THE FORESTER. 



March, 



with the exception of the Redwoods of 

 California, the densest and most contin- 

 uous in the United States. The trees are 

 large, reaching from 12 to 15 feet in di- 

 ameter and 250 feet in height, with clear 

 trunks for 100 feet or more. Mr. Gan- 

 nett estimates that the total amount of 

 standing timber is nearly 115,000 million 

 feet, board measure, and of this the greater 

 part is west of the Cascade Range. 



The available facts concerning the for- 

 ests of Oregon have also been brought to- 

 gether, showing that in this state the 

 merchantable timber is a little less than 

 23^,000 million feet, board measure, most 

 of this being along and west of the Cas- 

 cade Range, about 7 per cent, being in 

 eastern Oregon. 



The illustrations which accompany this 

 report are particularly notable both for ex- 

 cellence of the views and the clearness of 

 the maps. A number of these latter show 

 the distribution of woodland throughout 

 the western part of the United States in 

 general and in specific localities, the lat- 

 ter containing some of the first attempts at 



land classification made on the contoured 

 maps of the Geological Survey. In ex- 

 amining these the most striking fact is the 



O 



enormous extent of the burnt area, testify- 

 ing to the reckless waste of valuable tim- 

 ber. 



The reserves upon which separate re- 

 ports have been made, as published in this 

 volume, are : 



Black Hills Forest Reserve, by H. S. 

 Graves ; Bighorn Forest Reserve, by F. E. 

 Town ; Teton Forest Reserve, from notes 

 by T. S. Brandegee ; Yellowstone Park 

 Forest Reserve, southern part, by same 

 author; Priest River Forest Reserve, by 

 J. B. Leiberg; Bitterroot Forest Reserve, 

 by same author; Washington Forest Re- 

 serve, by H. B. Ayres; Eastern part of 

 Washington Forest Reserve, by M. W. 

 Gorman; San Jacinto Forest Reserve, by 

 J. B. Leiberg; San Bernardino Forest 

 Reserve, by same author; San Gabriel 

 Forest Reserve, by same author; Forest 

 Conditions of Northern Idaho, by same 

 author; Pine Ridge Timber, Nebraska by 

 N. H. Darton. 



Minnesota's Popular Demand for a National Park 



The establishment of a Minnesota Na- 

 tional Park by Congress not having yet 

 been consummated, public feeling in that 

 State is being aroused lest the present op- 

 portunity for action should be lost. 



Congressman Stevens, of Minnesota, has 

 received a letter from a constituent who 

 protests against the enactment of any leg- 

 islation granting to lumbermen the privi- 

 lege of removing timber from the govern- 

 ment land in northern Minnesota which 

 it is proposed to constitute as a national 

 park. The writer says : 



" This beautiful tract of timber land, 

 with all its natural scenic grandeur should 

 be preserved without further molestation, 

 that the people of the state and nation 

 may enjoy it in its primitive beauty or 

 with such improvements as the govern- 

 ment shall wisely have added. 



" By reason of the rapid extension of the 

 settlement of the countrv it will be but a 



short time until such places as these will 

 be forever things of the past, unless they 

 are set apart and provided for by the gov- 

 ernment. And this should be done, and 

 at once. 



k ' As is well known the " Father of Wa- 

 ters " has his source in the thousands of 

 beautiful lakes and streams of northern 

 Minnesota. To permit the tearing away 

 of a large portion of the dense timber of 

 this region cannot fail to result in the dry- 

 ing up of these streams and lakes, which 

 will, of course, drv up the river, and 

 lessen the amount of annual water-fall. 



"It is said the physicians of the state 

 stand united in their proposition to this 

 proposed measure, considering it as they 

 do from a sanitary point of view. I be- 

 lieve the people of Minnesota, so far as 

 their interest has been aroused on the 

 question, are united in their desire to see 

 this northern district preserved unscarred." 





