204 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



one bank of an insignificant brook. Much of the agri- 

 cultural land in southeastern Alaska is limited to narrow 

 valleys along streams where this rule has been a great 

 discourager of settlement. 



The Forest Service, having the advantage of a young 

 organization with few details of procedure fixed by 

 statute, has been able to decentralize the administration 

 of the National Forests in Alaska as elsewhere. Ninety 

 per cent of the National Forest work in Alaska is handled 

 finally by the resident District Forester and Supervisors, 

 including practically all uses of National Forest lands 

 and all ordinary sales of timber. With the exception of 

 matters dealing with land titles, where the centralized 

 administration of the General Land Office compels refer- 

 ence to Washington, only the most important transac- 

 tions like large pulp sales or power projects require ap- 

 proval by Washington authority. 



Aside from long range administration, the worst diffi- 

 culty in the administration of Federal affairs in Alaska, 

 there are cases of conflicting or incomplete jurisdiction 

 which have not yet been ironed out. The Forest Ser- 

 vice, for example, is in charge of 20 million acres of 

 National Forests along the coast, including the best com- 

 mercial timber of the Territory ; yet it has no duties in 



relation to over 50 million acres of forest land in the in- 

 terior of Alaska where the fire hazard is much more 

 serious and actual fire losses are large. Fur farming, 

 one of the young but promising industries of the Terri- 

 tory, may be conducted on National Forests under a very 

 simple form of permit obtained from the local Super- 

 visor at a nominal charge. On the open public lands of 

 Alaska there is no law which permits leases of this char- 

 acter and fur farming is not undertaken at all or is con- 

 ducted in trespass with no protection against eviction. 

 In some matters also, recognized elsewhere as under the 

 jurisdiction of the States, powers have been retained by 

 Congress or the Federal Departments which might bet- 

 ter be given to the Territory of Alaska. 



Such administrative conditions are illogical, unneces- 

 sary, vexatious, and at times unjust. By all means should 

 they be corrected. But the sum total of their effect upon 

 the development of Alaska is secondary and unimport- 

 ant. They have not held back the exploration and use 

 of any of her resources. Let us give them due weight, 

 but not lose our perspective. The development of Alaska 

 is determined by business facts. The full development 

 and use of her resources will come about only as fast 

 as economic conditions warrant. Administrative methods 



WHITE WATER BAY, ADMIRALTY, ALASKA 



A boom of logs cut from the steep mountain side typical of much of the Alaskan Coast. Here the timber and pulpwood supply will add to 



the amount needed in Canada and the United States. 



