FOREST RESERVES IN IDAHO. 33 



Mr. Loeb to Mr. Pinchot. 



Washington, March 31^ 1905. 

 My Dear Mr. Pinchot: The President would be glad to have you 

 send him a report on the matter referred to in the inclosed letter from 

 Senator Heyburn, dated the 30th instant. 



Very truly, yours, Wm. Loeb, Jr., 



Secretary to the President. 

 Mr. GiFFORD Pinchot, 



Department of Agriculture. 



Mr. Pinchot to the President. 



Washington, April 10^ 1005. 

 The President, 



White House. 



Dear Mr. President: On my return to Washington I am glad to 

 report on the matter referred to in Senator Heyburn's letter to you 

 of March 30, as requested in Mr. Loeb's letter of March 31. 



The object of the temporary withdraAval of lands in Shoshone 

 County, Idaho (which is the action objected to by Senator Heyburn), 

 Avas discussed on March 31 in a conversation between yourself. 

 Senator Heyburn, ]Mr. Fimple, and Mr. Price, and I need now only 

 repeat the statements then made by Mr. Price. His views entirely 

 coincide Avith my own. 



The lands in question adjoin the present Bitter Koot Forest 

 Reserve on the north, include approximately 1,150,000 acres, and 

 were temporarily withdrawn from settlement by the Secretary of 

 the Interior on March 21, 1005, in accordance with the recommenda- 

 tion of the Secretary of Agriculture, on my advice. This action was 

 based on the results of a detailed field examination made last sum- 

 mer by one of our men. The lands Avere sIioaaii to be Avell suited to 

 forest-reserve purposes, and the w^ithdrawal w^as recommended 

 because otherwise title to much of the best timber land would soon 

 pass into speculative hands unless immediate action Avas taken. 



Senator Heyburn's chief points of objection appear to be as 

 f olloAA's : 



(1) That the AA^thdraAAal does not form a compact body, but is 

 made up of scattered toAA^nships, for some of Avhich surve3^s haA^e been 

 made or are noAv under Avay. 



The Senator is evidently misinformed as to the location and extent 

 of the AA'ithdraAval, for, as a matter of fact, it forms an absolutely 

 compact area, Avhich may be readily seen from a glance at the inclosed 

 map. It is true that scA^eral of the townships have been surveyed or 

 are noAv being surA^eyed, but this forms no objection AAhatcA^er to the 

 AA^ithdraAA'al, as is explained below. 



(2) That the AAithdraAA^al AA^as made rather to prcA^ent settlement 

 than to preserA^e timber. 



If the lands are agricultural in nature, Senator Heyburn has good 

 reason to object on this score; if the lands are not agricultural, no set- 

 tlement is possible, and this objection does not hold. 



