190 



I . 



AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 



95 



related subjects in the reserves, prepared 

 by the Forester and his assistants, will be 

 made directly to me. 



" This plan will secure the execution of 

 work indispensable to the use and preser- 

 vation of these forests, for the lack of 

 which they are now suffering. While it 

 will entail additional work upon the De- 

 partment of Agriculture, it will involve 

 no duplication of function. It is, in my 

 judgment, by far the best solution of the 

 problem which can be reached this year." 



The Secretary of the Interior thus did 

 not advise any attempt to settle the matter 

 by legislation during the last session, but 

 outlined a plan, to which he and the Secre- 

 tary of Agriculture agreed, for putting the 

 management of the forest reserves under 

 the immediate supervision of the Forester 

 of the Department of Agriculture. Con- 

 gress, accordingly, did not act in the mat- 

 ter. Secretary Hitchcock has not yet 

 taken any formal steps toward the transfer 

 of work upon the reserves from the Land 

 Office to the Division of Forestry, but 

 there is no reason to doubt that such steps 

 will soon be taken. 



Briefly, the forest reserves which have 

 hitherto been under a management which 

 was completely removed from all connec- 

 tion with a corps of Government officers 

 who had been especially trained for just 

 such work, are at last being brought under 

 the supervision of these officers. This state 

 of things was unreasonable and costly, 

 and could result only in harm to the re- 

 serves. Although it has not yet been for- 

 mally corrected by a vote of Congress, it 

 is safe to say that it has, for the time 

 being, been set right by mutual consent of 

 the Secretary of Agriculture and the Sec- 

 retary of the Interior. It is not too much 

 to say that no such stride toward the proper 

 management of our forests and public for- 

 est lands has been made since the act which 

 authorized the establishment of national 

 reserves was passed in 1891. 



Big Basin The campaign to pre- 



Park to be serve the redwoods of the 



Established. Big Basin in the Santa 

 Cruz mountains of Cali- 

 fornia, which the Sempervirens Club has 



been so ardently pushing, was last month 

 successful. By a vote of 55 to 1 in the 

 house, and 30 to 2 in the senate, the State 

 legislature appropriated $250,000 for the 

 purchase and maintenance of the tract, 

 and five commissioners were appointe'd 

 by the governor to disburse the money. 

 In this act California has not only done a 

 great service to the cause of forest pro- 

 tection in the United States, but has also 

 given her citizens a superb park for the 

 enjoyment of themselves and their pos- 

 terity. The Big Basin redwoods possess 

 every qualification of an excellent pleasure 

 ground. Situated within a few hours' 

 ride of San Francisco and other large 

 towns, they nevertheless retain all the 

 character of a wilderness large areas of 

 primeval woodland, with every aspect of 

 stream and hillside. Besides this the trees 

 themselves are already famed for their 

 size and development, which in any sub- 

 stantial bodies of timber, are unsurpassed 

 short of the heavy stands in the northern 

 countries of the Coast. Park and wood- 

 land are here unusually combined, and 

 the State may well be proud of the energy 

 and public spirit which has secured their 

 perpetuation. 



The Society of The Society of American 

 American Foresters, which was 



Foresters. founded in Washington 



by a number of members 

 of the Division of Forestry early in the 

 winter, has been in existence long enough 

 to give good promise of filling the very 

 distinct field of usefulness which is await- 

 ing it. Its objects as expressed in its con- 

 stitution are: "To further the cause of 

 forestry in America by fostering a spirit 

 of comradeship among American fores- 

 ters ; by creating opportunities for a free 

 interchange of views upon technical and 

 allied forest subjects ; and by the dissem- 

 ination of a knowledge of the purpose 

 and achievements of practical forestry." 

 Thus far in this country forestry has been 

 taken up and advocated by one man here 

 and another man there, each of whom has 

 had to work out the questions which inter- 

 ested him almost wholly alone, who have 



