FIRE PROTECTION TO SAVE OUR FORESTS 



BY ROY HEADLEY 



TO stop the devastation of our forest land it is not 

 necessary for public opinion to support some new- 

 fangled system of forestry; all that is necessary to 

 keep the bulk of our timber growing land continuously 

 producing timber after it is cut over is the adoption of a 

 different attitude toward fire. More than fire protec- 

 tion is often necessary to keep forest land producing the 

 most valuable species or producing at absolutely full 

 capacity in terms of board feet per acre per annum. But, 

 as a rule, fire protection alone will keep our forest lands 

 continuously producing some timber and avoid the neces- 

 sity of resorting to artificial planting. Ten million idle 



their fields - , and who vigilantly guard their family in- 

 comes, have exhibited serene indifference to the fires 

 that have left us, among other things, our 81 million 

 non-producing acres and which are still adding to this 

 American Sahara. Not only is there indifference ; there 

 is habitual carelessness with fire on the part of the same 

 individuals who are feeling even now the effeots of a 

 timber depletion that is caused chiefly by fire. 



There were 27,000 recorded forest fires in 1919, burn- 

 ing a total of 8% million acres. During 1918, 25,000 

 fires burned over 10J/2 million acres of forest land. An 

 additional acreage was burned each year of which no 



DESTRUCTION OF YOUNG TREE GROWTH IN ONE OF THE MINNESOTA FIRES OF 1918 



Observe the prone young trees blown down by the hurricane which was largely due to the air disturbances caused by the fires. There were 

 good laws for the protection of forests there, but public opinion did not support existing protective legislation, and the result of this situation was 

 the catastrophe which shocked the whole country and left thousands homeless and destitute. 



acres in Michigan are a burden, rather than an asset to 

 the State, because of fire. The million acres of non- 

 productive brush field among the timber lands of the 

 National Forests of California are non-producing wastes 

 because of fire. Millions of acres in Pennsylvania which 

 ince supported the stands of pine and hardwood, which 

 enabled that State to take first place in lumber produc- 

 tion in i860, have become covered with scrub oak, or 

 other trash, not primarily because of reckless cutting, 

 but because of reckless and repeated burning. 



Nothing in the treatment which has been given Ameri- 

 can natural resources is more amazing than the character- 

 istic indifference of Americans to the wasting by fire of 

 our indispensable resources o* timber. Sober-minded 

 people who scrupulously conserve the soil resources of 



710 



record could be obtained. Of these thousands of fires 

 only a tiny fraction are due to lightning and unprevent- 

 able accident ; the great majority of the fires that are 

 constantly enlarging our deserts of barren sand, scrub 

 oak, chaparrel and briers, are due to the carelessness of 

 human beings due, not only to the carelessness of per- 

 sons who are directly responsible for the fires, but to 

 the indifference of the great body of people whose com- 

 posite opinion permits the campers, the farmers, the rail- 

 roads, and others to start and leave or lose control 

 of the fires that do the damage. 



The Minnesota fires of October, 1918, which destroyed 

 over 300 human lives and 20 million dollars worth of 

 property, were due to the indifference of public opinion. 

 There were law6 in force which, if respected and en- 



