FOREST MANAGEMENT 



ii 



At the risk of being criticised I am 

 going to give you a few more figures. 

 The Conservation Commission reports 

 for 1911 show manufactured lumber 

 from spruce, hemlock and pine cut in 

 this State 293,971,774 feet and 552,229 

 cords of pulpwood. Reducing it all to 

 feet we have as coming from our lands 

 625,309,174 feet of lumber. According 

 to the Forest Service Circular No. 120 

 of the United States Department of 

 Agriculture of 1906, which is the latest 

 I could obtain, there was used in this 

 State 1,295,904 cords of wood. Reduce 

 this to feet we have 777,552,400 feet. 



The yield from 50,000 acres reduced 

 to feet would be 1,300,000 feet, or 

 double the amount that was cut in this 

 State during 1911, and nearly double the 

 amount that was used by the pulp and 

 paper mills in this State in 1906. 



Please bear in mind that the only 

 figures of yield I have given are esti- 

 mates upon the 50,000 acres, and I have 

 not added to them what would be a 

 large yield from our State lands and re- 

 forested private lands. Thus it appears 

 reasonable to assume that from these 

 sources you would receive timber 

 enough to make good the estimates I 

 have given and which have been con- 

 firmed by experienced foresters. 



The possibilities are so great as to be 

 almost incomprehensible to the layman. 

 Is it not time we should demand that a 

 big, broad gauged business man of large 

 administrative experience take hold of 

 this property and make it yield for us 

 what it should yield ? In doing this the 

 natural beauty of our forests would be 

 enhanced a thousand fold, and you 

 would see forests growing on every acre 

 of waste land in the State. 



Reforestation, however, will accom- 

 plish but little unless fires are kept out 

 of the forests. We should lend every 

 assistance possible to the Commission 

 to further improve and perfect its al- 

 ready excellent fire fighting department. 

 Suggestions will be made to the Legisla- 

 ture for improving this service. 



There are already in the State several 

 organizations interested in our Adiron- 

 dack problems and I can point with 

 pride to the fact that we are all work- 

 ing in harmony to accomplish the same 

 results. As one of the speakers has out- 

 lined, I believe this Association, State- 

 wide in its scope, will reach many that 

 could not be interested by any of the 

 other organizations, and I am glad to 

 be present today to lend what little 

 assistance I can to its formation. 



The topography, character and forest growth upon lands constituting the Forest Preserve 

 are very diversified. There arc no exact figures as to the character of the growth upon this 

 area. The best estimates which are available are as follows : 



acres. 



Virgin forest 70,000 



Lumbered lands i,45O,ooo 



Denuded lands.. 120,000 



Water 200,000 



The State should, as other owners do, make a valuation survey or inventory of its 

 property in order to determine the area of the different classes of forest ^growth, location 

 and the quantity of material contained. Information of this character is of the utmost 

 importance in any consideration of a possible change of the constitution. 



The State Forest Preserve is at the present time a luxury. Its initial cost represents an 

 investment of approximately four million dollars. The interest on this amount ^at 5 per 

 cent is two hundred thousand dollars per year. This land bears its share of taxation in the 

 towns in which it is located and pays annually for this purpose one hundred fifty thousand 

 dollars. The expense of fire protection and administration is fully fifteen thousand dollars 

 additional, therefore, the total annual carrying charge upon this property is not less than 

 three hundred sixty-five thousand dollars per year. 



