CALIFORNIA FORESTS AND FORESTRY 



265 



stands, which but a few 

 years ago could not be logged 

 at a profit and were there- 

 fore frequently left, are now 

 being generally taken out of 

 the woods with the other 

 species. 



When we pass beyond the 

 utilization phase, however, 

 we quickly find the lumber- 

 man and the forester sepa- 

 rating to follow widely di- 

 verging roads in the prac- 

 tice of harvesting the forest 

 crop. Ninety per cent of the 

 timber in California must be 

 logged with steam machinery 

 because of the rough charac- 

 ter of the ground surface. 

 This type of logging, even 

 when regulated by the use of 

 blocks, shear logs, and well 

 planned logways which are 

 the practices followed on pub- 

 lic land, is very destructive to 

 young growth. On private 

 land, where no regulation 

 whatever is practiced, it is 

 often disastrous. Economy 

 demands that when a log has 

 been started for. the landing 

 it should get there without 



BULL PINES AND MILLED AREA, SHOWING LACK OF SEED 

 TREES. ANGELES NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA 



fifty years is conspicuous by 

 its absence. This is descrip- 

 tion, not criticism. Everyone 

 admits that, from a public 

 standpoint, such conditions 

 are unfortunate. Criticism 

 will not improve these condi- 

 tions. When the public gets 

 ready to pay for improve- 

 ment in methods, either di- 

 rectly or indirectly, the meth- 

 ods will be improved not 

 before. The cost will not be 

 great and the dividends will 

 be large. 



Adequate fire protection of 

 all strictly forest land has 

 rightly been an important 

 part of the creed of Cali- 

 fornia foresters. By "ade- 

 quate fire protection" I mean 

 a brand of protection in 

 which every effort is exert- 

 ed to keep all forms of fire 

 out of true forest areas 

 the kind we are attempting 

 to apply to National Forest 

 lands in California. Lumber- 

 men and timberland owners 

 hold divergent views regard- 

 ing fire protection. A few do 

 not consider any form of 



delay en route. When a 12x14 donkey engine grabs protection worth while, a few really subscribe to the For- 

 a big sugar pine butt log with a heavy wire cable, it is est Service practice. More pretend to. The majority, how- 

 surprising to see how quickly even trees 24 inches or ever, are believers in some form of controlled burning. 



more in diame- 

 ter yield a 

 right - of - way. 

 Is it to be won- 

 dered, there- 

 fore, that on 

 the average pri- 

 v a t e logging 

 job the few 

 young trees be- 

 low profitable 

 cutting size and 

 t h e reproduc- 

 tion are left, 

 after their con- 

 test with steam 

 machinery, in 

 about the same 

 c n d i tion as 

 Kans;is wheat 

 after a cy- 

 clone? The for- 

 ever's basis for 

 n second cut in 



SHOWING HOW FIRE GOT AWAY FROM DONKEY ENGINE IN CUT-OVER FOREST. STANDING 

 TIMBER, WHITE FIR, ALL KILLED. SIERRA NATIONAL FOREST, CALIFORNIA 



The lumber- 

 man's lack of 

 interest in 

 complete forest 

 pro tection is 

 attributable to 

 three principal 

 factors: the 

 damage done to 

 the merchant- 

 able timber, by 

 a typical Cali- 

 fornia forest 

 fire is not spec- 

 tacular ; the 

 young growth 

 which is large- 

 ly destroyed by 

 the typical fire 

 and typical log- 

 ging method is 

 not market- 

 able ; the young 



