in preserving our forests and promoting the planting of trees. 

 It has had a long and honored career since its organization 

 in 1876. Its officers are named on the back cover of the Jan- 

 uary number of the "North Woods." In that number of the 

 "North Woods" may be found also a list of contributors to the 

 Association and the expenditures of the Association in its 

 campaign for the ninth amendment. 



No one in this Deparment has made the silly statement that 

 the damage of fire is greater now than four years ago. In the 

 years 1907-08-09-10, before the Service was organized, there 

 were 1,472 forest fires reported, and many more which were 

 not reported. The damage done during these years amounted 

 to $13,806,000, not counting the lives lost nor the enormous 

 losses in young trees destroyed. During 1911-12-13-14, since 

 the Forest Service was organized, 944 forest fires have oc- 

 curred, doing damage to the extent of $201,677. Practically 

 all of these fires were caught and extinguished while small. 

 These figures show that the average loss caused by such for- 

 est fire previous to 1911 amounted to $10,000, and that since 

 the Rangers have been on duty this figure has been re- 

 duced to $212. There is danger and very serious danger, 

 even though the Rangers have accomplished much in secur- 

 ing the co-operation of the settlers and others inhabiting the 

 timber country, even though slashings are no longer left, a 

 serious menace behind the lumbermen. The reason is this: 

 The forest fires of 1908 and 1910 burned over enormous areas, 

 killing the timber but not consuming it. This has since blown 

 down, forming continuous tangled windfalls extending mile 

 upon mile. Many new settlements are springing up in the vi- 

 cinity of these windfalls; and only thorough patroling, the con- 

 struction of firebreaks, and the co-operation of the settlers 

 with the Rangers, can we prevent serious fires which might 

 easily become death-dealing conflagrations. To reduce the 

 efficiency of the Forest Service at this time is to remove the 

 protection these settlers have, and might be construed as a 

 round-about way of committing wholesale murder. Our skele- 

 ton force of Rangers is, of course, unable to clean up the vast 

 windfalls resulting from old fires. w. T. COX. 



State Forester." 



6 



