374 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



is occupied within the Forest under special-use permits 

 of various kinds. 



Although less than 30 degrees from the North Pole, 

 the climate of south-central Alaska is very mild, the 

 temperature seldom registering below zero. The mean 

 annual temperature for Prince William Sound is 38 

 degrees Fahrenheit, and it is warmer during the winter 

 months than at any other point in the world in similar 

 latitude. The temperate climate is due largely to the 

 beneficent influence of the J;. pan Current which sets 

 into the head of the Gulf of Alaska. 



The eastern part of the Forest, from Cape Suckling 

 to the divide between Prince William Sound and Cook 



TO THE HUNTER BELONG THE SPOILS 



Big-game hunters naturally migrate to this country regularly for 

 here is found sport of the finest in the hunting of moose, deer, brown 

 and black bear, ermine, mink, land and sea otter, fox, marten, 

 mountain sheep and goats the list is too long to complete. 



tained some fairly large areas of land suitable for agri- 

 culture, but these tracts have been eliminated from the 

 Forest and restored to the public domain. However, 

 the Chugach still contains some small, isolated areas 

 which have agricultural possibilities, and these are sub- 

 ject to homestead entry under the Forest Homestead 

 Act of June 11, 1906. Where a settler desires to use 

 for gardening a tract which is not large enough to form 

 a practicable farm unit, he may secure the use of it by 

 applying for a special-use permit and paying a small 

 annual rental therefor. Many small tracts are being 

 occupied and cultivated under this arrangement. 



Other uses include residences, temporary camps, 

 hotels and roadhouses, sawmills, railroads, parks, school- 

 houses, tramways, wharf and boathouse sites, and fox 

 ranches. There are now twenty-four fox ranches within 

 the Chugach Forest, located on the islands about Prince 

 William Sound. Here the animals are liberated and 

 raised practically in the wild state. These ranches ex- 

 port many furs, and fur farming is becoming a really 

 important industry. In all, about 60,000 acres of land 



UNCLE SAM'S FOREST HEADQUAKTERS 



Even in near-Arctic Alaska, the forest supervisor is housed with the 

 simplicity and rustic comfort befitting his position as the guardian 

 of the outdoors. 



Inlet, lies in a latitude of exceedingly heavy rainfall, with 

 an average annual precipitation of more than 100 inches 

 for the district and a recorded maximum of 189 inches. 

 Forest fires are unheard of in this section. 



The region of upper Cook Inlet and Kenai Peninsula, 

 however, offers entirely different climatic conditions. Be- 

 ing farther from the open sea and consequently less sub- 

 ject to oceanic influences, the precipitation here averages 

 only about 20 inches a year ; and forest fire conditions 

 are similar to those existing in some of the forested areas 

 of the Pacific Coast States. The fire season begins 

 almost as soon as the snow is off, generally in May, and 

 continues until the fall rains commence in late August 



