FOREWORD 



THE Forestry situation in New York State is and always has been unique. 

 Owning more timberland than any other State, 1,800,000 acres, the State 

 cannot practice real forestry on this vast area owing to Constitutional 

 prohibition. With a splendid administrative force of men protecting the Adiron- 

 dacks and Catskills against fire, the remainder of the State is left to the mercies 

 of the ex-officio wardens, since a State-wide fire law is not in effect, and finally 

 with all of the interest in Conservation, with the organizations formed for the 

 protection of animal life and forests, with the enormous State owned domain con- 

 taining 25 per cent, of the remaining timber, it was not until 1913 that a State- 

 wide Forestry Association was formed that would amalgamate all of the forestry 

 interests of the State and concern itself with the woodlot and idle land problem, 

 as well as the protection of the State owned play-ground in the Adirondacks. 



It is true that in 1885 a meeting was called at Utica and presided over by 

 Theodore Roosevelt, then State Assemblyman. This Association led a rather 

 tame existence for some years and finally died a natural death. 



Following this several organizations sprang up, each concerned with a certain 

 aspect of the forestry movement within the State ; the Society for the Protection 

 of the Adirondacks. organized in 1901, for the purpose of guarding this area 

 against lawless cuttings, being the most notable, and other organizations also 

 have left their print upon the forestry legislation of the Empire State either in 

 the form of suggested changes in the fire law or by suggesting a plan for a com- 

 plete conservation law. 



In May, 1912, it occurred to some Foresters of New York that the need of 

 a State Forestry organization was imperative ; that there should be a single organi- 

 zation in the State having representatives on its Executive Committee of each of 

 the other associations and bodies concerned with some special phase of forestry 

 work. It seemed that this State Association could coordinate all the forestry 

 recommendations that might otherwise emanate in a rather inharmonious manner 

 and that by threshing the various matters over " In Committee " as it were, 

 present a solid, concrete, harmonious set of suggestions for the consideration of 

 the legislative bodies within the State. 



With this end in view a meeting was called at Syracuse for January 16, 

 1913, and on that date the New York State Forestry Association was launched. 



New York is the greatest wood consuming state in the Union. We use over 2,000,000,000 

 board feet every year in our wood-using industries. 



New York sends out of the state over $100,000,000 every year for forest products which 

 could just as well be grown in the state on lands that are now idle or non-productive. 



Among the 20 different states engaged in the wood pulp industry, New York leads 

 them all, consuming annually over 1,000,000 cords to supply which over 40,000 acres of 

 good virgin timber are cut every year. We will soon be forced to grow under systematic 

 forest management all of our wood for paper pulp. 



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