1900. 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



'53 



posed the adoption of a resolution such as 

 Mr. Christadoro had asked for and called 

 for a vote, which was favorable. 



Professor Hopkins moved that a com- 

 mittee be appointed to cooperate with the 

 Federation of Women's Clubs in their 

 effort to obtain the Minnesota National 

 Park. After some discussion the motion 

 prevailed and Messrs. Pinchot, Newell, 

 Fernow and Miss Dock were proposed and 

 adopted as members of this committee. 



The committee on resolutions reported 

 the following resolution, which after some 

 discussion was adopted : 



" WHEREAS, the Pacific Coast Redwood 

 forests ( Sequoia sempervirens} are now 

 practically all in the hands of private 

 owners, who hold them for lumbering 

 purposes ; and 



" WHEREAS, this species occupies a cer- 

 tain coast-range belt of remarkable climatic 

 characteristics, the study of which ought 

 to be of profound interest to science ; and 



" WHEREAS, the only other living Se- 

 quoia; usually known as Sequoia < gigantea 

 which the Redwood rivals in its propor- 

 tions, as well as in its interest to travelers 

 and to men of science, has already received 

 protection in part, from the United States, 



by the establishment of the Sequoia Na- 

 tional Park and the General Grant Na- 

 tional Park in the Sierra Nevadas ; 



" Resolved, That the American Forestry 

 Association strongly approves the recent 

 efforts of the several societies, clubs, col- 

 leges, universities and private citizens in 

 California, to create a public opinion that 

 will result in the purchase and permanent 

 preservation, as a public forest park of a 

 tract of over 25,000 acres, largely made 

 upof theprimeval Redwood forest, situated 

 in the Santa Cruz Mountains, forty miles 

 southeast of San Francisco and fifteen 

 miles south of Leland Stanford, Jr., Uni- 

 versity, and known as the ' Big Basin Red- 

 woods.' ' 



They also reported back the proposed 

 Bill for protection against fire, with the 

 recommendation that it be revised before 

 receiving the endorsement of the Associa- 

 tion. On motion of Mr. Luebkert the 

 appeal was referred to the Board of 

 Directors with power to select a com- 

 mittee to revise the same. 



A vote of thanks was tendered to Mr. 

 Luebkert for his energetic and able 

 services in arranging for the meeting. 



Meeting then adjourned. 



FOREST LAW IN THE UNITED STATES. 



BY TREADWELL CLEVELAND, JR. 



I. FOREST LAW IN GENERAL. 



All law is relative to conditions. Just 

 as there is no single form of government 

 which is absolutely the best, but only a 

 number of forms which are better or 

 worse with respect to the needs and the 

 possibilities of a particular land, a par- 

 ticular people and particular conditions 

 of civilization ; so all law derives its war- 

 rant and its effectiveness from like de- 

 mands and limitations. 



Forest law will accordingly exhibit dif- 

 ferent aspects in different nations : in 

 order to produce good results it will have, 

 in the fullest sense, to be national. 



Yet in as much as all civilized law con- 

 stitutes theoretically a single body of 

 science which conforms to the general 



frame of human experience as a whole, 

 the laws of all nations are i\ationally re- 

 lated. And from this it follows that, 

 while forms will differ, the substance will 

 be everywhere the same. Stated briefly, 

 specific laws will differ, but they will be 

 analogous and comparable because the 

 underlying legal principles are identical. 

 Thus, while the forest law which is now 

 taking shape amongst us in response to 

 the requirements expressed by our national 

 conditions must be American, we are yet 

 bound to turn for guidance to those coun- 

 tries which from various causes have al- 

 ready developed forest codes. From the 

 example of Germany, France, or India 

 we shall derive the spirit if not the letter 

 of wise forest legislation. 



