COLORADO PRACTICING FORESTRY 



The State to Create a Separate Department to Con- 



trol its Forest and Help Build Up its Industries 



T WO political platforms in Colorado creation of a state department of tor- 



contain a declaration favoring estry. Through it all local work can 



the- creation of a state department of most effectively be done, and it also 



forestry. This, if carried into effect furnishes an agency through which the 



by the legislature, will notably benefit state may come into closer touch with 



both the state and forestry, since the the National Bureau of Forestry and 



general welfare of Colorado is peculi- thus secure advice based on a wide 



arly dependent upon the rigid care and range of investigation. 



protection of its forests. Almost one- The federal government has put 



third of the total area of that state, or something over 3,000,000 acres of the 



33,500 square miles, is woodland, of pu blj c l an d on the watersheds under 



which about 20,000 square miles are f orest res erve. In addition, agents of 



covered with valuable timber. This is thg Bureau of Forestry have, within 



chiefly pine, although cedar, hemlock, the past twQ years> made careful stud . 



spruce, fir, and other species are also ieg of both these reserves and other 



found in merchantable size and quan- blic forests of the statCi to the end 



tity. But the greatest value of the that the federal forest reserves may 



Colorado forests is in their promotion ac Hsh the test ible d 



of agriculture through irrigation. Al- But Q ac s res are a F small J rt of 



ready there are nearly 2,000,000 acres the ^ acreg Q woodland in 



of farm lands under irrigation but Colora( j AU the Te maining 18,000,- 

 great stretches of country are still to 



OQO Qr mofe acreg ^ tQ & 



be redeemed. Ihis cannot be done . . , 



unless the watersheds of the state in ! ess e * tent important in conserving he 



the mountains and hills are rigorously irrigation and farming future of the 



kept under forest cover. state. It is, therefore, fortunate that 



The grazing and lumber industries, Colorado seems likely to handle its for- 



as now conducted, and the ravages of ests in this practical way the only way 



fires are against the forests. The him- b Y which the best results can be ac- 



bering and still more the grazing inter- complished. 



ests of the state are too valuable not to Such action will increase to twelve 



receive careful consideration. Each, the number of states which have crea- 



and more particularly the latter, must ted separate departments of forestry. 



be carefully and judiciously regulated Yearly and daily the importance of un- 



with two ends in view their own wel- derstanding and guarding the forest, 



fare and continuation, and the protec- which stands in close relations to many 



tion of the forests. As for fire, it is and varied industries, is growing. 



the same deadly enemy in Colorado as Each state which adds the weight of 



in other large forested areas, and re- its official action gives new impetus to 



straining regulations must be enacted the movement which aims to secure 



and enforced. the largest usefulness of our forests in 



Forest preservation is a vast econo- the interest of the public welfare. 



mic question intimately interwoven Other states, particularly those whose 



with many other matters of vital state forests are among their greatest re- 



concern, but it is a question with a dis- sources, could do nothing more practi- 



tinct field of research and demands cally beneficial to their future than 



specialized inquiry, enactment, and ju- quickly to follow the policy now de- 



risdiction. Hence the necessity for the manded by the people of Colorado. 



