MICHIGAN 



ROADS ^FORESTS 



DETROIT, MICH., MAY, 1909. 



MICHIGAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



The Michigan Forestry Association was organized in Grand Rapids August 30, 1905, having for its object the promotion of a ra- 

 tional system of forestry in Michigan. The society is managed by the following roster of officers: President, John H. Bissell, of Detroit; 

 Vice-President, Morrice Quinn, Saginaw; Secretary, Henry G. Stevens, Detroit; Treasurer, W. B. Mershon, Saginaw, W. S. Board of 

 Directors S. M. Lemon, Grand Rapids; H. N. Loud, Au Sable; Thos. B. Wyman, Munising; E. C. Nichols, Battle Creek; R. Hanson, Gray- 

 ling; Geo. N. Brady, Detroit. 



200,000 ACRES FOR REFORESTATION. 



Michigan Has Public Domain Bill Which Will 

 Prove a Blessing. 



The advocates i reforestration in Michigan 



won a great victory in I he closing hours of 

 tlu- I'.iO'.l legislature. Up to the last day, the 

 tight for a measure In conserve the state's 

 forest lands seemed hopeless, as the adminis- 

 tration force^ were strongly opposed to any 

 legislation that would be acceptable to the 

 Commission of Public Enquiry and the Michi- 

 gan Forestry Association. When the senate 

 turned down the legislation asked for. and 

 substituted a bill which would make conditions 

 worse than exist at present, the house com- 

 mittee on forestry refused to consider it. The 

 administration forces then began to get an 

 inkling of the temper of the people at large 

 regarding the subject and there was a rapid 

 change of front. The house committee again 

 reported out a public domain bill and the for- 

 mer opponents of the measure tumbled over 

 one another to fall into line. The measure 

 went through with a rush. 



Under the plan worked out in the substitute 

 the public domain commission will consist of 

 the Auditor General, the State Land Commis- 

 sioner, the Secretary of State and a member 

 of the University Regents, the State 

 P.oanl of Agriculture and the College of Mines. 

 This board is authorized to hire a secretary 

 at a salary of not to exceed $400. and a super- 

 visor of trespass at a salary of if 1 .'.'."lO. 



Tile bill requires the Auditor General to 

 deed all -late lands promptly to the commis- 

 sion, and requires that body to reserve at least 

 2(10.01)0 a'cres for forestry purposes. All home- 

 1 applications must contain an agreement 

 that a portion of each 40 acres will be set 

 a-ide for forestation. 



State tax lands will be sold at the county 

 seats of the counties in which they are located 

 \\here the amount exceeds .")()() acres. Below 

 that amount the place of sale is to he fixed by 

 the commission. All mineral and water power 

 rights are reserved to the state. 



The state game, fish and forest warden's de- 

 partment is placed under the control of the 

 commission in so far as the prevention of 

 forest fires are concerned. 



Ihc bill carries an appropriation of $7,500. 

 It was given immediate effect. 



The Auditor General has already deeded 

 :;rs.<!0o acres of tax lands to the Commission 

 for sale under the new system. 



states would sustain in having so much of 

 their territory withdrawn from settlement. In 

 most cases this objection was rather ill-found- 

 ed because the class of land withdrawn would 

 never have been settled up to successful farms. 

 However, the government admitted the claim 

 and provided for the reimbursement of ( the 

 states by turning over to them fifteen per cent 

 of the revenues from the forests within their 

 boundaries. These revenues were obtained 

 from grazing permits and sales of the mature 

 timber. The shares received by the states 

 under this arrangement far exceeded the taxes 

 which they would otherwise have received, 

 but many of them were still dissatisfied, and 

 their shares were increased to 25 per cent. 

 Last year the returns from timber sales alone 

 amounted to $849,002.24; of this the states re- 

 ceived almost a quarter of a million dollars 

 for their road and school funds. 



Minnesota did not have any national forests 

 at that time and consequently did not receive 

 any of this bonus. She now has within her 

 boundaries two forests containing about 1,300,- 

 000 acres. The returns from these forests 

 will at first be small, for there will be no 

 grazing permits and the location of the for- 

 ests will probably cut out timber sales for 

 some years. It would also be many years 

 before the state could receive any revenue 

 from these lands in the way of taxes if, in- 

 deed, it ever could. 



But what will these reserves mean to the 

 State in the future? There is no reason to 

 believe that our forests will yield less than 

 those of Germany. Placing the net revenue 

 at the moderate figure of four dollars per acre 

 per annum, the total net receipts would be 

 $5,200,000. Of this the State would receive 

 $1,300,000, and that without the investment of 

 a cent. Such a substantial increase in the 

 annual revenue would mean much to the State. 



:',.\:,'.'> persons; Essex, 7,719; Franklin, 4,(i-.'r, : 

 Fulton, 410; Hamilton, 2,395; Herkimer, 2,415; 

 Lewis, 510; Oneida, 150; St. Lawrence, 1,223; 

 Warren, 3,060 or a total of 28,502 persons. 

 The above figures do not include the private 

 camps and sanitariums. The average lengtn 

 of time spent in the Adirondacks by each 

 visitor is about two weeks; hence it is figured 

 that in those days about 200,000 people sought 

 recreation and health in that region. This 

 estimate was proved to be about right by the 

 reports of the railroads the Central and the 

 Delaware and Hudson which showed that 

 225,000 passengers were carried during the 

 summer season. 



It was estimated that more than $6,000,000 

 were invested in hotels and boarding houses 

 and about $4,000.000 in private camps and cot- 

 tages. The total wages paid to 18,307 guides, 

 clerks, ^servants, cooks, etc., were $991,550; 

 cash paid for board, carriages, boats, etc., 

 amounted to $5,213,210; for railroad fares, 

 $875,000. Thus more than seven millions were 

 spent by summer resorters. This business is 

 largely dependent upon standing forests. The 

 water power, developed and undeveloped, of 

 much greater value, also depends upon the 

 forest. Present lumbering methods are the 

 great power which works toward the ruin of 

 these two great industries. 



WHAT NATIONAL FORESTS MEAN TO 

 THE STATE FINANCIALLY. 



When the national forests were first estab- 

 lished by the federal government the chief 

 objection made by the states in which they 

 were located was the loss of taxes which the 



VALUE OF N. Y. STATE'S FORESTS. 



Commissioner Whipple, of the forest de- 

 partment of New York State, said a few days 

 ago that the forests of New York State are 

 of more value than its canals. A recent report 

 of the Forest, Fish and Game Commission 

 gives a hint of the value of the summer resort 

 business alone. The business done each year 

 by the hotels and boarding houses in the reg- 

 ion contributes largely to the development 

 and prosperity of northern Xew York, and it 

 fairly approaches in magnitude to that of the 

 great industries which are independent on the 

 forest product of the Adirondacks. Thousands 

 if people arc employed in the business, while 

 tin' surrounding towns and cities profit to a 

 considerable extent because of the goods they 

 sell. 



The commission's report shows that Adiron- 

 dack hotels in Clinton county accommodate 



SCIENTIFIC FORESTRY A HELP. 



Scientific forestry would help Jackson coun- 

 ty as well as Roscommon. Thousands of acres 

 of productive land in all the southern Michi- 

 gan counties bordering the country roads, for 

 instance, are abandoned to underbrush and 

 weeds. Sometimes rows of noble trees arc 

 cut down for firewood; sometimes the trees 

 stand so thickly that none can nourish. For- 

 estry contemplates the growing of crops of 

 timber as crops are grown. The "ripe" trees 

 are removed and the partly grown trees are 

 left for the next "crop." Besides greatly add- 

 ing to the attractiveness of the country roads 

 and the value of the adjacent farms, such ele- 

 mentary forestry would return profit at small 

 outlay. 



The trouble seems to be that, while every- 

 body is agreed as to the necessity of better 

 tree culture and preservation, it is nobody's 

 particular business. The desolation of the 

 northern country following the ruin by the 

 lumberman does not appeal to the dweller of 

 the southern counties as his particular busi- 

 ness; and the care of trees bordering high- 

 ways is considered as principally the business 

 of the men owning the adjacent farms, who 

 are sometimes not willing to wait for the slow 

 growth of trees for returns. Arbor day proc- 

 lamations are slowly creating sentiment, and 

 the tribe of tree-lovers is increasing in num- 

 bers. 



