FIRES ON THE NATIONAL FORESTS 



51 



quire heavy emergency expenditure. The loss in public 

 property and in public funds from such emergencies, be- 

 cause the authorized force was too small to reach the 

 fires in time, still continues. It will again be necessary 

 to request Congress for a deficiency appropriation, be- 

 cause the fire-fighting resources provided in the regular 

 budget were not adequate. 



From the standpoint of appropriations, the outstanding 

 need of the Forest Service in its business of protecting 

 public property is to increase the summer guard force so 

 that at least a larger proportion of the fires can be 

 reached and extinguished when small and the necessity 

 for emergency expenditures correspondingly reduced. 



FORESTRY AWAKENING IN WASHINGTON 



By John D 



A CONFERENCE was held in Seattle on October 21, 

 which may mean much to the future of the forests 

 of the State of Washington. This was a forestry confer- 

 ence held under the auspices of the forestry committee 

 of the newly organized State Development Bureau and 

 convening in the Chamber of Commerce. 



To Dean Hugo Winkenwerder of the School of For- 

 estry of the University of Washington belongs most 

 of the credit for inaugurating such a meeting of those 

 most interested in the proper use and care of the im- 

 mense forest wealth of the State. This conference is 

 all the more significant because there was given wide 

 publicity about a year ago, to a statement of a proposed 

 forest policy for the State of Washington. Apparently 

 the 1920 statement has not received the support of 

 either the lumber interests or the officials of the State 

 Forest School, or the business men of the State. The 

 main characteristics of the 1920 statement might be 

 said to have been a lack of a forward-looking view 

 and an emphasis of self-sufficiency as far as the timber 

 needs of the State, present and future, were concerned. 

 The broad purpose of the October 21 meeting, as stated 

 in the notice issued by the State Development Bureau, 

 was to call together representatives of those most inter- 

 ested in forestry and the timber resources of the State 

 and to agree upon the broad principles which should 

 be considered in laying the foundation for a state for- 

 estry policy. 



A comprehensive program was worked out in ad- 

 vance of the meeting. This program was made up of 

 six main headings and the subjects under these were 

 presented by representatives of the various agencies 

 of the state most interested in formulating such a policy. 

 Dean Winkenwerder presided at the meetings. The open- 

 ing address, excellent in its breadth of view, was made by 

 Col. Howard A. Hanson, chairman of the State Develop- 

 ment Bureau. Dean Henry Landes of the College of 

 Science of the University of Washington, presented a 

 very comprehensive paper on "Land Classification in 

 Washington", which was discussed as a problem funda- 

 mental to any forestry policy for the State. The subject 

 of Forest Protection was covered by C. J. Joy, Secretary 

 of the Washington Forest Fire Association, and then 

 discussed by F. E. Pape, State Forester. "Needed Re- 

 forms in Forest Taxation" was presented by J. J. Dono- 

 van of Bellingham, followed by very full discussion by 

 E. G. Ames, Prof. Frank J. Laube, of the Department of 



, Guthrie. 



Economics, University of Washington, and by F. B. Kel- 

 log, U. S. Forest Service. The subject of forest taxation 

 provoked very full discussion and this subject promisesto 

 be the most difficult one with which future conferences 

 will have to deal. Prof. B. P. Kirkland, of the Forest 

 School, University of Washington, followed with a very 

 thoughtful and far-reaching paper on "Practicability of 

 Forest Management on State and Private Lands." Discus- 

 sion of this was taken up by Forest Supervisors W. G. 

 VVeigle and R. L. Fromme, Forest Service, with reference 

 to the National Forests, and E. T. Allen, of the Western 

 Forestry and Conservation Association, as to private 

 forestry. A specially prepared paper by George S. Long 

 on "A Suggested State Forest Policy" was read in Mr. 

 Long's absence. This was discussed by E. S. Grammer 

 and Dean Winkenwerder. It is understood that the 

 addresses and papers will shortly be issued in printed 

 form. 



As previously announced this conference is planned 

 to be followed by meetings of the committees and another 

 formal conference a year hence, by which time it is hoped 

 that the ideas and suggestions presented at the conference 

 may have been crystalized into a definite forestry policy 

 for the State. This proposed policy is then to be pre- 

 sented to the State Legislature at its convening in 1922, 

 in concrete and definite form for legislative action. With 

 approximately 15 per cent of the total remaining stand of 

 the virgin timber of the United States and leading in the 

 total annual lumber cut of the country since 1905 (ex- 

 cept in 1914) and with a cut of 5,525,000 M. ft. B. M. for 

 1920, Washington may be truly said to have yet no for- 

 est policy, outside of an excellent forest fire law, that 

 looks to the continuation of her high place in forest 

 growth and lumber production. 



This recent conference therefore has every indication 

 of meaning much for the future. This prediction seems 

 the more certain when one realizes the varied interests 

 represented at this initial meeting. Representative lum- 

 bermen and loggers, men from the school of forestry, 

 department of science and economics of the State Uni- 

 versity, the State Forester, the District Forester of the 

 North Pacific District, the Secretary of the State Tax 

 Commission, important members of the State Chamber of 

 Commerce have thus come together in a sincere eflfort 

 to work out a broad, comprehensive forest policy for 

 this important State, a policy that will have for its object 

 the continuous production of lumber and forest products 

 for all time. 



