LANDSCAPE ARCHITECTURE IN THE FORESTS 



BY FRAJNK A. WAUGH 



THE biggest problems which the profession of land- 

 scape architecture ever faced in the world are those 

 which present themselves now in the National Parks 

 and National Forests of North America, meaning the 

 United States and Canada. Here we have given into 

 our keeping the greatest stretches of the finest landscape 

 ever made. Any sug- 

 gestion for planting a 

 tree here or a bush 

 there or grading down 

 a little hillock is so 

 ridiculous that persons 

 who think this to be the 

 sole business of the 

 landscape architect are 

 inclined to laugh him 

 out of court. 



However, if the land- 

 scape architect is a real 

 man and really under- 

 stands his business he 

 must know something 

 more than the ordinary 

 man knows about the 

 landscape. Whatever 

 special training he has 

 and whatever extra de- 

 velopment of taste or 

 feeling, he ought to be 

 able to apply these to 

 some effect in dealing 

 with the big landscapes 

 which are so passion- 

 ately loved by all 

 Americans. 



As a matter of fact 

 the landscape architect 

 has a very definite pro- 

 gram in his mind with 

 reference to these very 

 problems. We may say 

 briefly and positively 

 that the business of 

 the professional land- 

 scape architect with 

 reference to these 



SNOWMASS PEAK AND LAKE 



We may say positively that the business of the professional landscape architect 

 with reference to these major landscapes is (1) to preserve them in perpetuity, (2) to 

 make them accessible to human beings and (3) to interpret the landscape to human 

 understanding and feeling. 



major landscapes is 



i. To preserve them in perpetuity. 



2. To make them accessible to human beings. 



3. To interpret the landscape to human understanding 

 and feeling. 



Now the work of conservation is sufficiently obvious. 

 In setting aside national parks and national monuments 

 the sole intention has usually been to preserve extra- 

 ordinary landscape features for general enjoyment. 



While this idea of landscape conservation has never been 

 put forward in connection with the National Forests, the 

 result of establishing such forests has been the conser- 

 vation of much noble landscape on a very large scale. In 

 state parks and state forests the same sort of conser- 

 vation is going on, and this movement is progressing 



more rapidly than most 

 persons imagine. 



It is rather interest- 

 ing to note therefore 

 that the great conser- 

 vation movement which 

 received so much pub- 

 lic attention a few years 

 ago has almost uncon- 

 sciously included an 

 enormously e x tended 

 and enormously valu- 

 able conservation of 

 natural landscape. 



The problems of 

 making this landscape 

 accessible are primarily 

 those of technical land- 

 scape architecture. It is 

 the regular business of 

 the professional land- 

 scape architect to pro- 

 vide "circulation," the 

 road paths and other 

 methods of getting 

 through and into the 

 scenery. 



This problem of cir- 

 culation is much more 

 difficult than has com- 

 monly been supposed. 

 Thus far it has been 

 approached mainly 

 from the engineering 

 standpoint. It must be 

 clear, however, that if 

 the problem is to de- 

 velop the landscape to 

 its best effect one must 

 first of all have a very 



clear idea of the rela- 

 tive values of different parts of the landscape and of the 

 artistic relation of part to part. The different features 

 in the landscape must be presented in a coherent manner 

 and in a logical order. Just for example, one frequently 

 finds that circulation has been arranged in a manner to 

 provide an artistic anti-climax. 



Only the most meager hints can here be given regard- 

 ing the character of these artistic problems, but it must 



