MINNESOTA 157 



MINNESOTA 



Minnesota State Forest Service. Created in 1911. 

 G. M. Conzet, acting State Forester, Old State Capitol, St. Paul, 

 Minnesota. 



Land Area of State. 51,749,120 acres. 



Original Forested Area. 38,400,000 acres. 



Present Forest Area. 27,000,000 acres in forest growth of some kind. 



Idle or Unproductive Forest Land. 6,000,000 acres. 



Timber Stand. 38,000,000,000 board feet. 



State Forests. 400,000 acres. 



National Forests within State. 1,250,000 acres. 



Other Publicly-owned Forest Area. 1,700,000 acres owned by state being 



sold off. 



Average Annual Lumber Production (cut). 1,500,000,000 board feet. 

 Average Annual Consumption. 1,740,000,000 board feet (700,000,000 shipped 



out). 

 Last Annual Appropriation for Forestry. $150,000. 



Forest Fire Laws. Timber country divided into districts with patrolmen 

 under district rangers. Telephone lines, lookout towers and roads part 

 of protective system. Draining of peat lands increasing danger. Laws 

 authorize requiring railroads to provide patrols during hazard season. 

 Spark arresters required and other regulations. Rules require careful 

 burning of slash. Permit necessary before setting running fire. Penalties 

 for careless and malicious setting of fires. About $250,000 annual fire loss. 

 20,000,000 acres need patrolling. 1250 fires in 1923. About $400,000 available 

 from all sources for fire work in 1923. 



Forest Taxation Laws. No special forest taxation laws at this time. Amend- 

 ment to constitution to encourage and promote forestation by changes in 

 tax law to be submitted to people in 1924 election. 



Nurseries. State Forest Service has no nurseries of its own but cooperates 

 with the University of Minnesota, which maintains nurseries at Cloquet and 

 Itasca State Park. Working toward goal of planting a million trees a year 

 on state lands and having half-million for other public and private use. 



Other Activities. Forest work supervised by State Forestry Board of nine. 

 State Forester charged with acquainting himself with conditions in state; 

 with cooperating with counties, towns and others in forest protection and 

 promotion; with advancing education through publications and lectures; 

 with general direction of the state's fire protective work. In addition to 

 state's reforestation program on state lands, black walnuts, green ash and 

 American elm are being planted on main trunk highways. Hope to plant 

 about 30,000 such trees yearly. Clubs and American Legion posts cooper- 

 ating. Demonstration plantings done at advantageous points as public 

 lesson in reforestation. Municipal forest authorized and started. 



