1906 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



543 



al to allow them to consolidate their 

 holdings of timber within forest re- 

 serves by exchange after deeding their 

 lands to the government, and thus to 

 cut within a limited time solid bodies 

 of timber instead of alternate sections, 

 although the amount of timber in each 

 case would be the same. It is possible 

 that legislation will be required to au- 

 thorize this or a similar arrangement 

 with the railroads and other owners. 

 If so, I recommend that it be enacted. 



WORKING CAPITAL FOR NATIONAL 

 FORESTS. 



The money value of the national for- 

 ests now reserved for the use and bene- 

 fit of the people exceeds considerably 

 the sum of one thousand millions of 

 dollars. The stumpage value of the 

 standing timber approaches seven hun- 

 dred million dollars, and, together with 

 the range and timber lands, the water 

 for irrigation and power, and the sub- 

 sidiary reaches an amount equal to 

 that of the national property now un- 

 der the immediate control of the army 

 and navy together. But this vast do- 

 main is withheld from serving the na- 

 tion as freely and fully as it might by 

 the lack of capital to develop it. The 

 yearly running expenses are sufficient- 

 ly met by the annual appropriation 

 and the proceeds of the forests. Un- 

 der the care of the forest service the 

 latter are increasing at the rate of more 

 than half a million dollars a year ; the 

 estimates of appropriation for the pres- 

 ent year is less than for last year, and 

 it is confidently expected that by 1910 

 the forest service will be entirely self- 

 supporting. In the meantime there is 

 the most urgent need for trails, fences, 

 cabins for the rangers, bridges, tele- 

 phone lines and other items of equip- 

 ment, without which the reserves can- 

 not be handled to advantage, cannot be 

 protected properly and cannot contrib- 

 ute as they should to the general wel- 

 fare. Expenditures for such perma- 

 nent improvements are properly charge- 

 able to capital account. The lack of 

 reasonable working equipment weak- 

 ens the protection of the national for- 

 ests and greatly limits their produc- 



tion. This want cannot be supplied 

 from the appropriation for running ex- 

 penses. The need is urgent. Accord- 

 ingly, I recommend that the Secretary 

 of the Treasury be authorized to ad- 

 vance to the Forest Service, upon the 

 security of the standing timber, an 

 amount, say, $5,000,000, sufficient to 

 provide a reasonable working capital 

 for the national forests, to bear inter- 

 est and to be repaid in annual install- 

 ments beginning in ten years. 



TRANSFER OF THE NATIONAL PARKS. 



The national parks of the West are 

 forested and they lie without exception 

 within or adjacent to national forest 

 reserves. Two years ago the latter 

 were transferred to the care of the 

 Secretary of Agriculture, with the 

 most satisfactory results. The same 

 reasons which led to this transfer make 

 advisable a similar transfer of the na- 

 tional parks, now in charge of the 

 Secretary of the Interior, and I recom- 

 mend legislation to that end. 



INDIAN LANDS. 



Within or adjoining national forests 

 are considerable areas of Indian lands 

 of more value under forest than for 

 any other purpose. It would aid great- 

 ly in putting these lands to their best 

 use if the power to create national 

 forests by proclamation were extended 

 to cover them. The Indians should be 

 paid the full value of any land thus 

 taken for public purposes from the 

 proceeds of the lands themselves, but 

 such land should revert to the Indians 

 if it is excluded from national forest 

 use before full payment has been 

 made. 



GOVERNMENT CONTROL OF GRAZING. 



The control of grazing in the na- 

 tional forests is an assured success. 

 The condition of the range is improv- 

 ing rapidly, water is being developed, 

 much feed formerly wasted is now 

 saved and used, range controversies 

 are settled, opposition to the grazing 

 fee is practically at an end, and the 

 stockmen are earnestly supporting the 

 Forest Service and co-operating with 

 it effectively for the improvement of 

 the range. 



