FOREST RECREATION DEPARTMENT 



221 



properly built will last for five or more years and it is 

 known that some of these simple structures have served 

 as many as five parties in one day, each consisting of 

 from two to ten persons. One thing is certain, a fire- 

 place of this sort in its normal life will produce values 

 equal to four or five hundred per cent on the investment. 



Another protective feature mentioned before is the 

 sanitary. It is as essential to the production of recre- 

 ation as the sides of the seats are to the auto. In the 

 auto the turning of a curve in the road is dangerous 

 without the protection of the seat sides. The use of any 

 area in forest lands is dangerous without sanitation. A 

 plant of any kind is not sanely developed nor sanely ad- 

 ministered until it is made safe for human occupancy. 

 No recreation ground is ready to produce recreation in 

 a rational way until made safe with properly placed sani- 

 taries. 



Water development also came in for a discussion in 

 the earlier article. It is a protective feature that must 

 have consideration if our plant is to function efficiently. 

 Water is an essential of human existence and if it is not 

 present in a pure state and adequate quantities on a 



creation. They must make it possible to utilize the re- 

 creational materials in forests without danger to the con- 

 sumer. Without them production is dangerous and 

 faulty. 



With planning done and protective measures taken, 

 there opens another part of the recreation field which 

 is that devoted to nothing but the fundamental purpose 

 of creating recreational values. 



Of prime importance in this portion of our plant ma- 

 chinery are the recreational features along our roads and 

 trails. It is safe to say that there are not a half dozen 

 recreational roads in the country today although there 

 are hundreds of millions spent on this part of the pro- 

 ducing plant. The planning for recreation is faulty. 

 Every road in the country is potential producing machin- 

 ery if only a small sum were spent to put it into running 

 condition. 



To illustrate what is meant by installing the recreation 

 producing details let us consider a typical forest highway. 

 It has been built at a cost of several hundreds of thou- 

 sands of dollars. Yet it does not provide more than a 

 traffic line. It is not a recreation road. It stops short 



L.AMPING ON AN IMPROVED CAMP OkuLMJb 

 h is this sort of a structure that many local people have raised funds to build in the Forests. 



on the preceding page with a fireplace built in front. 



It is the lean-to shelter shown 



canijjing, hotel, cabin or other human occupancy place 

 that portion of our recreation ])roducing plant lacks one 

 of the essentials for production. 



These three features mentioned all are of the field of 

 dual service. They are life protective necessities in our 

 factory of outdoor play. They must be present before 

 any other development takes place. However, they must 

 I)e fitted to the landscape and their mere presence on a 

 campground is no guarantee that that place is well ar- 

 ranged for recreational use. They must be properly 

 built and properly placed. Besides protecting life they 

 have a very important bearing on the production of re- 



of the very production which it was designed to give. 



The road swings along through timber, only a glimpse 

 of mountain tops are visible. A canon is below and it 

 is possible to hear the roar of the stream. The first 

 recreation machinery on this road is adequate and prop- 

 erly planned vistas giving views of the mountain and 

 canon. 



The road reaches a grand outlook point but is narrow. 

 There is no place to park, no invitation to linger there 

 and make the most of the view. The second piece of 

 recreation machinery is a broad stopping place at this 

 point where several cars can be parked, perhaps a small 



