MICHIGAN ROADS AND FORESTS 



ly, timber production and use, protection of soil 

 and water, and public parks, will remain a con- 

 tinual source nf dissension in the state and is 

 economically false. Timber should not be_ ciu 

 indiscriminately where the other two objects 

 must be secured. But it is an inexcusable waste 

 to prohibit cutting of timber upon large areas of 

 forest land that they may be used exclusively as 

 parks. The great majority of persons visiting 

 Such forests will travel alnrg certain dciiir'le 

 routes, either streams, trails or roads. The old 

 timber can be 'eft imact in all such places. Kor 

 landscape eff.ct- from the tops of mountains 

 young limber lo.iks as well as older growth, and 

 it is only necessary to leep out lire and protect 



i-il by the prcvciuiiiu of loo heavy cuttings. 

 Tims the managacnient of large state holdings 

 as parks is not opposed to their use for the pro- 

 duction of crops of limber. 



\Yhere < rosion is rapid and its effect on the llow 



of streams disastrous, state ownership of such 



and control of cutliii'* is the only means to 



did the trouble, short of Xationa! intervention 



he same purpose. Laws are sometimes pro- 



1 to prohibit timber owners from cutt'rg 

 trees below a certain ~\/.c. Such legislation would 

 nni\ lie justified in these mountainous localiti- 5, 

 and unUr li ;- whe"e it could lie clearly 



n that destruction of property belonging 

 to others would be caused by the rcnnvil of such 



r. \nd -v.ch a method of atumnted regu- 

 lation of private property is far more drastic airl 

 difficult to enforce than a policy of acquiring 

 such lands for the state. Public ownership makes 

 nn--ihlc any form of management best suited to 

 the general good. 



So great has been the pressure for state own- 

 er-hip of such mountainous areas that in the 



- of Xcw York and Pennsylvania a total 

 ':-iderahIy over 2.000.000 acres has been ac- 

 quired, largely by purchase, for forest reserves. 



But some states have a much more difficult 

 problem to decide. There are many areas of 

 level land which can easily be cultivated but have 

 not been successfully farmed. The commonest 

 type is a coarse, deep sand with no subsoil found 

 in many pine regions. Much of this sandy land 

 iu oiiler states has been taken up and abandoned 

 se\eral times. It is in dealing with soils of this 

 character that our state policy needs strengthen- 

 ing Conditions in America are still unsettled. 

 and the pressure for land is very strong. The 

 iue that lands too poor for agriculture 

 =110111(1 be u e cd for the production of wood crops 

 is uol \et accepted, for no laud which can be 

 plowed will be relinquished to forest reserves 

 without a struggle. In every slate which has at- 

 tempted tn create forest reserves on sandy land 

 a bitter fight has been waged against the with- 

 drawal of such lands from agriculture. 



Ibis opposition springs naturally from both the 

 rs in sitch districts and the speculators in 

 farm lands. The interests of the settler are pro- 

 moted by more rapid settlement since a denser 

 population not only reduces the taxes for roads 

 and other improvements, but creates better mar- 

 kets for produce A suggestion that a portion of 

 any region is unlit for agriculture is a blow at the 

 'pment of the district. This should be rec- 

 -ed and extreme statements and radical 

 measures avoided by forestry advocates. 



Kill final judgment cannot be formed without 

 iering the other side- as represented by the 

 land speculator. In many districts the test of 

 experience has shown the difficulty of profitable 

 farming, and the original settlers have abandoned 

 the attempt. Land speculators find in these lands 

 a fruitful source of profit, and induce inexper- 

 ienced or over-confident investors to buy them 

 for homes. 



There seems to be but one way to meet this 

 situation honestly, and that is by acquiring such 



- for state forest reserves. \\"e need these 

 for growing limber. In such thickly set- 

 countries as Prussia sandy lands are being 

 lased every year by the Government and 



Wanted to pine. We must learn in this country 

 no put land to its best use, and be willing to ad- 

 jrnit that in some cases this best use is forest pro- 

 jluction. The ability to distinguish between agri- 

 irsl class to settlers and. prevent the improper 



Operating a Mixed Swamp. Peeling a Fifty-Foot Piling 



use of the true forest soils for agriculture can 

 only be developed in a state under a progressive 

 policy of state forest reserves. 



There are thus strong reasons for state owner- 

 ship of forest lands in all instances in addition to 

 the need of producing tinlber. Should the argu- 

 ment be based solely on the necessity for the state 

 to grow timber it, might be held that a state must 

 not compete with individuals in the production of 

 crops. This is true where individuals can supply 

 the demand for the product and where state com- 

 petition would in any way hamper private effort. 

 But in the production of timber, experience in 

 this country as well as abroad is rapidly prov- 

 ing that the individual or corporation is seldom 

 willing to invest the money or make the sacri- 

 fices necessary to secure a second crop of timber 

 while under state control the proper steps may 

 be taken with little difficulty. It is certain that 

 all the timber that can be raised by the united 

 efforts of states and private parties will not 

 supply the demand, hence it is equally certain that 

 the growing of timber by the state will not injure 

 the individual. It will aid such private efforts by 

 improving conditions of public sentiment, securing 

 better fire protection and developing markets for 

 home grown timber. The larger and more valu- 

 able sixes of timber needed for special purposes, 

 and the clear lumber which comes only from 

 older trees can only be produced in the future 

 by the state, since no other owner can afford to 

 wait so long before culling his crop. 



A progressive forest policy for a state calls 

 for absolute freedom from political connections, 

 and for direction by men of proper training and 

 knowledge of forestry. A policy of land acqui- 

 sition may be managed .successfully by men with- 

 out a forester's training, and such public-spirited 

 men have been responsible for nearly all the pro- 

 gre - that has been made so far in securing state 

 forest reserves. But as soon as the foundations 

 are laid and the work of management for the 

 cultural and forest soils, and the power to open 

 purpose of limber production begins, it should be 



in the hands of trained foresters. 



The experience of some states has indicated 

 the best method of securing an efficient and non- 

 political management of forest reserves. A for- 

 estry board should have control of the policy 

 of the state and should decide matters dealing 

 with state lands and the expenditure of money. 

 This board should be composed of men occupy- 

 ing positions of responsibility in the state, in edu- 

 cational or technical lines ; and, when feasible, 

 the commission should be named specifically; as, 

 for instance, President of State University, 

 Director of State Geological Survey, Professor of 

 Forestry in some well-known institution. Five 

 members should make a large enough board. 



The executive officer of the board should be a 

 state forester appointed by the board. By this 

 arrangement, the forester is responsible to the 

 board, whose members, in turn, will be able to 

 give the proper time to the work, since their 

 other duties will be confined to meetings, held at 

 stated intervals. 



Unless forestry work in a state is organized 

 along some such lines the chances are that sooner 

 or later the organization will prove inadequate, 

 and the work stagnate and fall into disrepute, or 

 even become the prey of politicians. 



State forestry is in its infancy and the need 

 is urgent. Mistakes are costly and often unnec- 

 essary. A clear cut policy, persevered in, will suc- 

 ceed, while radical differences of opinion may 

 mean wasted effort. An understanding of tlie 

 true goal of state forestry is needed to direct and 

 unite such efforts. A constant interest on the 

 part of the public in the forestry work of the 

 state is the surest guarantee of ultimate success. 

 Autobus service between South Haven and Al- 

 legan has been temporarily discontinued pending 

 the making of such repairs to the roads as will 

 enable the big cars to make the run on scheduled 

 time. The dry weather lately has had a bad ef- 

 fect on the sandy stretches in Casco and Lee 

 townships, especially on the four or five sand hills 

 lu-iu ecu I lawkhead and Pullman. 



