Evolution of Management on Chippewa 



315 



were released to the full sunlight by 

 cutting away the brush, and made a 

 remarkable recovery. 



The large, new Lydick Nursery, 

 with a capacity of 10 to 12 million 

 seedlings and transplants, was started 

 in the spring of 1934 in order that 

 the areas made unproductive by fire or 

 the rapid invasion of brush might be 

 planted. The physical development of 

 the protective and administrative im- 

 provements was also under way. A bet- 

 ter road system, that made accessible 

 all parts of the forest, was planned and 

 started. Old woods roads were cleared 

 and improved to serve as fire ways and 

 to enable work crews to be transported 

 closer to the job. 



In 1935 the Ghippewa National 

 Forest was enlarged by the establish- 

 ment of the north and south Chippewa 

 Purchase Units under the Clarke-Mc- 

 Nary Law of 1924. That action added 

 greatly to the job load, because many 

 different problems were involved 

 land examination and appraisal and 

 negotiations for purchase. The land 

 within the purchase units had been 

 largely cut over and repeatedly burned, 

 although isolated areas protected by 

 lakes and swamps had escaped fire. 

 The original forest area appeared as an 

 oasis of pine in a sea of forest devasta- 

 tion. Also, in the purchase units, many 

 isolated settlers were struggling for a 

 livelihood on land poorly adapted to 

 agriculture. On areas of better soil 

 were sparsely settled farm communi- 

 ties. Destruction of the forest had de- 

 prived the settlers of an opportunity of 

 earning a supplemental income in the 

 woods. 



From the standpoint of forest man- 

 agement, one had to start from scratch 

 to restore and build up forest pro- 

 ductivity. The CCC program helped 

 greatly. At first the job was one of 

 establishing protection facilities look- 

 out towers, communication lines, and 

 roads for more rapid transportation 

 for fire-fighting crews. 



As land was purchased, the process 

 of restoring the forest became a more 

 important part of the program. By the 



time that title was established, suitable 

 planting stock was available at the new 

 nursery. Release, thinning, and prun- 

 ing operations were also undertaken in 

 the limited areas of purchased land, 

 where sapling stands had survived fire. 

 At the same time, other resource values 

 were enhanced. The camp work plans 

 included projects for the protection 

 and the administration of the forest, 

 recreational development, and better 

 food and habitat for wildlife. Land use 

 plans were prepared to strengthen the 

 agricultural communities through the 

 transfer of settlers from poor and iso- 

 lated tracts. 



By 1936 the need for experienced 

 men in the camps was greatly reduced, 

 because, with training and experience, 

 the young men developed qualities of 

 leadership. The local men were gradu- 

 ally released; unfortunately, they were 

 thrown out of employment, so that 

 most of the residents within or near the 

 enlarged forest were again in distress- 

 ing circumstances. 



The upsurge of recovery in 1937, 

 however, seemed to offer the opportu- 

 nity for employment in the harvest of 

 wood products from the forest. Good 

 results came from a campaign to lo- 

 cate markets for the class of material 

 available that could be removed on a 

 stand-improvement and salvage basis. 

 By 1939, according to the late G. E. 

 Knutson, the forest supervisor, not a 

 man within the forest area, able and 

 willing to work, was on the county re- 

 lief rolls. The markets, however, were 

 rather far from the forest and the re- 

 turns were somewhat less than they 

 would otherwise have been. 



In April 1940, a severe glaze storm 

 wreaked havoc in some of the treated 

 stands in the original forest area, with 

 lesser damage over a larger area. In 

 early August a 70-mile hurricane swept 

 a patchy 20-mile swath across the unit. 

 After each storm the CGC boys opened 

 roads and repaired telephone lines. At 

 about the same time an epidemic of the 

 jack pine form of the spruce budworm 

 appeared to be killing overmature jack 

 pine in a large area. 



