FOREST RESERVE MANAGEMENT 



TRANSFERRED 



Control of the Reserves Passes from the Department 

 of the Interior to the Department of Agriculture 



ON February i President Roosevelt and the Commissioner of the General 



signed the bill shortly before Land Office urged upon Congress the 



passed by Congress having for its pur- importance of making the transfer of 



pose the transfer of the administration the reserve management. The Presi- 



of the federal forest reserves from the dent said in his last message : 



Department of the Interior to the De- "As I have repeatedly recommend- 



partment of Agriculture. From now eel, all of the forest work of the Gov- 



on the reserve work will be directly in ernment should be concentrated in the 



charge of the Bureau of Forestry. Department of Agriculture, where the 



Since the creation of the first of our larger part of the work is already 

 national forest reserves in 1891 the done, where practically all of the train- 

 management has remained in the Gen- ed foresters of the Government are 

 eral Land Office of the Department of employed, where chiefly, in Washing- 

 the Interior. The methods and or- ton, there is comprehensive first-hand 

 ganization of this bureau were not well knowledge of the problems of the re- 

 adapted to the new problems which serves, acquired on the ground, where 

 arose. The men assigned to the new all problems relating to growth from 

 division were able and faithful, but the soil are already gathered, and 

 lacked the special education and ex- where all the sciences auxiliary to for- 

 perience needed in forest work. Fur- estry are at hand for prompt and 

 thermore, Congress held the purse effective cooperation." 

 strings tightly and thus hampered the On February I the President signed 

 possible development of better ideas, a bill which immediately transfers the 

 Nevertheless, the new division strug- pending business of the reserves, in- 

 gled determinedly with the puzzling eluding timber sales, applications for 

 questions that arose, and with the ad- the free use of timber, permits for 

 vice and assistance of the Bureau of grazing livestock, etc., to the Depart- 

 Forestry and the U. S. Geological ment of Agriculture, and all matters 

 Survey, decided matters that were be- relating to such business will hereafter 

 yond the range of its own information, be referred to and administered by 



In 1901 several trained men were that department. 



detailed from the Bureau of Forestry All officers of the forest reserve ser- 

 of the Department of Agriculture to vice, including superintendents, super- 

 the reserve division of the Department visors, and rangers stationed on the 

 of the Interior. It was hoped that in forest reserves throughout the West 

 this way some plan could be devised a force numbering about 450 men are 

 for establishing practical forestry at transferred to the Department of 

 nee. A year of hard work proved Agriculture. The employees in this 

 conclusively that the intricate machi- branch of the service were recently 

 nery devised for the adjustment of classified under the civil service act, 

 land titles was not suited for the and hereafter all applicants for posi- 

 prompt settlement of local questions in tions in the forest service will be re- 

 forest reserves two thousand miles quired to pass examination, 

 from the seat of authority. President The rules and regulations relating 

 Roosevelt, the Secretary of the In- to the free use and sale of timber and 

 tcrior, the Secretary of Agriculture, to the grazing of livestock will be re- 



