THUNDER MOUNTAIN 



911 



sheep and goats. Certainly no better fishing could 

 be found anywhere. 



Adverse public sentiment was responsible in the early 

 days for excluding this area from the National For- 

 ests, and hence for the serious condition which has fol- 

 lowed. Public sentiment has changed. There is now a 

 demand among the people of Idaho that this area be 

 made into a National Forest. The present sentiment 

 in Idaho is well expressed by a resolution passed by the 

 State Legislature in 1917, in which there was only one 

 dissenting vote in each of the two Houses. The sense 

 of the Legislature regarding the value of making this 



resources for the benefit of the local residents and tax- 

 payers ; make it possible for the State to realize upon 

 its equity in the lands by relinquishing the unsurveyed 

 school lands (Sections 16 and 36) and selecting more 

 valuable lands elsewhere ; increase the revenues of the 

 county and State through the receipt of 35 per cent of 

 the gross receipts collected by the Forest Service ; en- 

 large the power of the State to share in the benefits of 

 the Federal aid road act ; and otherwise assist in open- 

 ing to development and use the vast material resources 

 of the Thunder Mountain region." 



It was affirmatively recommended in the last annual 



Typical scene in 



A MOUNTAIN MEADOW 



mountain meadow, backed by ridges, covered with forest. This picture was taken fifteen years ago. Since then hundreds of 

 fires have been depleting the forest resources of this region. 



area a National Forest is expressed in one of the clauses 

 of the preamble as follows: 



"The inclusion of the said area within a National 

 Forest would eliminate the annual destruction of timber 

 by forest fires ; make it possible for homestead settlers 

 to secure title to their lands under the forest homestead 

 act of June 11, 1906, without expense to them other than 

 entry and final proof fees and without the necessity of 

 awaiting public land surveys ; would bring Federal 

 aid in the construction of wagon roads, trails, bridges 

 and telephone lines ; give adequate protection to the game 

 animals, birds and fish ; establish a system of regulated 

 range use, thus conserving and perpetuating the forage 



report of the Forester that this area be comprised within 

 the National Forest system. It would not be a great 

 financial burden to the Nation because it would be 

 possible to deprive from it immediately a certain revenue 

 through the fees for grazing the number of stock which 

 could be permitted even under present conditions, and 

 this would go far to cover administrative costs. A 

 great mistake was made in the first place. The con- 

 sequences of that mistake are already serious. It is 

 essential that the public take action immediately to pre- 

 vent further injury and to make the area in ques- 

 tion of public service rather than increasingly a 

 public injury. 



KILN DRYING OAK FOR VEHICLES 



ONE of the distinct developments of experiments 

 conducted at the Forest Products Laboratory at 

 Madison, Wisconsin, during the war was a rapid 

 method of seasoning oak. 



It requires from two to three years to air season 

 heavier oak wagon stock. Better stock has been secured 

 by drying this heavy green oak according to Forest Serv- 

 ice recommendations and the time for 3-inch material 

 green from the saw is reduced to 90 or 100 days. 



Three large plants using this system have negligible 



losses and as compared with losses at plants using other 

 methods, ranged from 10 per cent up to complete loss. 

 Where there were heavy drying losses there was heavy 

 pressure for relaxation in inspection, so that poor drying 

 neant not only an excessive loss of stock and a holding up 

 on deliveries but probably also poorer material in wagons. 

 One furniture plant with orders for spare parts that 

 followed improper drying methods is reported to have 

 lost $25,000 worth of stock on one run, stock which was 

 being depended upon to keep the force at work. 



