THE FOUNDATION FOR FORESTRY 

 IN NEW JERSEY 



By C. P. Wilber, State Fire Warden of New Jersey 



TT is difficult to criticize the woodland owner who is 

 ' indifferent to the practice of forestry, or even to 

 forest conservation in a community where public opinion 

 and public funds are either one or both indifferent or 

 luke warm to forest fire prevention. Recognition of this 

 fact has grown by leaps and bounds lately, yet, to far 

 too many, lire prevention is still too largely a remote 

 though interesting public problem, instead of a live per- 

 sonal concern, even in the localities where the work is 

 best organized and oldest. To all right-minded, think- 

 ing people the national total of damage done by forest fire 

 each year is appalling, the toll exacted by the demon 

 flame in life, in property, in welfare is staggering, but 

 the sense of individual responsibility to guard against 

 their own and others ignorance or carelessness lies dor- 

 mant while the waste goes on and want draws nearer. 



The protection of forests from fire is not the whole 

 of forestry as some timberland owners profess by their 

 practice. But fire protection is the fundamental with- 

 out which forestry is foolishness. Planting trees for fu- 

 ture timber, where fire is likely, is a long-shot gamble. 

 Improvement work in standing timber, not s^uarded 



against fire, is a questionable business venture. Post- 

 ponement of cutting for bigger and better timber in 

 young merchantable woodlands exposed to fire is hazard- 

 ous. Reservation of part of the merchantable stand in 

 cutting for reproduction, with no safeguard against 

 serious fire damage, is "bad business" practice. Holding 

 cut-over land for future forest growth is "poor practice" 

 from any business standpoint, unless the fire danger is 

 provided against. These things might do for a faddist 

 or a millionaire or both ; but, if cutting timber and sell- 

 ing it were my life work and livelihood, I don't believe 

 I'd do them. Would you? 



New Jersey owes a deep debt of gratitude to those who 

 started forestry in the state, for the far-sighted wisdom 

 which built her whole program on adequate, compulsory, 

 state-wide forest fire protection. After more than 15 

 years under this program it may be of interest and per- 

 haps be instructive to consider what has been done and 

 how and to point out the strength and weaknesses which 

 experience with the system used have shown. 



There are two million acres of land now forested or 

 growing up to forest in the state. This is almost half 



IT'S SPLENDID TO PUT OUT FOREST FIRES BUT BETTER TO KEEP THEM FROM STARTING 



Forest fires in New Jersey are almost invariably man-made and so the State is making strenuous effort to acquaint her citizens 



with the true conditions and thereby make them more careful. 



