MICHIGAN RCADS AND FORESTS 



FOREST RESERVES 



NOT TO BE ENLARGED 



As ;i roil It of the visit <if the commit i. 

 members of the public domain commission to tin- 

 state forest reserve the commission will continue 

 operations there, but no attempt will lie made 

 at present to carry out the provisions of the act 

 and use 200,<!(>() acres for forestry reserve. Sec- 

 retary of State Martindale and other members of 

 the commission believe that reforestation is 

 practical in this state, but in view of the oppo- 

 sition of the citi/ens of many counties to having 

 resencs established in their neighborhood and 

 the fact that there is a question whether that 

 phase of the act is valid, the commission will 

 \sait until results at the present reserve are bet- 

 ter known before extending the scope of opera- 

 tions. One of the first things the commie-ion 

 will do will be to plan to sell a large quantity of 

 burned timber on the reserve. The best of pro- 

 tection a.uainst fires is to be e-tabli-hetl at the 

 icserve. 



Xo questions relative to the constitutionality of 

 o.' act have been raised by UIL- commission! 



: understood that the members are inclined 

 to leave these matters to others. It is believed, 

 that in view of the decision of the commission not 

 'ari-e the scope of the reforestation opera- 

 lions, there may be no disposition to attack the 

 law. 



Orders were issued for the construction of new 

 fire paths in the reserve and other plans worked 

 <;iu for fighting flames in case they break out in 

 the reservation, a large portion of which is cov- 

 ered with a mass of sweet fern, brake and bunch 

 .mass, which will allow fire to spread with great 

 rapidity. 



Secretary A. C. Carton was directed to corre- 

 spond with the federal forestry commission and 

 secure all the information available which will be 

 valuable to the commission, as well as to ascertain 

 in what ways the state can co-operate with the 

 'ederal forestry experts. 



The land commissioner was ^directed to have 

 deeds prepared which will reserve to the public, 

 when sales are made, the right of ingress and 

 ss across the state lands to streams, in order 

 to prevent anyone buying up land along streams 

 and prevent others enjoying fishing privileges. 



Game and Forest Warden Pierce was instructed 

 to appoint special fire wardens under the emer- 

 gency act to aid in preventing the spread of seri- 

 Tes. His work in calling the attention of 

 the railways to the necessity of protecting their 

 rights of way against fires was approved, as well 

 as a report he submitted telling of the strict or- 

 ders the railways have issued with regard to fires 

 along their lines. 



To accomplish something substantial, both in 

 conserving what timber is left on the forest re- 

 serves of Michigan, and in the way of planting 

 new trees for the use of future generations, is the 

 ambition and intention of the new state forestry 

 commission created by the last legislature, which 

 became operative in May last, according to Sec- 

 retary of State Frederick C. Martindale, who is 

 a member of the commission, and who spent five 

 days inspecting the forest reserve in Roscommon 

 county, where the state has about 50,000 acres 

 set aside for reforestation purposes. The land 

 has all been cut over at least once before, and he 

 was one of a committee of three appointed by 

 the commission to make a personal investigation 

 as to what is the best thing and the first thing 

 to be done to convert it into the magnificent 

 forest that it once was. The other members of 

 the committee were Regent Junius E. Beals, of 

 the University of Michigan, and A. C. Carton, 

 deputy land commissioner, who -is secretary of 

 the commission. 



"We found that the forest fires of last fall and 

 this spring have done immense damage to the 

 tract.' 1 says Mr. Martindale, "and as near as we 



A Summer Camp. 



could size it up there are a good many thousand 



dollars worth of timbe^ killed by the fires that 



to be cut immediately to save its value." 



RAILROADS ARE CO-OPERATING. 



Officials of the steam railroads in both the 

 northern portion of the' lower peninsula and all 

 of the upper peninsula are heartily co-operating 

 with State Game Warden Pierce of Michigan in 

 his effort to reduce to the smallest minimum all 

 forest fires. The experiences of railroads and 

 settlers alike with the disatsrous fires of last 

 season seems to have left no doubt in the minds 

 of the railroad officials that it is to their interest 

 to assist in every possible way to prevent a re- 

 currence of such conditions. Warden Pierce be- 

 gan a systematic campaign some time ago, which 

 he has well outlined and which he hopes will at 

 least reduce the damage and number of fires this 

 season to a minimum. 



The Duluth South Shore Line is particularly 

 strict in its instructions to train crews, and as 

 a result, Warden Pierce has secured copies of 

 the company's orders, sending these to the other 

 railroads in that region of the forests. The road 

 holds the crew of a train responsible for all fires 

 along the right of way. Not only must they re- 

 port such fires as are on the right of way, but 

 the crews must also report those seen outside. 

 But more than all this, the conductors, firemen 

 and engineers must stop a train and fight and 

 attempt to put but all fires in sight. Some rail- 

 roads have even gone so far as to provide a 

 hose for the use of train crews. 



Warden Pierce is also placing and appointing 

 local fire wardens throughout the northern re- 

 gion, with their territory ranging from one to 

 two townships. 



"Many people seem to think," said Warden 

 Pierce, "that most fires are due to the passing 

 steam engine. Such I do not believe to be true. 

 The settler in clearing his brush through the 

 summer months, the wandering hunter, or the 



fishers in the little lakes scattered through the 

 northern part of the state, are responsible for a 

 greater share, I believe. It will never be pos- 

 sible to. prevent all fires, but we want to get the 

 number down to the minimum." 



FIRE PROTECTION NEEDED. 



Forest fires have already done considerable 

 damage in Michigan this summer, in the northern 

 section of the lower peninsula and in the eastern 

 section of the upper peninsula. The fires got 

 started before the new public domain commission 

 got down to business. Fortunately much needed 

 rain came before the fires got under full head- 

 way. 



Alger county suffered quite severely, the loss 

 in the neighborhood of Wetmore amounting to 

 many thousands of dollars. 



ENFORCING THE LAW. 



State Game and Forestry Warden Pierce has 

 received a notification from Deputy Frost of Al- 

 ger county that the first arrest and conviction 

 under the law passed two years ago providing 

 for punishment of a citizen who refused to assist 

 in extinguishing forest fires by the sentencing of 

 a Finn to ninety days in the Detroit house of 

 correction. Between 30,000 and 40,000 cords of 

 wood were burned in a forest fire south of Mu- 

 nising and the Finn refused to help fight the 

 flames. 



Deputy Game and Fire Warden Clias. E. Pettit 

 was in Onaway recently, where he secured his 

 first conviction for setting forest fires, when 

 Chas. Bogaro and James Perry plead guilty. They 

 were vivcn a good lecture, told the seriousnes- 

 of the offense and let off with payment of costs. 

 James Badder for having a fire which got beyond 

 his control and burned the meadow of Theo. 

 Perrago, was made to settle f6r the loss sus- 

 tained. This is only a starter, and others will 

 come under his drag net if they do not obey 

 the law. 



