NATIONAL FOREST WORK 



Plans for Buying Eastern Forest Land 



The National p-orest Reservation Com- 

 mission, provided for under the new forest 

 law, is made up as follows: J. M. Dickin- 

 son, secretary of war; Walter L. Fisher, 

 secretary of the interior; James Wilson, 

 secretary of agriculture; J. H. Gallinger, 

 senator from New Hampshire; J. W. Smith, 

 senator from Maryland : W. C. Hawley, rep- 

 resentative from Oregon; and Gordon Lee, 

 representative from Georgia. 



The Department of Agriculture an- 

 nounces, through a circular which is just 

 I-ublished its plans for the purchase of 

 land by the National Forest Reservation 

 Commission created under the new Weeks 

 forest law. 



This law, as our readers know, was 

 passed with special reference to the crea- 

 tion of national forests in the Appalachian 

 and White Mountains. Under it the Sec- 

 retary of Agriculture is to examine, lo- 

 cate, and recommend to the Commission 

 for purchase such lands as in his judg- 

 ment may be necessary for regulating the 

 flow of navigable streams. The circular, 

 which is now being printed, is intended 

 to give information to the public as to 

 where and what kinds of land are wanted. 

 Owners of land, the purchase of which 

 will be considered by the government, are 

 expected on the basis of this information 

 to make known to the Forest Service, which 

 will conduct the work for the Department 

 of Agriculture, their desire to sell. Copies 

 of the circulars may be obtained by ap- 

 plying to the Forest Service. 



The law is not restricted to particular 

 regions, except that lands may be bought 

 only in the states whose legislatures have 

 consented to the acquisition of land by the 

 United States for the purpose of preserving 

 the navigability of streams. The states 

 which have already taken the necessary 

 action are Maine, New Hampshire, Mary- 

 land, Virginia, West Virginia, North Caro- 

 lina, Tennessee, South Carolina, and 

 Georgia. 



The first lands to be examined for pur- 

 chase will be in the southern Appalachian 

 and White Mountains, which, because of 

 their altitude, steepness, and lack of pro- 

 tection, are in a class by themselves. The 

 area which is believed to need protection 

 is much larger than the government can 

 purchase. Much difference exists, however, 

 between different parts of the region. Care- 

 ful examinations, which have been going 



on for the last ten years, have proved 

 that the conditions which affect stream- 

 flow to an extreme extent are to be found 

 in relatively limited areas, which are 

 scattered more or less widely. By careful 

 selection it is believed that much can be 

 done for the permanent improvement of the 

 watersheds with the purchase of a rela- 

 tively small part of the land. 



A blank form for the offer of land 

 accompanies the circular. Additional 

 copies of this blank form may be had by 

 writing the Forest Service at Washington. 

 The kinds of land which will be consid- 

 ered for purchase, if they lie within the 

 designated areas, are set forth by the cir- 

 cular as follows: 



Timbered lands may be bought either 

 with the timber standing on them or with 

 reservation by the owner of the right to 

 cut the timber under certain rules to pro- 

 vide for perpetuation of the forest. These 

 rules will form a part of the agreement for 

 purchase of the land. Since, however, 

 the government cannot pay high prices, 

 it is not regarded as probable that much 

 land bearing a heavy stand of merchant- 

 able timber can be bought. Culled and cut- 

 over lands may be bought, as well as land 

 covered with brush which is useful for 

 watershed protection, burned land, and 

 abandoned farm land, whether cleared or 

 partially, or wholly covered by young tim- 

 ber growth. Good agricultural lands will 

 not be considered. Owners may reserve 

 the right to remove valuable mineral de- 

 posits which are known to exist. 



Proposals will be received for small as 

 well as for large tracts, although small 

 tracts can be examined only where the pur- 

 chase of a considerable total of land in 

 the same neighborhood is under consid- 

 eration. With regard to the price which 

 can be paid. Secretary Wilson indicates 

 that the policy of the Commission will be 

 to make the money available go as far as 

 possible. "For the most part," he says, "we 

 shall have to buy cut-over lands or lands 

 without much merchantable timber. I want 

 to make it plain at the start that I shall 

 recommend this class of land only when 

 it is offered ver>' cheap. Proffers of land 

 at exorbitant prices will not be consid- 

 ered. I am frank to say that I hope to 

 see a great deal of public spirit manifested 

 by land owners. I expect some lands to 

 be offered at merely nominal prices. In 

 order to aid the government in getting 



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