120 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



take expensive precautions unless driven 



to it. 



There is the Legislature itself, many 

 of whose members, ignorant of the pro- 

 cesses of forestry and mindful of past 

 jobbery, are extremely chary of voting 

 for measures which have not been as- 

 sured of success by trial in other states. 



Until recently New York has been 

 more progressive and far-sighted in 

 forest matters than any of the other 

 states. The creation of the Adirondack 

 and Catskill Mountain Preserves was a 

 long step in advance, but it must be 

 followed by more progress if the work 

 is to be kept abreast of that now inau- 

 gurated by California and New Hamp- 

 shire. 



Some of the more pertinent portions 

 of the report of the Special Committee 

 on Forest Policy read as follows : 



To the Senate : 



The special committee of the senate 

 appointed to inquire and report upon 

 the future policy of the state in rela- 

 tion to the Adirondacks and forest 

 preservation respectfully report that 

 the}' have had several hearings in the 

 city of New York and in Albany which 

 have been well attended, and after 

 giving careful attention to the sugges- 

 tions made and to matters of public 

 record beg leave to submit the follow- 

 ing report : 



The total acreage of the Adirondack 

 Park as now laid out is 3, 226, 144 acres, 

 of which the state owns i , 163,414 acres. 

 Private preserves contain 705,914 acres. 

 The remaining 1,356,816 acres are 

 owned by private persons and business 

 corporations. To preserve existing 

 forests on these lands and to reforest 

 tracts that have been denuded by man or 

 devastated by fire is the unanimous and 

 earnest desire of the people of the state. 



There is some diversity of opinion as 

 to the best means of executing the pub- 

 lic will in relation to this interest, but 

 there are three measures of immediate 

 and available relief which, in general 

 outline at least, have the unanimous 

 approval of our people. These are a 

 resumption of the former state policy 

 of acquiring further holdings of Adi- 

 rondack lands by purchase, the estab- 



lishment of a system of fire protection 

 sufficiently effective to prevent great 

 forest fires, and the reforesting of bar- 

 ren and denuded tracts. 



PURCHASE OF LAND. 



Ownership by the state is the most 

 effective means of preservation . It is 

 much easier for the state to regulate and 

 control its own holdings than to influ- 

 ence private owners to institute rational 

 forestry methods. Prejudice does not 

 exist against state ownership, and its 

 holdings are not subjected in so great a 

 degree as private holding to the perils 

 of incendiarism. It is in keeping with 

 the policy of maintaining these forests 

 in trust for the general good for lum- 

 ber and water supply, as a regulator of 

 climate and rainfall, and as a health and 

 pleasure resort of incomparable value. 



Former investments by the state in 

 these lands are, owing to the great rise 

 in their value, worth vastly more than 

 they cost, with interest added. While 

 prices in the future will be higher, the 

 scale of prices is sure to be an ascend- 

 ing one for an indefinite period, and 

 purchases made within the next few 

 years are likely to be as profitable as 

 purchases hitherto made now are. Waste 

 lands can be most easily acquired, but 

 special effort should be directed toward 

 the acquisition of tracts of exceptional 

 value as a watershed or for their natu- 

 ral scenery, as wooded mountains and 

 shores of lakes and rivers. The cost 

 can be properly reduced by allowing 

 reservations of mature soft wood to the 

 seller, while the hard wood, which is of 

 much slower growth and of less value, 

 will remain. A definite policy of ac- 

 quiring the entire Adirondack Park 

 should be adopted and carried into exe- 

 cution within a reasonable time, due 

 regard being had to the rights of pri- 

 vate owners and special privileges ex- 

 tended to present owners who cooperate 

 with the state in forest preservation. 



FIRE PROTECTION. 



The statement in the annual report 

 of the Forest, Fish, and Game Commis- 

 sion shows the loss by fire in the Adi- 

 rondack and Catskill forests during the 

 year 1903 to be as follows : 



