136 



THE FORESTER. 



June, 



Recent Legislation. 



Nevv York. 



A bill was introduced in the Assembly 

 at Albany, authorizing Governor Roose- 

 velt to appoint a state commission to 

 confer with a like commission from the 

 State of New Jersey as to means of pre- 

 serving the Palisades of the Hudson. In- 

 calculable damage has been done in the 

 destruction of historic landmarks, and 

 besides the voluminous protests on this 

 score by historical societies and individ- 

 uals, there have been additional remon- 

 strances from adjacent land-owners. The 

 face of the Palisades has been blasted 

 away in a number of places by gigantic 

 charges of dynamite, for the purpose of 

 securing stone blocks for street paving 

 purposes. After years of remonstrances, 

 the matter has reached the attention of 

 the State law-makers. 



Governor Roosevelt has named the fol- 

 lowing as members of the commission to 

 represent the State of New York : Enoch 

 C. Bell, of Nyack; Waldo G. Morse, of 

 Yonkers ; and James R. Croes, of Yon- 

 kers. 



New Jersey. 



Governor Voorhees has appointed the 

 following commission to make an exami- 

 nation into the facts and report a plan of 

 procedure for the perpetuation of the 

 Palisades: Franklin W. Hopkins, of Al- 

 pine; William A. Linn, of Hackensack; 

 S. Wood McClave, of Edgewater; Eliza- 

 beth B. Vermily, of Englewood, and Ce- 

 cilia Gaines, of Jersey City. This com- 

 mission will work in conjunction with the 

 New York commission appointed by Gov- 

 ernor Roosevelt. 



California. 



The bills creating a Commission of 

 Forestry and a Commissioner of Irriga- 

 tion in California, having failed of Gov- 

 ernor Gage's approval after passing the 

 Legislature, have been carried into effect, 

 notwithstanding, by the prompt action 

 of the California Water and Forest So- 

 ciety, which initiated and secured the 



favorable legislative action on the sub- 

 ject. 



Though official sanction has been with- 

 held, it is proposed to carry out the full 

 intent of the measures under the volun- 

 tary supervision of this society. The first 

 subject to be considered has been the 

 raising of funds to insure successful ef- 

 forts. With financial support assured, 

 the working of the plan is expected to 

 demonstrate the necessity for these offi- 

 cials in the State. 



The Commission of Forestry appointed 

 by the society consists of Prof. E. W. 

 Hilgard, of the University of California; 

 Prof. Dudley, of Stanford University; 

 Abbot Kinney, of Los Angeles; Warren 

 Olney, Sr. , of San Francisco; and Geo. 

 Fowle, of Placer County. The Commis- 

 sioner of Irrigation is Prof. Geo. David- 

 son. 



The legislation which failed officially, 

 but will thus become operative in fact, 

 provided for the appointment of the offi- 

 cials named to serve without pay; that 

 the Commissioner of Irrigation should 

 co-operate with the United States Geo- 

 logical Survey in preparing surveys, es- 

 timates, etc., for sites for storage reser- 

 voirs for impounding waters for mining, 

 agricultural and industrial uses; that re- 

 ports be made on the feasibility, etc., of 

 such reservoirs and irrigating systems 

 and that the Commission of Forestry 

 should devise a means of protecting the 

 forests of the State from destruction by 

 fire or wanton depredations, and recom- 

 mend means for preserving the forests 

 and of storing and distributing the flood 

 waters of the State. 



It is realized that the commissioners 

 can do little more in two years than ac- 

 quire information, in a field that requires 

 a vast amount of investigation, and form- 

 ulate recommendations for further prog- 

 ress. This the California Water and 

 Forest Society proposes to do. 



In behalf of Governor Gage it is said 

 that he gave his hearty support to both 

 of the two measures introduced, but that 



