MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



ly, timber production and use, protection of soil 

 and water, and public parks, will remain a con- 

 tinual source of dissension in the state and is 

 economically false. Timber should not be cut 

 indiscriminately where the other two objects 

 must be secured. But it is an inexcusable waste 

 to prohibit cutting of timber upon large areas of 

 t'ore-t land that they may be used exclusively a- 

 parks. The great majority of person- vi-itirg 

 such frrtsts will travel alorg certain defnrte 

 mute-, either -treams. trails or roads. The o!<! 

 timber can l:e 'eft intact in all such places. For 

 landscape erf cts from the top- of mountains 

 \oniig timber lo.ik- as well as older growth, and 

 it i- only necessary to 1-eep out lire and protect 

 il by the prevention of too heav\ culling-. 

 Thus the managaemcnt of large -'at'' holdirg- 

 as parks i- not opposed to their use for the pro- 

 !i of crops of timber. 



\\'here i. ro-i'in is rapid and i;s effect on the tlo\\ 

 of -treams disastrous, state ownership of such 

 : o] of cutting is the onlv mean- to 

 difl the trouhV nal inten- 



for the same purno^e. Law.-, are sometimes pro- 

 prohibit timber owner- from CU 

 : ielo\v a certain -i/c. Such legislation would 

 only be justified in these mountainous localiti -. 

 - whe"i- it could be clearl\ 



shown that destruction of property belonging 

 ers \\ouM be caused by the rein ivil of such 

 And -rch a irethod of attunoted rcgu 

 of privai is f;ir more dra-tic an 1 



difficult to enforce than a poli -\ of admiring 

 such land- for the -tate. Public ownership makes 

 ile any form of management besl -nited t" 

 the general good. 



So great has been the pressure for state own- 

 er-hip of such mountainous areas that in the 

 of Xew York and Pennsylvania a total 

 '-iderably over 2.000,000 acres has been ac- 

 quired, largely by purchase, for forest reserves. 



Rut atcs have a much more difficult 



problem to decide. There arc many areas of 

 level land which can easily be cultivated but have 

 not been successfully farmed. The commonest 

 type is a coarse, deep sand with no subsoil found 

 in many pine regions. Much of this sandy land 

 in older states has been taken up and abandoned 

 several times. It is in dealing with soils of this 

 character that our state policy needs strengthen- 

 ing. Conditions in America are still unsettled, 

 and the- pre--nrc for land is very strong. The 

 doctrine that lands too poor for agriculture 

 should be used for the production of wood crops 

 is not yet accepted, for no land which can be 

 plowed will be relinquished to forest reserves 

 without a siruggle. In every state which has at- 

 tempted to create forest reserves on sandy land 

 a bitter fight ha- been waged against the with- 

 drawal of such lands from agriculture. 



This oppo-ition springs naturally from both the 

 settlers in such districts and the speculators in 

 farm lands. The interests of the settler are pro- 

 moted by more rapid settlement since a denser 

 population not only reduces the taxes for roads 

 and other improvements, but creates better mar- 

 kets for produce. A suggestion that a portion of 

 any region is unfit for agriculture is a blow at the 

 development of the district. This should be rec- 

 ognised and extreme statements and radical 

 ures avoided by forestry advocates. 



But final judgment cannot be formed without 

 considering the other side- as represented by tin- 

 land speculator. Tn many districts the test of 

 experience has shown the difficulty of profitable 

 farming, and the original settlers have abandoned 

 the attempt. Land speculators find in these lands 

 a fruitful source of profit, and induce inexncr- 

 ienced or over-confident investors to buy them 

 for homes. 



There seems to be but one way to meet this 

 situation honestly, and that is by acquiring such 

 lands for state forest reserve.-. \Vc need these 

 lands for growing timber. In such thickly set- 

 tled countries as Prussia sandy lands are being 

 purchased every vear by the Government and 

 planted to pine. We must learn in this countrv 

 to put land to its best use, and be willing to ad- 

 mit that in some cases this best use is forest pro- 

 duction. The ability to distinguish between agri- 

 the lir-t cla'-s to settlers and, prevent the improper 



Operating a Mixed Swamp. Peeling a Fifty-Foot Piling 



use of the true forest soils for agriculture can 

 only be developed in a state under a progressive 

 policy of state forest reserves. 



There are thus strong reasons for state owner- 

 ship of forest lands in all instances in addition to 

 the need of producing tinlber. Should the argu- 

 ment be based solely on the necessity for the state 

 to grow timber it, might be held that a state must 

 not compete with individuals in the production of 

 crops. This is true where individuals can supply 

 the demand for the product and where state com- 

 petition would in any way hamper private effort. 

 But in the production of timber, experience in 

 this country as well as abroad is rapidly prov- 

 ing that the individual or corporation is seldom 

 willing to invest the money or make the sacri- 

 fices necessary to secure a second crop of timber 

 while under state control the proper steps may 

 be taken with little difficulty. It is certain that 

 all the timber that can be raised by the united 

 efforts of states and private parties will not 

 supply the demand, hence it is equally certain that 

 the growing of timber by the state will not injure 

 the individual. It will aid such private efforts by 

 improving conditions of public sentiment, securing 

 better fire protection and developing markets for 

 home grown timber. The larger and more valu- 

 able sizes of timber needed for special purposes, 

 and the clear lumber which comes only from 

 older trees can only be produced in the future 

 by the state, since no other owner can afford to 

 wait SO long before cutting his crop. 



A progressive forest policy for a state calls 

 for absolute freedom from political connections. 

 and for direction by men of proper training and 

 knowledge of forestry. A policy of land acqui- 

 sition may be managed successfully by men with- 

 out a forester's training, and such public-spirited 

 men have been responsible for nearly all the pro- 

 gress that has been made so far in securing state 

 forest reserves. But as soon as the foundations 

 are laid and the work of management for the 

 cultural and forest soils, and the power to open 

 purpose of limber production begins, it should be 



in the hands of trained foresters. 



The experience of some states has indicated 

 the best method of securing an efficient and non- 

 political management of forest reserves. A for- 

 estry board should have control of the policy 

 of the state and should decide matters dealing 

 with state lands and the expenditure of money. 

 This board should be composed of men occupy- 

 ing positions of responsibility in the state, in edu- 

 cational or technical lines ; and, when feasible, 

 the commission should be named specifically ; as, 

 for instance. President of State University, 

 Director of State Geological Survey, Professor of 

 Forestry in some well-known institution. Five 

 members should make a large enough board. 



The executive officer of the board should be a 

 state forester appointed by the board. By this 

 arrangement, the forester is responsible to the 

 board, whose members, in turn, will be -able to 

 give the proper time to the work, since their 

 other duties will be confined to meetings, held at 

 stated intervals. 



Unless forestry work in a state is organized 

 along some such lines the chances are that sooner 

 or later the organization will prove inadequate, 

 and the work stagnate and fall into disrepute, or 

 even become the prey of politicians. 



State forestry is in its infancy and the need 

 is urgent. Mistakes are costly and often unnec- 

 essary. A clear cut policy, persevered in, will suc- 

 ceed, while radical differences of opinion may 

 mean wasted effort. An understanding of tne 

 true goal of state forestry is needed to direct and 

 unite such efforts. A constant interest on the 

 part of the public in the forestry work of the 

 state is the surest guarantee of ultimate success. 



Autobus service between South Haven and Al- 

 legan has been temporarily discontinued pending 

 the making of such repairs to the roads as will 

 enable the big cars to make the run on scheduled 

 time. The dry weather lately has had a bad ef- 

 11 the sandy stretches in Casco and Lee 

 townships, especially on the four or five sand hills 

 between Ifawkhcrul and Pullman. 



