of the forest reserve, for though the man might be 

 willing, it would doom his wife and children to a 

 hard, lonely existence without the benefits of good 

 schools of a growing community." (*) 



The people of Northeastern Wisconsin were led to 

 believe that it was the purpose of the Forestry 

 Board to acquire all the lands within this proposed 

 area excepting a few townships adjoining the settle- 

 ments, villages or cities therein. If the language 

 used by the State Forester is carefully studied it can 

 clearly be seen that this was not their purpose. 

 The intention was to restrict future purchases to a 

 given area and to confine those purchases as nearly 

 as possible to lands not suited to agricultural use and 

 unprofitable for farming. This could not be done, of 

 course, without acquiring some agricultural lands, but 

 where the attention of the Board had been called to 

 lands of known agricultural value, these districts had 

 been eliminated and the lands offered for sale by the 

 State. 



During the session Bill No. 487, A. was enacted 

 unto a law and became chapter 670 of the Laws of 

 1913. This bill provided for the appointment of 

 three members of the Senate by the President thereof 

 and five members of the Assembly by the Speaker 

 thereof whose duty it was, first, to report at the next 

 regular session what areas of land now held as forest 

 reserve, and those parts proposed to be included 

 within such forest reserve, within the counties of 

 Forest, Iron, Price, Oneida and Vilas are bette-i 

 adapted to agricultural than to forestry purposes 

 and whether the best interests of all persons con- 

 cerned, and especially the taxpayers of the State will 

 not be better promoted by devoting said lands to 

 other than reforestation purposes. Pursuant to this 

 act the following members were appointed: Senators: 

 A. Pearce Tomkins, Henry A. Huber, W. L. Richards, 

 Assemblymen: Axel Johnson, Ray J. Nye, H. M. 

 Laursen, E. J. Kneen and 0. F. Roessler. 



* Report 1911-1912, Page 57. 



