The eliminated portions are made up principally of private 

 holdings and contain too small an amount of land suitable 

 for forest purposes to make it worth while for the govern- 

 ment to retain the areas in the forest. Throughout the Supe- 

 rior forest the percentage of alienated land is heavy, and 

 the same is true of the portions newly included, so that the 

 amount of government owned land added to the forest is 

 much less than the gross area figures would indicate. 



Under the proclamation the eliminated lands are with- 

 drawn for classification, following which they will be restored 

 to settlement and entry by the Secretary of the Interior after 

 such notice as he may deem advisable and as he may deter- 

 mine this course to be compatible with the public interest. 



There is one other national forest in Minnesota, called the 

 Minnesota and situated at the headwaters of the Mississippi, 

 about Lake Winnbigoshish. It contains about 295,000 acres, 

 and was created from Chippewa Indian lands after the virgin 

 timber had been cut off under forestry regulations. In con- 

 sequence it has a much more promising growth of young pine 

 and Norway pine than has the Superior at the present time. 



The terrible forest fires such as destroyed Hinckley, Chis- 

 holm, Baudette and Spooner should be object lessons to many 

 other vllages and cities in the wooded region of Minnesota, 

 where fires are liable to occur. It is always possible in a dry 

 season like that of 1910, which is especially vivid in recollec 

 tion, that one or more fires may get beyond control of even 

 a most vigilant fire-fighting organization, with disastrous re- 

 sults. There are many Northern villages and cities situated 

 in the heart of the forest, with timber or brush encroaching 

 upon all sides. Any one of them, with a raging fire like that 

 which destroyed Baudette and Spooner, could quickly be 

 wiped out of existence, under present conditions. The resi- 

 dents of these villages and cities have in past years known 

 the worry caused in dry seasons by the prospect of approach- 

 ing fire. Many of them have known their homes to be saved 

 only by the intervention of shifting winds, which hurled the 

 flames in another direction, or by a timely rainstorm. Many 

 have fought for weeks, as the fire alternately approached 



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