MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



WASHINGTON FIRE ASSOCIATION. 



As many readers of Roads and Forests 

 know, this organization is composed of lum- 

 bermen, largely corporations with large hold- 

 ings, interested in reducing the enormous loss 

 from fires. The system is voluntary; every 

 firm pays its pro rata of the expenses; a corps 

 of regular patrol men are employed and work 

 under the direction .of the chief fire warden, 

 Mr. D. P. Simons, Jr. These patrolmen are 

 mostly men of the lumber woods, their em- 

 ployment depends on good service, and they 

 are well paid. They patrol, ^aeh a certain 

 territory, post up notices, warn campers, and 

 in case of fires, do whatever is necessary. 

 Their fire warning notice is interesting and 

 reads as follows: 



"Read This. 



"Would you set fire to any man's house in 

 your town? 



"If you saw his house afire would you pass 

 by without doing anything? 



"Do you realize that timber is quite as valu- 

 able to the owner, and much more so to the 

 community and to you? He can build a new 

 house but not a new forest. As for your in- 

 terest, think over the following facts: 



"Washington has 200 billion feet of standing 

 timber, even now worth 200 million dollars as 

 a resource. 



"If manufactured and sold, even at the pres- 

 ent lumber prices, it will 'bring $2,500,000,000 

 into the State. 



Washington now sells $70,000,000 worth of 

 lumber and shingles a year. Of this $60,000,- 

 000 is received by employes who put it in local 

 circulation. 



"In other words, you, whatever your busi- 

 ness, share it. 



"About four billion feet of timber was de- 

 stroyed by fire in Washington in the past ten 

 years, which, if manufactured, would bring in 

 $50,000,000. 



' "On every thousand feet of timber burned, 

 the community loses eight dollars in wages. 



"Timber means pay checks, to support all 

 industries, but burned timber does not. 



"Timber pays taxes in your county; if it 

 burns, your property has to pay the difference. 



"Help keep down forest fires and you will 

 make more money; so will your children. 



"Don't toss away burning matches or to- 

 bacco. 



"Don't make a campfire in leaves, rotton 

 wood, or against logs, where it might spread, 

 or where you cannot be sure it is out. 



"Never leave a fire until it is out. 



"Don't burn your slashings in the dry sea- 

 son without a permit. 



"Put out any fires ycu find if you can. If 

 you can't, notify a fire warden or some other 

 public officer, or the land owner. 



"Remember it is the little fire you can put 

 out which may later become a big one. 



"If you don't know the fire laws, send for 

 them. Help enforce them. 

 "WASHINGTON FOREST FIRE ASSO- 

 CIATION." 



The results of this work have been good. 

 There were employed 65 to 100 rangers, and 

 though 1909 was uncommonly dry on the West 

 Coast, there were but few fires and compara- 

 tively little damage. But only comparatively, 

 for while only about 3,000 acres of green tim- 

 ber was burned, this represented over 51 mil- 

 lion feet of lumber, a loss in material and pos- 

 sible labor of fully one million dollars. For- 

 tunately for Washington, men are beginning 

 to realize that such losses are real and not 

 merely some intangible, far-off things, of no 

 concern to anybody. The association protects 

 at>out eight million acres, and the association 

 warden believes that about 500 men should be 

 employed each summer at a cost of about 

 $250,000 per year. That this would mean 

 money in pocket is evident enough, but it 

 takes much persuasion to prevent penny wis- 

 dom from forcing pound foolishness on the 

 public. The State of Washington, in keeping 

 with all politics, still adheres to a "do-noth- 

 ing" policy and prefers to see its forests burn. 



The little it, as a State, does do- is, as in most 

 States, more a farce and a hindrance than 

 anything of value. 



WANT GOOD LAND FOR REFORESTA- 

 TION. 



A harsh criticism of the administration's 

 attitude on the national resources problem and 

 on the Pinchot-Ballinger controversy in par- 

 ticular, was the feature of a recent session of 

 the Michigan Engineering Society. The mat- 

 ter was brought up in an address by John J. 

 Hubbel', of Manistee. Mr. Hubbell first traced 

 the history of forest lands in Michigan down 

 to the time that the new forestry commission 

 bill was passed. The speaker criticised the 

 apparent aim of the commission which seemed 

 to 'be to sell all the best lands for agricultural 

 purposes and leave the most undesirable por- 

 tions for forestry development. The aim of 

 foresters in the state is to reforest the lands 

 at the heads of the Manistee, Muskegon, Au 

 Sable and Saginaw rivers in large tracts of 

 from five to fifteen thousand acres, including 

 some of the better timber lands. 



In the national field much good work in the 

 line of conservation of forests and their nat- 

 ural resources has been done and the speaker 

 thought that chief among those who have 

 done this work is Forester Pinchot. Certain 

 private individuals and corporations began to 

 encroach upon the national reserve and when 

 Pinchot and his assistants made objections, an 

 attempt was made to gag them. As they 

 wouldn't be gagged, they were dismissed. Mr. 

 Hubbell's idea is that the administration 

 plainly shows by its policy that it values party 

 unity above national conservation. 



A warm discussion, the address and the gen- 

 eral tone of the remarks seemed to be along 

 the same line. 



WILL WE WAIT UNTIL WE COME TO 

 I THIS? 



The following statement was made recently 

 concerning Northern Scandinav ; a, by one who 

 knows from observation and study: 



"This country has been stripped of its tim- 

 ber, first by the Hansards, then by the Dutch, 

 and finally by the English. The timber was 

 used 'in each case for ship-building. The lec- 

 turer spoke of an e*tensive plan of reforesta- 

 tion that is being undertaken, which will add 

 once more beauty to the scenery. This move- 

 ment for reforestation, besides being aided by 

 the government, is supported by the people 

 by means of collection boxes in much the 

 same way as charity collection boxes of the 

 United States." 



Will we wait in Michigan until some one 

 will say of our State: The forests were given 

 away or procured under false pretenses under 

 the timber and stone act and various other 

 laws; only part of the material was used, the 

 rest was ruthlessly destroyed by fires; large 

 parts of the State were converted into man- 

 made desert, and now they "pass the hat" 

 around to get a little money with which to 

 restock these unused lands? 



MAY BE FORESTER. 



Marcus Schaff. of Munising. will be the first 

 state forester of Michigan, if he will accept 

 the position at the annual salary of 1.200, 

 which is all the Public Domain Commission can 

 affo.rd to pay. This announcement is made by 

 State Land Commissioner Huntley Russell 

 after the commission gave him authority to 

 appoint the officer. 



The commission also decided to withdraw 

 from sale, temporarily, all the state tax home- 

 stead lands in Oscoda, Ogemaw, Alcona and 

 losco counties, pending the final settlement of 

 the tract that is to comprise the state forest 

 reserve. This makes a total of about 200,000 

 acres that are now set aside. 



What we need is young men trained for for- 

 estry work by a course in college," said Com- 

 missioner Russell. "The M. A. C. will turn 

 out 30 young men who have taken this course, 

 in June, but the state cannot get any of them, 

 as the government has already secured their 



services. And if Michigan had its application 

 in in time, the men would not accept, for ai 

 present there is not enough money at the com' 

 mand of the Public Domain Commission t( 

 pay them the salaries they can secure from 

 other sources." 



The public domain commission more than 

 doubled the amount of land set aside for for 

 est reserves. The previous acreage was 90, 

 000, but at the close of the session nearly 

 110,000 acres has been added, making the tota 

 close to 200,000. The land includes all that in 

 Luce county north of township 48. The bal- 

 ance of the state land in this county will be 

 placed on the market in the spring. 



TEACH FORESTRY IN RURAL SCHOOLS 



The Federation of Women's Clubs of Sag- 

 inaw and County Commissioner Tefft have 

 evolved in the rural school a plan for foresta-1 

 tion that is without precedent in the state. It ; 

 is to work out along the same lines as the -. 

 forestation courses in the state schools. 



Mrs. L. Mautner advocated the plan to Com- 

 missioner Teflft. 



"I believe that the teachers of the country 

 schools can take the pupils into the many 

 nearby woods, pick up nuts and leaves, that is," 

 in the different seasons of course, and teachS 

 them many useful things about the growing] 

 of trees,' said Mrs. Mautner. 



"They can plant the seeds and watch thej 

 shoots spring up, and they will have the funda-J 

 mental principles of forestation." 



Mrs. Mautner would have a little tract of j 

 land set aside near each school for use of the* 

 pupils and would have forestation part of the 

 regular school work. 



The Art Club is co-operating and a board of 

 education has been appointed to promulgate 

 the work. It is expected that the industrial 

 and agricultural commission recently appoint- 

 ed by Governor Warner to ascertain tho 

 schools' conditions of the state, will take up 

 the work of forestration in connection with 

 the schools. 



Commissioner Tefft has for some time been 

 engaged in promoting among the Saginaw 

 county schools a landscape beautifying system. 



WHITE PINE IN MASSACHUSETTS. 



In a pamphlet just issued by the State For- 

 ester of Massachusetts (who, by the way, gets 

 $5,000 salary), which describes the woodwork- 

 ing industries, gives their addresses, and the 

 kinds, amounts and value of the woods, some 

 very interesting figures occur on white pine. 

 It is stated that in 1908, 296 million feet of 

 white pine were used in the State, and that of 

 this 44% were grown in this State. 



In Bulletin 10 of the Bureau of Census, it 

 is stated that Massachusetts today cuts more 

 white pine than does Michigan, even if the 

 output of Norway and Jack pine is added for 

 Michigan. Since a great part of the cut in 

 Massachusetts is from second growth groves, 

 this large cut for our old Bay State is doubly 

 interesting and ought to serve as a hint for 

 our people. 



NATIONAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIA- 

 TION. 



This new association, whose president is 

 Chas. W. Elict, formerly president of Har- 

 vard, is making an effort to organize branch 

 associations in every State. Director R. L. 

 Melendy visited Michigan a few weeks ago 

 and urged the plan of establishing a regular 

 State headquarters, with secretary and lectur- 

 ers who should organize every county in the 

 State. It is to be hoped that something of thi.s 

 kind can be accomplished. 



SOME STATES ARE BEGINNING TO 

 ACT. 



A recent decision of the United States cir- 

 cuit court of appeals at New Orleans makes it 

 prohibitive for non-residents to cut timber 

 from school lands. This decision affects large 

 lumber concerns to the extent of fully $5,000.- 

 000. Evidently Louisiana proposes to lock the 

 door before all the horses are gone. 



