as fire lines should be 

 cleared, and all old railway ties removed, as 

 well as all young trees which are reforest- 

 ing such grades, for a width of at least one 

 rod. This material should be piled and burned 

 on the grade, since the fire itself exposes the 

 mineral soil and effectually clears the ground. 

 The ground in these lines should be roughly 

 broken up or in a burned-over condition dur- 

 ing the danger season. While the cost of this 

 work naturally will vary, the first cost should 

 not be more than an average of $25 to $30 

 per mile. If, on the other hand, the old 

 grades are kept clean from the time they are 

 abandoned, this cost will be nominal only. 



As a matter of fact, the cost of constructing 

 the wide tire lines on the state reserve, where 

 there were no stumps to be removed, was 

 about $10 per mile; but, where there were 

 many stumps, and where the fire line was 

 located on sloping ground, the expense of 

 constructing went as high as $30 per mile. 

 So, while it is impracticable to make an exact 

 estimate of cost for a complete system of 

 fire lines, it is safe to say a prevention of 

 even a small part of the loss sustained during 

 the past season would have been well worth 

 the cost of construction of an elaborate sys- 

 tem of fire lines and the maintenance of a 

 large patrol service. 



3. Plans should be made for the proper 

 disposal of slash during or immediately after 

 lumber operations. This in itself will either 

 serve to prevent fires or will lessen the dam- 

 age directly attributable to the presence of 

 heavy slash. The cost of burning pine slash 

 will be from twenty-five to thirty-cents per 

 thousand feet board measure, and the cost 

 of burning hardwood slash much greater, but 

 not. more than seventy-five cents to one 

 dollar per thousand feet board measure. These 

 figures are only approximate, and the actual 

 cost may be more or less, according to the 

 character of the lumbering. 



Conclusion 



The following conclusions may be drawn 

 from the investigation of the David Ward 

 Estate: 



The waste of valuable timber, as the result 

 of careless or unbusinesslike logging methods 

 is unwarranted. 



Because of inadequate protection and con- 

 trol of forest fires during the past season, 

 more than 30 per cent of the valuable timber 

 on the tract was killed by fire. 



Both of these conditions could and should 

 be remedied by the adoption of measures such 

 as are recommended in this report, and the 

 -tep will be a profitable one. 



TREE LOVERS IN OSCODA. 



Several public spirited citizens of An Sable 

 and Oscoda subscribed to a fund to plant trees 

 along Van Ettan road, starting at the Oscoda 

 Water Works and reaching to the cross-road 

 leading to the Van Ettan Creek bridge. There 

 were 320 trees planted, 100 on either side. 

 They are known as "Carolina poplars." These 

 do not stretch up as high into the air as the 

 "I. oni hardy poplars." but spread out more 

 like a soft maple. They grow very rapidly 

 and should make a good showing in a short 

 time. The road runs through Oscoda town- 

 ship and the township assisted as far as able 

 in helping the project along. 



A line of. elms and spruces also were plant- 

 ed on the road leading to the station, where 

 it crosses Loud's Island. 



The black walnut lumbering business was 

 supposed to be of the past in Barry county, but 

 a firm has been operating in the county and 

 has picked up upwards of 50,000 feet of fine 

 black walnut logs, which will be shipped direct 

 to Germany. Some of this timber has been 

 sold by the men who planted and cared for 

 the trees from the little sprouts taken up in 

 the wood lot and transferred to desirable loca- 

 tions. 



The coal production of France in 1908 was 

 37,622,656 tons, an increase of 868,929 tons 

 over 1907. The smelting of iron in 1908 was 

 3,412,393 tons, a decrease of 177,842. The man- 

 ufacture of steel was 2,743,045 tons a decrease 

 of 23,728. 



