34 STATE BOARD OF FORESTRY 



State has appropriated to the State Board of Forestry the sum of 

 $8,500 to acquire Fort Frederick and the farm upon which it is 

 located in the western part of Washington County, which, when 

 acquired, will constitute a separate forest reservation. 



The extension of the forest reservations is very much needed, as 

 there are large areas of woodland, particularly in the mountain 

 section, on the watersheds of important streams. The merchantable 

 timber growth has been cut from nearly all of these lands, which 

 with destructive fires and the constant fire danger make them of 

 little value to the present owners, so they could be acquired by the 

 State at a very reasonable price. 



The development of water power on our rivers and streams is 

 directly dependent on the maintenance of a good forest cover on the 

 watersheds, and where lands so located have been denuded of their 

 merchantable timber growth and are frequented by forest fires it 

 does not pay the present owners to hold them. The State, however, 

 can afford to hold these lands for a long period without revenue, and 

 with adequate fire protection and proper management they would 

 immediately serve the purpose of watershed protection in a much 

 more efficient manner than could be expected under private owner- 

 ship, and they would in time be important factors in timber produc- 

 tion. In addition, such lands, well distributed and managed by the 

 State, would demonstrate to the private owner the importance of fire 

 protection and the principles of timber production in regions where 

 the practice of forestry is so much needed 



Skipnish Reserve. 



The Skipnish Reserve is the northernmost of the three in Garrett 

 County and contains 888 acres. It lies west of the Youghiogheny 

 River 'about six miles northwest of Oakland. The Oakland-Cranes- 

 ville road passes through the southern half of the reserve. There 

 was a considerable amount of white pine on this tract prior to the 

 first cutting about 40 years ago. A subsequent cutting about 10 

 years ago, just prior to the transfer of the land to the State, removed 

 the last of the white pine, so that now it consists of a small seedling 



