EVERYONE IS WELCOME 



JOHN SIEKER 



Every year Americans make 2 1 mil- 

 lion visits to the national forests. They 

 come, they say, to picnic, or (in order 

 of preference) to fish, ski, hunt, camp, 

 swim, hike, ride, look, and sit. They 

 come from every State; some are tour- 

 ists seeing America; others are out for 

 a day or a weekend. Some want to do 

 only one thing ; many want to combine 

 various of the pleasures at hand : Pitch- 

 ing camp in a shady spot, fishing in 

 early morning and late afternoon, hik- 

 ing in the forenoon, swimming be- 

 tween times, sitting around the camp- 

 fire at night, and sleeping like a log in 

 the cool of the night. But whatever 

 they want to do, all get a sincere wel- 

 come. 



The men who supervise the forests 

 and work in them believe that recrea- 

 tion is a major value of the forests, that 

 the woods and mountains should be 

 enjoyed by their owners, the citizens 

 of the United States, and that all have 

 an obligation to care for the forests 

 they have come to enjoy. 



The 21 million visits a year (which 

 aggregate 33 million days of use) 

 create problems of sanitation, fire pro- 

 tection, and public welfare; because 

 that many people could easily destroy 

 the environment they have sought out, 

 some regulations and preparations are 

 necessary for the people's enjoyment 

 and comfort and the forests' protec- 

 tion. In them, simplicity, appropriate- 

 ness, and a minimum of rules are the 

 keynotes. The types of recreation are 

 encouraged that are suitable in the 

 forest. 



Simplicity of design and construc- 

 tion are stressed in all improvements, 

 which generally are limited to those 

 necessary to the health, safety, and 

 the convenience of the users. Latrines, 

 water systems, and fire grates have first 

 priority. Camp and picnic tables, shel- 

 ters, ski trails, and parking areas come 

 next. 



Most people who use the recreation 

 areas appreciate the privilege of en- 

 joying the forest, but a few destroy 

 property and beauty and are thought- 

 less of the rights and privileges of 

 others. They cost the Government 

 the people of the United States, includ- 

 ing themselves large sums each year 

 when they destroy property. They spoil 

 the pleasure of other people. Under 

 Federal laws, those who destroy Gov- 

 ernment property are subject to pun- 

 ishment, but the supervisors of the 

 forests prefer the precept of noblesse 

 oblige: These national forests belong 

 to all Americans for all Americans to 

 enjoy; please protect your forest; please 

 leave a camp or picnic site as clean as 

 you would like to find it; have fun 

 in the forest, and let others have fun in 

 it, too. 



PUBLIC RECREATION areas are found 

 in all national forests, although some 

 are more favorably situated than oth- 

 ers and have more land suitable for 

 recreation. Most forests in snow coun- 

 try have at least one winter-sports area. 



The 4,500 camp and picnic places in 

 the forests have 43,000 family size 

 units. They can accommodate 280,000 

 persons at one time; in 1947, they re- 

 ceived 8,780,132 visits. 



All of them have safe drinking wa- 

 ter, flyproof latrines, fire grates, and 

 tables. Some of them, along back roads, 

 are small and lightly used; others, 

 along major routes of travel or near 

 cities, are large and heavily used. 



Some of these recreation areas are 

 only for picnicking, but many of them 

 can be used for overnight camping as 

 well. Some are near good fishing; some 

 are near fine hiking country; some 

 have swimming places. 



At some of the larger national forest 

 recreation areas a small charge for 

 camping and picnicking is made to 

 reimburse the United States for the 



