FOREST POLICY. 



ports and establishing some experiment stations. In 1891, polit- 

 ical decrepitude caused the board to lose its foothold. A promi- 

 nent member of the board was Abbot Kinney. To him is due 

 the introduction of Eucalyptus. 



The tree botany of the State has been advanced by J. G. 

 Lemmon. The California legislature has memorialized the United 

 States government to set aside all forests for reserves. When, 

 in 1897, all western reservations were opened to pasture by Bin- 

 ger Hermann, the California senators opposed the move and se- 

 cured exemption for their State. At the university of South-Cal- 

 ifornia a forestry school was established in 1899. The Sierra Club 

 (John Muir, President) and the California Water and Forest As- 

 sociation (since 1898) are taking up the work of the defunct State 

 board. Sheep owners are the only people in California opposing 

 the forest reserve policy. 



7. Laws: The usual fire laws. The State Board of For- 

 estry demanded of Congress, but in vain: 



(a) The temporary repeal of the timber and stone act. 



(b) A law providing for sale of stumpage only from for- 

 est land, the government retaining the fee simple rights. State 

 law of 1903 appropriates $15,000 to assist the Bureau of Fores- 

 try in a canvass of the forest resources. 



8. Reservations: The total area reserved, in 1902, is 8.8 

 million acres. The reserves are well selected, covering the tops 

 of the Sierra Nevada and the high mountain ranges of the south. 

 No reserves on the Coast Range. 



The Sierra forest reserve, aggregating 4,096,000 acres, lies 

 south of the Yosemite National Park, is about 200 miles long by 

 50 wide and comprises the Sequoia National Park, General Grant 

 National Park and Mount Whitney Military Reservation. North 

 of the Yosemite National Park lies the Stanislaus forest reserve, 

 covering 691,200 acres. The Lake Tahoo forest reserve, of 136,335 

 acres, is the only reserve drained by the Sacramento. The 

 highest summits of the Sierras are in the reserves. 85% of 

 the reserves are timbered and 15% are covered with snow or gla- 

 ciers. 70% of the 85% have, however, suffered from fire. 



The southern reserves form links in a long chain running, 

 approximately, east and west, and consist of the 



Pine Mountain and Zaca Lake forest reserve (1,644,594 

 acres). 



IS 



