Six :: :: THE EIGHTH ANNUAL REPORT OF THE 



Secretary's Report, Covering Operations 

 f or the Year 1915 



That the eighth year in the history of the Washington Forest 

 Fire Association proved successful is evident from the report of the 

 Chief Fire Warden, contained herein, which shows the losses from 

 forest fires to have been less than any year, excepting 1913, since the 

 Association was organized. The end of the year also shows the 

 finances of the Association to be in good shape, the surplus having 

 been increased from $3,495.26 at the end of the year 1914, to 

 $7,927.12 December 31, 1915. 



The membership in the Association now consists of two hundred 

 individual timber owners or corporations and the contributing area 

 of timber lands as listed for 1915, aggregates 2,586,409 acres. 



All vouchers, books and records of the Association have been 

 submitted to Price, Waterhouse & Company, certified accountants, for 

 inspection and audit and the report of the said firm published on the 

 foregoing page contains a full income and expenditure account for 

 the year and also gives the present financial condition of the Asso- 

 ciation. The net cost of operating as shown in said report amounts 

 to $46,022.01, which is equal to 1.78 cents per contributing acre. 



During the year seven regular meetings were held by the Board 

 of Trustees. Assessments levied by the Trustees aggregated two cents 

 per acre. 



As in former years, at the beginning of the season, letters were 

 addressed to timber owners having holdings in the territory embraced 

 within the Association's activities, soliciting their membership, with 

 the result that fifteen new members were added to the membership roll. 

 The Association lost eighteen members during the year. It is gratify- 

 ing to be able to report that in spite of the financial depression experi- 

 enced during last year, which hit the lumber industry harder than any 

 other business in the Pacific Northwest, members have generally been 

 prompt in responding to calls for assessments and but few members 

 have been stricken from the rolls for non-payment of assessments, the 

 amounts carried over to next year all being considered collectible. 



Large Area Non-Contributing: 



On the tax rolls of the various counties in Western Washington 

 3,756,554 acres of land were assessed for 1915 under the classification 



