STATE BOARD OF FORESTRY 



Federal Government, which for the past two years has paid the 

 salaries of these patrolmen from an appropriation for co-operating 

 with the States in protecting the watersheds of navigable streams. 

 These patrolmen are mounted on horseback, and each is assigned a 

 district covering from 75,000 to 100,000 acres, for which he is 

 responsible. This has been found a most effective means for re- 

 ducing the fire damage. In addition, the fact that he is constantly 

 on the move and observing the country from vantage points as he 

 passes over the mountains makes people who might otherwise be 

 careless or even disposed to set fires maliciously the more careful. 

 He is also a powerful factor in creating public sentiment in favor of 

 fire protection by meeting with the people, calling attention to the 

 dangers from forest fires, and to the provisions of the forest laws 

 which carry severe penalties for those who intentionally set out fires, 

 and liability for damages for those who are careless. During the 

 spring of 1912 there were 6 patrolmen on duty in the four western 

 counties between April 5th and May 22d. During the fall fire 

 season there were 10 patrolmen on duty, who patrolled the woodlands 

 on all clays between November 3d and December llth, when it was 

 dry enough for the woods to burn. These patrolmen discovered 42 

 fires in the patrol w T ork, of which 29 were extinguished without 

 assistance. In 1913, 11 patrolmen were on duty in the spring and 

 13 in the fall. During these two periods they discovered 81 fires, 

 46 of which they were able to extinguish without assistance. 



The educational value of the patrol work is one of its most im- 

 portant features. There is a disposition on the part of many people 

 to let the woods burn unless buildings or fences are threatened on 

 account of a lack of appreciation of the damage done to the woods 

 themselves, and also to a certain extent on account of a feeling of 

 helplessness, an idea that the woods are sure to burn over in any 

 case in dry seasons. To counteract this impression the patrolmen 

 were provided with printed matter relating to the forest fire laws and 

 the necessity and value of fire protection, and they were instructed to 

 avail themselves of every opportunity to place this literature in the 

 hands of land owners, sawmill and traction-engine operators, and 



