1905 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



427 



ture. The States governments in New 

 York, Pennsylvania, and Michigan, 

 have made splendid beginnings. The 

 federal government has set aside 80,- 

 000,000 acres in forest reservations in 

 the West. They are even more im- 

 portant in the East, where population 

 is more dense. By this means alone 



can the great industries dependent 

 upon wood supply be made permanent 

 and steady. By this means alone can 

 the water flow in great rivers be pro- 

 tected. When adequate reservations 

 are secured there will be no lack of at- 

 tractive forests in which -tired hu- 

 manity can find rest. 



FOREST RESERVES IN IDAHO 



Interesting Discussion of Forest Reserve Situation in Idaho 

 and Explanation of the Federal Forest Policy in General. 



A N unusually interesting corre- 

 ** spondence relating to the gen- 

 eral forest policy of the government 

 has just been published by the Forest 

 Service, as Bulletin No. 67, entitled 

 "Forest Reserves in Idaho." The ma- 

 jor part of this correspondence, which 

 deals specifically with forest reserve 

 questions in Idaho, consists of letters 

 from Senator W. B. Heyburn, of Ida- 

 ho, to the President ; the replies of the 

 President; letters from Mr. Gifford 

 Pinchot, Forester of the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture ; and a letter on 

 the federal forest reserve policy, with 

 special reference to Idaho, by Senator 

 Fred Dubois. 



The discussion of the forest reserve 

 situation in Idaho, which is very fully 

 developed in the letters, and a thor- 

 ough explanation of the federal forest 

 policy in general, which has never be- 

 fore been so clearly and emphatically 

 defined, lend to this bulletin exception- 

 al and more than merely local interest. 



Senator Heyburn, in several of his 

 letters, makes warm protest against 

 the proclamation of certain forest re- 

 serves in Idaho. His colleague, Sen- 

 ator Dubois, on the contrary, enthu- 

 siastically recommends their establish- 

 ment, and declares that "to-day the 

 forest reserves are administered ' 

 for the sole purpose of conferring the 

 greatest benefit on the communities in 

 which the respective reserves are situ- 

 ated." 



One of the most striking passages 

 of Senator Dubois's letter is that in 

 which he asserts that the federal ad- 

 ministration is now in fullest harmony 

 with the desires of disinterested citi- 

 zens throughout the West. He declares 

 that he never at any time opposed the 

 policy itself, though at first, with col- 

 leagues from the Rocky Mountain re- 

 gion, he "contended against the meth- 

 ods which were used in creating, main- 

 taining, and controlling the reserves." 

 "During the time when the forest re- 

 serves were first created," he writes, 

 "reserves were created without suffi- 

 cient safeguards to protect stock rais- 

 ers, miners, lumbermen, agriculturists, 

 and people of our section generally. 

 The fight of the western men was con- 

 stant and united. Our demands were 

 set forth in num/erous speeches, and 

 finally were acceded to. The policy 

 which controls the creation of forest 

 reserves to-day and their administra- 

 tion is substantially the policy which 

 the Representatives of the Western 

 States in Congress have contended 

 for, and is substantially what the West, 

 through its Representatives, contended 

 for." 



The President, in one of his letters, 

 replies vigorously to the protests of 

 Senator Heyburn. The folowing sen- 

 tences occur : 



"The government policy in estab- 

 lishing national forest reserves has 

 been in effect for some time ; its good 



