1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



387 



area has a stand of merchantable tim- 

 ber averaging from 5,000 to 50,000 

 feet per acre. At present this timber 

 is remote from transporation and the 

 only demand upon it is for the local 

 supply of the mines and settlements in 

 its vicinity. 



The Klamath and Lassen Peak re- 

 serves both contain a very large pro- 

 portion of forest land, but the stand of 

 merchantable timber is lighter, and 

 does not generally average more than 

 5,000 to 6,000 feet per acre, although 

 there are limited areas which will pro- 

 duce over 50,000 feet per acre. 



Only a very small proportion of 

 either of these reserves has been cut 

 over, and their protection and conser- 

 vative use, therefore, means an as- 

 sured annual crop of timber to supply 

 the needs of the state in the develop- 

 ment of its mining, agricultural, and 

 commercial interests. 



The live stock interests are of con- 

 siderable importance on these four last 

 mentioned reserves, and the proper 

 utilization of the forage will be one of 

 the important questions in their man- 

 agement. Owing to the fact that the 

 season is now well advanced, the graz- 

 ing regulations will not be enforced in 



the Trinity, Klamath, and Lassen Peak 

 Reserves this year, but all stock which 

 have been grazed regularly therein 

 will be allowed to remain. Every ef- 

 fort will be made to assist the stock- 

 man in a satisfactory division of the 

 range and in a better and more econo- 

 mic use of the forage. 



The business men of the state have 

 been aroused to the importance of 

 protecting the forests, and public 

 sentiment is now very strong in sup- 

 port of a conservative forest policy. 

 This has been substantially demon- 

 strated by the action of the state legis- 

 lature, first in the passage of an act 

 providing for a cooperative forest in- 

 vestigation by the Bureau of Forestry, 

 and finally by the passage of a strong 

 state forest law. It is the duty of the 

 government to assist the people in 

 bringing about the best possible use of 

 all forest resources. The people, on 

 the other hand, must continue to give 

 their support and assistance in carry- 

 ing out the work which has been so 

 well begun, and must cooperate with 

 the state and national forest officers 

 in the enforcement of such regulations 

 as are necessary to insure the best use 

 and permanent value of the forests. 



HOW THE COMMERCIAL ORGANIZA- 

 TIONS OF CALIFORNIA COOPER- 

 ATE WITH THE MOVEMENT FOR 

 GOVERNMENT RECLAMATION. 



BY 



HAMILTON WRIGHT 



/CALIFORNIA is vitally interested 

 ^ in the subject of irrigation. Wa- 

 ter is the life blood of the state's agri- 

 cultural development. The value of 

 products of irrigated land in Califor- 

 nia is more than double that of any 

 other state, though the actual irri- 

 gated area is estimated to be less than 



that of the state of Colorado. In cer- 

 tain sections of California, notably 

 the southern part of the state, water is 

 more valuable than probably anywhere 

 else in the world. For these reasons 

 the people of the whole state are eager 

 to take advantage of llu- National Re- 

 rl.-n nation Act, and it is of interest to 



* Mr. Wright accompanied the Congressional Irrigation Committees on a large part of 

 their recent western tour. 



