1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



243 



need for its development the splendid 

 natural heritage that was sacrificed 

 rather than utilized. 



The productive power of the Pecos 

 River Forest Reserve is great, soil, 

 moisture, and heat conditions are of 

 the best, and three quarters of the re- 

 serve is land that will produce mer- 

 chantable timber. At the present time 

 the high cost of production and low 

 timber values make it impossible to 

 completely utilize the timber resources 

 of the reserve, but when the inevitable 

 era of cheap and economical production 

 and high timber values arrives, the re- 

 serve should be capable of an annual 

 production of five million feet. 



A factor that while of somewhat 

 lesser importance is still worthy of 

 note, is the value of the reserve as a 

 game retreat. Deer are rapidly in- 

 creasing in number and are so well 

 protected that they display little or no 

 fright at the sight of men. Bear and 

 mountain lions are plentiful as are 

 smaller animals, the rapidly decreasing 

 wild turkey is still to be found though 

 not in large numbers, while there is an 

 abundance of grouse and other game 

 birds. All of the rangers are commis- 

 sioned game wardens, with the right 

 to make arrests ; they are interested in 

 this branch of the work and have had 

 a prominent part in the enforcement 

 of the game laws. 



A fact that may be worthy of men- 

 tion is that private capital is beginning 

 to follow the example of the Govern- 

 ment in husbanding timber resources. 

 On the Maxwell and Mora land grants 

 systems of timber inspection have been 

 in effect for some time, inspectors are 

 employed and the rules in force rela- 

 tive to the cutting of timber are in 

 some respects more stringent than those 

 governing the Federal Forest Reser- 

 ves. A penalty is placed upon the cut- 

 ting of undersized timber, and upon 



the wastage of merchantable timber ; 

 while the anouncement is made that 

 any person starting a forest fire will 

 be prosecuted under the territorial 

 laws. Another case is that of the 

 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe Rail- 

 road which owns about a township of 

 timbered land adjacent to the reserve. 

 It has requested a prominent local 

 timber operator to take charge of its 

 holdings and to conduct the cuttings in 

 accordance with the rules and regula- 

 tions governing timber cuttings in for- 

 est reserves; the object being to hus- 

 band the timber resources of the land 

 and to secure as far as possible a per- 

 manent supply of timber. 



These movements are signifiant, and 

 indicate that the proclamations that 

 set aside the Pecos River Forest Re- 

 serve with the object of protecting the 

 numerous and varied interests con- 

 nected with it, were not made a day 

 too soon. 



The serious nature of the problem 

 which confronts the engineers will be 

 appreciated when it is known that since 

 the initiation of the work the Gila has 

 twice so changed its channel and the 

 topography of the country by cutting 

 out in places and building up in others 

 that re-surveys and plans of structure 

 have been made and re-made by reason 

 thereof. The levees are now ready for 

 construction, but until they are com- 

 pleted the uncertainty of the behavior 

 of the Gila renders it unwise to let the 

 work by contract under definite plans 

 as contractors must necessarily be gov- 

 erned by the conditions, and their bids 

 will be made high accordingly. There 

 is urgent need of haste. 



The Secretary of the Interior, rec- 

 ognizing these facts and upon recom- 

 mendation of the board of consulting 

 engineers who investigated the situa- 

 tion, has ordered that the work be un- 

 dertaken immediately by the Recla- 

 mation Service by force account. 



