PRIVATE RIGHTS IN FOREST RESERVES 



What They Are and How They Were Affected 

 By the Establishment of the Forest Reserves 



TT 1 HE National Mining Congress at portion of the public domain. Or, if 

 its session held at Portland, he elects to remain on the claim, he is 

 Oreg., August 22-25, adopted resolu- protected in all his rights of owner- 

 tions favoring "the conservative use ship, is allowed free ingress and egress 

 of forest resources, and in particular over reserve lands, and is also per- 

 the creation and management of for- mitted, without cost, to cut reserve 

 est reserves under practical, business- wood for domestic and farm repair 

 like rules and regulations." Early in purposes. Residents in the neighbor- 

 August the National Live Stock Asso- hood of reserves are granted a simi- 

 ciation, at its Denver meeting, was lar free use of wood, 

 equally earnest for practical control Omitting actual settlers, four classes 

 and improvement of forest areas. of citizens are directly and specially 



The permanent prosperity of nearly interested in reserves. Lumbermen, 

 all the far Western States is threat- stock grazers, and miners are concern- 

 ened by the destruction of the forests ed with the forest as a producer of 

 'on the watersheds of irrigation timber and grass. Farmers have their 

 streams. Wasteful lumbering, exces- direct interest in the highest water 

 sive grazing, and fires are unceasingly conserving power of the forests. It 

 cutting down the efficiency of the for- is not impossible so to adjust the 

 ests as sources of water supply. Con- claims of these four classes as to pro- 

 ditions are rapidly growing worse vide for them all. Each of the first 

 and this is evidenced by the constant three can so use the forests as not to 

 demands of citizens for the creation injure the rights of the others, and 

 of new forest reserves. The great dif- can at the same time so conduct their 

 ficulty is to determine boundaries several industries that the value of the 

 which will include only lands suitable forest in regulating stream flow will 

 for the purpose, and will avoid injury not be diminished. Indeed, under prop- 

 to local enterprises. The interests of er management it will actually be in- 

 the settler, the cattle or sheep man, creased. 



the miner, the lumberman, and the ir- No authority exists for selling the 

 rigator, often all dependent upon the timber standing on unreserved pub- 

 same region, are always more or less lie lands. Its free use is being greatly 

 conflicting. Seldom is a reserve ere- abused, leads to numerous frauds, 

 ated without opposition from one or and has become an additional reason 

 more of these interests. Commonly the for reserve establishment for forest 

 practice of the Government is to with- protection, as well as for the passage 

 draw from settlement all the land in- of a law permitting the sale of such 

 volved until it can be carefully exam- timber. Lumbermen can buy this tim- 

 ined, after which the suitable portion ber only by buying the land outright, 

 is included in a permanent reserve, and the law limits to 160 acres the size 

 and that which proves to be open, ag- of the tract any one purchaser may se- 

 ricultural, or largely under private cure. After the establishment of a re- 

 ownership, is released. serve, however, the timber can be 



A settler who has entered upon a bought in large or small quantities, 



claim which is later included in a for- The cutting, removing, and clearing 



est reserve does ,not thereby lose it. must be done under contract with the 



He may return to the Government and Government, according to a definite 



in lieu thereof select another equal plan, and with strict regard for the 



