MICHIGAN RCADS AND FORESTS 



Professor Roth Discusses United States Forest 

 Service Report 



The terrible fire losses of last summer, the 

 utter indifference of the stale officials with 

 regard to these losses, and the general desire 

 of the people for reliable information regard- 

 ing this situation and the possible remedies, 

 induced the State Forestry Commission to ask 

 the United States Forest Service for the neces- 

 sary help to make an investigation. This work- 

 was done as a co-operative enterprise, the 

 State Forestry Commission contributing part 

 of the expenses. 



Two men, Mr. Wesley Bradfield, native of 

 Michigan, graduate of Alma and the Univer- 

 sity of Michigan, a trained forester, and Mr. 

 Athol Wynee, a Wisconsin lumberman, car- 

 ried on this work. They went from county 

 to county, conferring with the people of each 

 locality, and checked as far as possible all in- 

 formation thus gathered by actual observa- 

 tion and investigation on the ground. They 

 devoted the greater part of the fall of 1908 to 

 this work. 



The following are the principal results re- 

 ported by the United States Forest Service: 



1. The Fire Losses. After reciting the 

 present fire law, the report states that the 

 entire situation was sadly neglected, and that 

 "most of the supervisors either were totally 

 ignorant of their duties under the law or com- 

 pletely ignored them." The supervisors were 

 not instructed; they were not compelled by 

 the State Game and Fire Warden, as was his 

 duty and power under the law; and that evi- 

 dently the whole business was mismanaged in 

 every county, and in almost every town in 

 northern Michigan. It also states that the 

 people themselves, especially the settlers, lum- 

 bermen and others, did not make a reasonable 

 effort, and espec'ally that the efforts made 

 came altogether too late to be of much value. 

 The actual losses suffered by the state arc 

 classified thus: 



The total area of lands north of T. 20 

 which was run over by fire last summer 

 amounts to about seven million acres, or 

 nearly 40 per cent of the north half of the 

 state. Two millions of this is actually tim- 

 berlands, forming about 34 per cent of all tim- 

 berlands of that part of the state, and about 

 five million acres is cutover lands. These 

 latter form about 45 per cent of all the cut- 

 over lands of the state. 



In the upper peninsula 'about 8 per cent, 

 and in the lower peninsula (north of T. 20) 

 over 20 per cent of the standing timber was 

 killed by fire. Over six million dollars worth 

 of timber was utterly destroyed, and the rest 

 was injured by o\ er ten million dollars worth, 

 fully 35 per cent of the amount being lost by 

 fire injury. 



In addition to the above the report esti- 

 mates a loss of over six million dollars for 

 smaller stuff cedar, tamarack, poplar._ oak. 

 etc. not really counted in the saw timber. 

 A loss of over $600,000 was sustained in the 

 burning of logs and other timber products; 

 over $500,000 in hemlock bark, and over $.">00,- 

 ooo in buildings and other personal property. 

 1'n addition, 'it is estimated that the extra 

 expense which the people must incur to savt 

 the injured timber will amount to four million 

 dollars. Thus, the direct or immediate losses 

 in money and merchantable stuff run up t( 

 about $28,500,000, while the loss due to the 

 burning of the small trees, which would anc 

 should make our future forests, is estimated 

 at t, early sixteen million dollars. 



Michigan has certainly paid fur her lesson 

 \bout forty-five million dollar-, besides ball 

 a hundred human lives and the agony that 

 thousand- suffered for months. 



The Forest Service hilly sustains the report 

 of the Comnii--ion of Inquiry in its recom- 

 mendations for better lire protection. 



Relation of Agricultural and 

 Lands. Under this head comparisons arc 



made and an interesting table is presented in 

 yoking all of the state north of 1. 20. 



shows that the area of improved land in I '.MI I 

 only about (i per sent. Also that for this 

 entire area at best only about half is adapted 

 o cul.ivation. 



In discussing -late tax lands and "tax home- 

 lead" land.-, as they arc technically di 

 lated, the report confirms that of the Com- 

 nission of Inquiry on every point. It points 

 >ut the inferior character of these lands, the 

 resent c.'Stly and wasteful method of hand- 

 ing them, the great losses which the state 

 las suffered in disposing of them under the 

 resent law, and the desirability of a radical 

 hange in the state's policy and of establish- 

 ng mo-t of those lands as state fo: i 



i. General Forest Conditions. The United 

 States Forest Service estimates that in the 

 lorth half of the state (north of T. 20) about 

 Hie-third of all land, or nearly six million 

 ,cres, is still forest, with an estimated stand 

 if thirty-live billion feet of timber. Of this 

 land about 1,600,000 acres, with about eleven 

 >illion feet, is credited to the lower peninsula. 

 he rest to the upper. The cut-over lands 

 nake about li.', per cent of all land in the 

 ower peninsula (north of T. 20). These cut- 

 over lands for both peninsulas are estimated 

 it about 10.SOO.OOO acres, or over 60 per cent 

 >f all lands. Of these lands about two-thirds 

 vas reported as restocking. (Hut, of course, 

 jractically half of these lands were burned 

 >ver last summer.) Interesting is the fact 

 hat these cut-over, waste lands in some coun- 

 ies make up over 80 per cent of all land, 

 hough less than 5 per cent in the whole 

 county is actually used as farm land. 



4. The lumber industry cuts the forests at 

 he rate of about 300,000 acres per year, thus 

 aking an area nearly 'as large as a standard 



county for each year's cut. 



5. Recommendations Made by the United 

 States Forest Service: 



(1) All state lands should be withdrawn, 

 classified into agricultural and forest lands and 

 the larger tracts reserved for state forest 

 eserves. 



(2) The management of the public lands 

 should be entrusted to a non-political com- 

 nission. 



CD This commission should have a regular 

 forester to carry out the work. 



(4) There should be a thorough revision of 

 the forest fire laws. 



(5) The state and timber land owners 

 should co-operate in the development and pro- 



ection of forest lands. 



(() The taxation of all forest lands (cut- 

 over lands included) should he on a "definite, 

 quitable basis." The method recommended 

 is this: (a) A yearly tax on the land alone. 

 and, in addition, (b) a harvest lax of Id per 

 cent on the stumpage value of the timber 

 whenever any timber is cut. 



For all woodlots connected with farms it 

 is recommended that only the land be taxed 

 just as in the case of other parts of the farm 

 lands. 



It is a matter of great pleasure lo all right- 

 minded and patriotic citizens that the legis- 

 lature of Michigan in its piv enl session (190s 

 and 1909) has already started in the right di- 

 rection. Under the excellent leadership oi 

 Hon. James I.. Morrice. of I [arbor Springs 

 and of John O. Maxey. of 1.'. \nse. the legis- 

 lature has by joint resolution, and after that 

 by the pas-age of a regular bill, withdraw! 

 all state lands from sale until the matter o 

 a proper policy and management can be de- 

 cided upon. 



PUTS PUBLIC LANDS IN NEW HANDS 



Practically in keeping with the recommenda- 

 tion of the special commission of forestrj 

 inquiry is the bill for a public domain com- 

 mission in Michigan, introduced in the I 

 by Representative Charles Flower-, of De- 

 troit, chairman of the judicial commute. 



The bill puts all state lands now in the 

 hands ,,f the auditor general and state lain 

 commission into tbe control o| the proposec 

 commission, subject to a condition which pro 



,-ides that sufficient state land shall be re- 

 served and turned over to the forestry com- 

 uission for purposes of reforestation. The 

 nil fixe- ."lOo.ooo acres as the minimum of 

 and for forestry, the public domain must al- 

 ways set aside at least this number of acres. 



The proposed commission is to be composed 

 f the auditor general, land commissioner, at- 

 torney general, member of board of regents 

 ind board of agriculture, to be appointed by 

 he governor. The governor is made a mem- 

 )er cx-'ifiicio. 



The bill takes from the stale game warden 

 ill the jurisdiction and duties of lire warden. 

 placing this department under that of public 

 lomain. 



The bill reserves forever all mineral rights 

 n state lands, and provide.-, that mining opera- 

 tion- on this character of public lands shall 

 be carried on on a basis of royalty to the 

 state for all ores taken. An appropriation 

 of $10,000 for the inauguration of the public 

 domain commission is provided for. but the 

 oill also indicates that this sum must be paid 

 back into the general fund from the sale of 

 state lands. 



It will be seen that a'bout all the designs of 

 the special commission of inquiry are carried 

 Hit. The game warden's department is not 

 included a- in the recommendation, but aside 

 from that the effect is almost the same. The 

 land commissioner becomes an official of the 

 commission and there is the office of chief 

 fire warden. That the reforestation figure is 

 not forgotten is evident from the fact thai 

 .MM). ooo acres, more than half of all the state 

 lands, must be set aside for the state forestry 

 commission. 



FIRES STARTED FOR SPITE. 



In his annual report. Deputy Game and For- 

 est Warden \Y. O. Fro-t. o| Munising, esti- 

 mates that forest fires in Alger comity last 

 summer occasioned ifli.liOO loss, exclusive of 

 the damage to standing limber, and $3,569 

 was expended in lighting the (lames. The 

 total acreage burned over is placed at 29, 220. 

 Deputy Frost refers to the fact that the se- 

 vere frost early in September killed many 

 ferns, brakes and grass and caused leaves to 

 fall, making the conditions favorable to the 

 spread of the (ires. Fngine sparks, he says, 

 were responsible for some of the tires, and 

 other- were caused by "pig-beaded" persons 

 while clea-ring land. Some, too, he asserts 

 were started for spite and others by drunken 

 lumberjacks and 'hunters and berry pickers. 

 Concluding, he says: "Carelessness has been 

 the chief cause of the greater number of tires. 

 mail}- people thinking as long as their own 

 personal property was not at stake there was 

 no reason to trouble their minds about lire." 



MORE FOREST RESERVES. 



Among the last official acts of President 

 Roosevelt was the signing of proclamations 

 creating additions to national forests in Ne- 

 vada. South Dakota, California, Xew Mexico 

 and Arizona, aggregating t.'.isn.Tiiii acres. This 

 new forest land brings the total national forest 

 area up to I95.0I:!.9SO acres. 



The national forests which have been en- 

 larged and the size of the additions are as 

 follows: Lincoln national forest. Xew Mexico. 

 SI. 1ST acres; Alamo national forest. Xew Mex- 

 ico, :;ix,:.!ll acres; Carson national forest. Xew 

 Mexico, :;9!).0(i() acres; Apache national forest, 

 Arizona, i::s,ooo acres; Sitgreaves national for- 

 Irizona, 2l.2sn acres; /uni national for- 

 est, Xew Mexico. i>ro.9sl acres; Tahoe na- 

 tional forest. California and Xevada, 3:'.s.470 

 acres; Mono national forest, Xevada and Cali- 

 fornia. iis9.5sO acre-; Sequoia national forest. 

 California. :.'S.ir>0 acre-; l.a--en national for- 

 est, California. 5 1 1'. 794 acres; Trinity national 

 Forest, California, si, sun acre-; Shasta na- 

 tional forest, California, .-ii;7, ill's acres, and 

 I'lumas national forest, California. 52,805 

 acres. 



