this committee is to inform the public concerning the 

 need of a National Forest Fire Prevention policy 

 and to secure Federal and State legislation to that 

 end. 



An Executive Committee was chosen, composed of 

 the following: Chairman George D. Pratt, Conserva- 

 tion Commissioner, Albany, N. Y. ; Secretary, Harris 

 A. Reynolds, Secretary Massachusetts Forestry Asso- 

 ciation, Boston; Colonel Henry S. Graves, former U. 

 S. Forester, Washington, D. C. ; William T. Cox, 

 State Forester, St. Paul, Minnesota; J. E. Rhodes, 

 Secretary and Manager Southern Pine Association, 

 New Orleans, La. 



The committee is being rapidly formed with mem- 

 bership already from thirty-one states including the 

 leading timber producing states of California, Louis- 

 iana, Minnesota, Montana, all the New England 

 States, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, 

 Washington and Wisconsin. 



It takes from 30 to 100 years to grow timber of com- 

 mercial sizes, and the trees are not yet planted which 

 will be needed to furnish the American people with 

 wood when the present dwindling timber supply is 

 exhausted. Reforestation by planting must soon be 

 begun on a large scale if we are to avoid a serious 

 timber famine in this country. There are over 80,- 

 000,000 acres of cut-over, burned over land in this 

 country which is now lying idle. This enormous area 

 is equivalent in size to New England, New York and 

 New Jersey combined. It is mostly potential forest land 

 that must be put to work at an early date. But, it is 

 poor business and little short of folly to spend money 



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