Canadian forestry Journal. July, ig20. 



347 



Reclamation of Pennsylvania 's Desert 



By Gifford Pinchol 

 Chief Forester, Comnmnwealth of Pennsylvania. 



Pennsylvania was once covered with 

 large, dense, and extremely productive 

 forests. The large have become small, 

 the dense have become open, and the 

 productive have become waste. To- 

 day there are five million acres of idle 

 mountain land in Pennsylvania too 

 rough and rocky for the plow. This 

 is the Pennsylvania desert. 



Many agents helped create these vas^ 

 reaches of idle land, but man played 

 the leading role. It took him but a 

 few generations to remove the original 

 forest, which required many years of 

 Nature's best efforts to build \\\). 

 Where once stood the best stands of 

 limber in the United States east t»f 

 Idaho, there remain to-day only wide 

 stretches of l)are and barren moimtain 

 land, 'i'his is our meagre heritage. It 

 lias little present value, but many fruit- 

 ful possibilities, if handled in a con- 

 structive way. ' 



To let this land remain idle is an 

 economic crime. It is the duty of 

 Pennsylvania to restore these vast 

 areas of desolation to producti\c value. 

 This is the work of the De]:)artnK'nt nf 

 Forestry, which began in i8()3 as a di- 

 vision of the Department of .A.2;ricnl- 

 tnrc. and is now 27 vcars old. 



The first thinu I did upon taking- 

 charge was to ask members of the field 

 force to give me a jilan for the reorga- 

 nization of llie I )e])artment. They did 

 it prom])tly and well. These recom- 

 mendations resulted in a complete re- 

 casting and marked simplification of 

 the entire organization of the ne])art- 

 menl, ihi' effect of which shows al- 

 ready, for llie morale of the personnel 

 is inipr(i\ing and the ont]>nt is increas- 

 ing. This is important, for there is 

 much work ahead and only a few men. 

 little niont'v. and niea.s^er equipment 

 available' w itli w hich l< > do it. 



I"^an• bnreaiis will handle the exeni 

 ti\c \\(irk. Tlu'\' [\vv I 'fi itect i( 111, 

 ( )perati( HI. .'^iKicnlt tire and l,and>. 

 in addition, the l'"orest .\cademv ami 



the offices of Maintenance and Infor- 

 mation have their special work. 



The most important duty ahead of 

 the Department is the suppression of 

 forest fires. Every other kind of work 

 must give way to it while the fire sea- 

 son is on. The entire state has been 

 divided into forty fire districts, each 

 in charge of a trained forester who has 

 direct charge of fire wardens, patrol- 

 men, observers, and other employees. 

 Forest protection is needed in every 

 section of the State, for there is no 

 part of the Commonwealth of Penn- 

 sylvania without forest land. 



We are doing our best to eliminate 

 fire hazards, and to hold responsible 

 all i)ersons, including companies and 

 corporations, who through carelessness 

 or negligence, cause forest fires. The 

 forest fire laws of Pennsylvania are in 

 many respects good and strong, al- 

 though not yet complete. They will 

 help do the work, but we are trying to 

 get results through friendly co-opera- 

 tion, rather than by costly lawsuits. 

 l*nl)lic atttiition has been widely called 

 to the need and value of forest fire 

 l)re\ cntion, and conferences are being 

 held with t"orest land owners antl re- 

 presentatives of railroads, mining com- 

 panies, and other organizations inter- 

 ested. 



To st(^p forest fires is a lar.^e order, 

 lint e\ en a few men who mean busi- 

 ness can do a lot to overcome them and 

 to restore ;i green and growing co\'er 

 of \aluable forest trees upon the i)arren 

 hillsides of the Keystt^ne State. 



.\ bndget for the Department ;ind 

 each indi\idn,il .'^tate forest h.is been 

 ]irep;ired. A re-grouping of State 

 l""orests into nnits of .about 50.000 

 acri's e.ich is now under way. The 

 pri'senl area in ch.ar.i^e (»f a fore^te' 

 averages about JO.ooo acres. Tlii.-^ 

 iiu-reasi' will permit ,1 more economical 

 and ellieieiit nse ol the workin:-^ forci- 

 and rednee o\erhe;id I'h.irges. .\ new 

 systiMU ol inspection i>^ in operation. 



