EASTERN NATIONAL FORESTS 11 



it was recommended that a transfer of stewardship be made. This 

 was accomplished in 1905 and two years later the title National 

 Forests was conferred, the philosophy being that " reserves " indi- 

 cated something locked up for the future. 



EASTERN NATIONAL FORESTS 



Creation of National Forests east of the Mississippi River pre- 

 sented a different problem from those of the West. The public domain 

 in the East had long been taken over before the government embarked 

 on a Forest policy. In 1911, therefore, under the provisions of the 

 so-called Weeks Law, a program of purchase of mountain lands from 

 private owners was begun, applying to the regions of the White and 

 Appalachian Mountains. 



The Act created the National Forest Reservation Commission. It 

 consists of the Secretary of War, the Secretary of the Interior, the 

 Secretary of Agriculture and two members from each branch of 

 Congress. This body has the power to acquire lands for National 

 Forests, and since the passage of the Act about two million acres of 

 spruce or hardwood forest have been purchased. They have been 

 placed under the systematic management of the Forest Service and 

 are administered as are the western Forests with a view to regulating 

 and assuring the flow of streams and increasing the supply of 

 forest products. 



Under the practice of forestry in these areas the resources of 

 timber have been steadily increasing. The eastern National Forests 

 now represent a value greater than that paid for them by the Govern- 

 ment, and they return a rapidly increasing revenue, being now virtu- 

 ally self-supporting. They represent a highly valuable resource to 

 sustain eastern wood-using industries. 



The following is a list of lands either purchased or approved for 

 purchase under the provisions of the Weeks Law since its enactment: 



