2So 



THE FORESTER. 



November, 



cent industry is driving the original 

 holders of the range off the land whose 

 enjoyment they had come to consider as 

 their right. He contends that the grazing 

 of cattle is less destructive to the forest 

 than the grazing of sheep, and, almost 

 without exception, he takes side with the 

 irrigation interests against the sheep. 



The sheep man asserts that large bodies 

 of fodder, inaccessible to cattle through 

 the lack of water or the roughness of the 

 country, may be harvested at a profit by 

 the less exacting sheep ; that the prosperity 

 of considerable areas in the West depends 

 on the continuance of his industry; that 

 sheep do not eat trees; and that the per- 



petuation of the forest is in no wise en- 

 dangered by sheep, while the danger from 

 fire is considerably diminished. 



It is the province of the forest officer to 

 weigh these various considerations and 

 reach a just conclusion. That his decision 

 will fully satisfy any one of the parties at 

 interest is scarcely to be expected, but a just 

 conclusion is easily within reach. It must 

 rest on the regulation of grazing rather 

 than on its prohibition, and above all on 

 cooperation with the grazing interests in 

 the use of the range with the triple object 

 of the protection of the forest, of the water 

 supply, and of the grazing interests them- 

 selves. 



ALARMING FOREST CONDITIONS IN COLORADO. 



LAST month The Forester called 

 attention to the serious forest fires 

 that had occurred in Colorado dur- 

 ing the month of September. Ordinarily 

 the news of forest fires attracts little atten- 

 tion owing to the painful fact that they oc- 

 cur so frequently in various parts the coun- 

 try. So regular have the forest fires become 

 that during certain periods of each year 

 persons interested in forestry naturally ex- 

 pect such visitations, and speculate as to 

 whether the damage will be greater than 

 usual. A great many more people give 

 the matter no thought. 



In the case of Colorado the reports of 

 recent fires are disquieting, to say the 

 least. Not only was a considerable body 

 of valuable timber destroyed (and Colo- 

 rado has far too little timber now) but 

 mine properties were seriously threatened 

 and only saved through the efforts of hun- 

 dreds of men who fought the flames. 

 The most serious result of these fires is 

 yet to come effect on the future water 

 supply. 



The accompanying illustrations show 

 how repeated fires literally wipe out a 

 forest and these views show only several 

 of the many such scenes to be found in 

 Colorado. For years these fierce forest fires 

 in this state have been occurring regularly. 

 Now that the forest area of the whole 

 state has been reduced to a dangerously low 

 figure, it is most urgent that the citizens of 

 Colorado turn their attention to improving 



conditions that are annually growing 

 worse. 



Mr. Henry Michelsen, of Denver, Vice- 

 President of the American Forestry As- 

 sociation for Colorado, kept a record of 

 the forest fires in the state during the year 

 1900. In that time forest fires in fifteen 

 counties destroyed 75$ square miles of 

 timber lands, and at the end of the year 

 there remained in the state only 6,407 

 square miles of timber lands. This in a 

 total of 103,925 square miles, or only about 

 six per cent, of the whole. Thus it can 

 be seen how serious a matter is the ques- 

 tion of forest fires in Colorado. 



Agriculture and mining, Colorado's two 

 great and sustaining industries, are the 

 things most threatened. Farming in Col- 

 orado must be carried on by irrigation; 

 the mines need an abundance of cheap 

 timber, and that the success of these two 

 leading industries of the state is in a great 

 measure dependent on the forests is very 

 apparent. Colorado is widely and per- 

 haps best known as a mining region ; but 

 in spite of the great mineral production, 

 agriculture is the greatest single industry 

 in the state. To show how seriouslv this 

 great industry is being affected by forest 

 fires, the following quotation from an arti- 

 cle written by Mr. Michelsen is most 

 pointed. Mr. Michelsen has for years 

 been an ardent advocate of forest pres- 

 ervation in Colorado, and his conclusions 

 on the subject are drawn from close study 



