THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREST RECREATION 



BY ARTHUR H. CARHART 



ANNOUNCING THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREST RECREATION 



NEW ideas and new methods develop to meet new or changing conditions. The first public appearance of a new publication or the premier 

 -' greeting of a new department of an established magazine heralds some new situation or a condition which did not exist before or one 

 which has grown to such size as to merit greater recognition. In this issue of "American Forestry" the department devoted to the recrea- 

 tional use of forest areas salutes all readers and thus signalizes a greater use of our forests as play areas and a new service for the lovers 

 of the out-of-doors. 



UECREATION existed on forest lands before the Roman Empire flourished. It was a paramount use of England's forests before America 

 ** was discovered. It is no new thing. But the universal use of forests for recreation by the people of the United States has so recently 

 developed to national importance it may be truly said that the activity is a newcomer to the group of uses existing on American forest lands. 

 INFORMATION and general knowledge of the opportunity for play and outdoor life in the forest regions have not kept pace with the 

 x new popular recreational movement and the rush to the forest playgrounds of the republic where magnificent vacation lands are found. 

 rp HESE statements are not excuses for this department coming into being, but set forth the reasons for its establishment to meet a 

 * need. It will aim to accomplish certain definite things which when summarized mean the bringing of greater knowledge of the play 

 use in our great National, State and County forest and park systems, to the readers of this magazine. And thus it will add to the great sum 

 of National wealth of health in mind, soul and body, especially among those who are led to visit and use these areas. It will establish a 

 greater appreciation of the exceptional aesthetic values found in these great forest properties, and it will help build up the patriotic spirit 

 of the country through directing citizens of the land to the great silent woods, the snow crowned peaks or the deep canyons where they may come 

 to "Enow America," and knowing her in all her marvelous examples of scenic beauty will come to love the " rocks and rills, -woods and 

 templed hills" of their home land with a fervor which will brook no policy or movement which threatens the peace of the land or its 

 Institutions. 



VACATION OPPORTUNITIES IN YOUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



HAVE you waited until now to plan where you will 

 go on your vacation? Are you still debating 

 whether to go to the country or to some beach? 

 If you are in this quandary let me offer a sugges- 

 tion ; spend your play time of this year in a National 

 Forest. 



You will naturally wonder on what grounds this sug- 

 gestion is made. The answer is found in the great 

 variety of va- 

 cation activities 

 available on 

 forest lands 

 for these ex- 

 tend from Gulf 

 to Border and 

 from Atlantic 

 to Pacific and 

 the d i ff e rent 

 types of recre- 

 ation found in 

 them are al- 

 most as varied 

 and extensive 

 as the forests 

 themselves. 



Suppose you 

 are looking for 

 a place to 

 simply rest. 

 Any forest will 

 offer this opportunity in some form or other. It de- 

 pends much on where your home is located which forest 

 you choose to visit. If your home is east of the Missis- 

 sippi basin you can easily reach the White Mountain 

 National Forest where you can get accommodations in 

 some resort or farm house near the forest. Here are 

 clean air, peaceful hills, pure water and the rest you 

 are seeking. Or, if you prefer to travel southward, the 

 Shenandoah and Natural Bridge Forests are to be found 

 in old Virginia, and the Pisgah National Forest is in 



THE VACATIONIST AT TRAPPERS LAKE IN THE WHITE RIVER NATIONAL FOREST IN 

 COLORADO CAN SPEND MANY DELIGHTFUL HOURS FISHING FOR TROUT 



North Carolina. If you wish to visit the White Moun- 

 tains or the green clad hills of Virginia or North Carolina, 

 write the District Forester, at Washington, D. C, asking 

 for information on these forests. 



If your home is in the mid-west, there are a score or 

 more places where you may go and find the rest you 

 desire. Information, telling of vacation areas in the 

 mountains of Colorado, will be sent if you send a request 



to the District 

 Forester at 

 Denver. Or 

 from the same 

 source may be 

 had data con- 

 cerning the for- 

 ests of Minne- 

 sota, South Da- 

 kota and Wy- 

 oming. There 

 are places 

 where one may 

 rest undisturb- 

 ed by any hur- 

 ry and rush of 

 modern life in 

 each of these 

 states and with- 

 in the bounda- 

 ries of Nation- 

 al Forests. 



Perhaps you wish a place where you may row, fish 

 and swim. Do not hesitate. Take your pen today and 

 inscribe a letter to the Forest Supervisor of the Minne- 

 sota National Forest at Case Lake, Minnesota. The 

 town of Cass Lake looks out over the placid surface of 

 the beautiful body of water of that name and is within 

 easy canoe distance of scores of smaller lakes and 

 streams where may be found the finest sort of a place 

 to camp or build a summer home. In the midst of Cass 

 Lake rises beautiful Star Island. There is a peculiar 



MS 



