554 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



December 



the permanence of this great resource 

 is assured. I wish to commend par- 

 ticularly in this connection the hearti- 

 ness and good spirit with which the as- 

 sociations of western stockmen have 

 co-operated in our efforts to enforce 

 fair and just measures for the regula- 

 tion of grazing in the interest of the 

 public, to whom these forests belong. 

 The charge of a grazing fee. made for 

 tie first time during the past year, 

 though reasonable in view of the ad- 

 vantages of grazing regulation to the 

 stockmen and the cost of reserve ad- 

 ministration to the Government, and 

 justly due in the interest of the public, 

 might have been expected to cause 

 dissatisfaction and friction. On the 

 contrary, as soon as the reasons for 

 the charge and the method in which 

 it would be applied had been ex- 

 plained, it was generally approved and 

 paid willingly and promptly. It was 

 followed by no falling off in the num- 

 ber of stock grazed in the reserves. In 

 some cases the associations of stock- 

 men have voluntarily aided the Ser- 

 vice in settling local difficulties. Their 

 whole conduct has shown remarkable 

 moderation, far-sightedness, and read- 

 iness to recognize and accept what is 

 in the permanent interest of their in- 

 dustry, even though it involves the 

 sacrifice of immediate personal advan- 

 tage. 



LUMBER FOR USE. 



Finally, Forest Service administra- 

 tion of the reserves is beneficial alike 

 to the lumber industry and to the tim- 

 ber-consuming public. There is now 

 standing on the reserves not less than 

 300,000,000,000 board feet of mer- 

 chantable timber. This is not locked 

 up from present use as a hoarded sup- 

 ply against future needs ; it is ready 

 for the immediate demands of a de- 

 veloping country. It will not be rushed 

 upon the wholesale market in compe- 

 tition with the cheap stumpage prices 

 of private owners anxious for ready 

 money, and it will not be disposed of 

 under a shortsighted policy of utiliza- 

 tion which would leave a gap between 

 the end of the present supply and the 



oncoming of the second crop ; but it is 

 and will continue to be available, first 

 for the small user home-builder, 

 rancher, or miner and then for the 

 needs of lumber concerns, large min- 

 ers, and railroads for which a timber 

 supply is indispensable, and which in 

 turn are indispensable to the prosperity 

 of the West. 



WOOD FOR THE FUTURE. 



The supply of timber furnshed by 

 the matured crop now on the ground 

 is so vast in proportion to the present 

 demand that there might seem to be 

 no need for caution in its use. Were 

 no more cut than last year it would 

 suffice for four hundred years. In the 

 mature forest production is at a stand- 

 still, so that from the point of view of 

 the largest possible production of tim- 

 ber lumbering under such methods as 

 will insure a second crop is highly de- 

 sirable. The demand upon the re- 

 serves, however, is as yet insignificant 

 in proportion to even the present need, 

 most of which is met by the supply 

 from private holdings. The reserves 

 form the heart of the western timber 

 lands. They are generally less acces- 

 sible than the private holdings which 

 surround them, and would naturally 

 form the last resource of the lumber- 

 man. They must be so maintained as 

 first of all to be ready to meet the fu- 

 ture demands of the regions in which 

 they lie. With a growing population 

 and expanding industries these de- 

 mands will far exceed those of the 

 present. The crucial problem of man- 

 agement will be to insure a timber and 

 water supply for the great West, and 

 to conserve the summer stock ranges. 

 To meet it successfully will require 

 careful foresight and the best techni- 

 cal information. Timber sales are now 

 made with strict attention to the wel- 

 fare of the forest, and at stumpage 

 prices often decidedly in advance of 

 the market. 



RESERVES SOON SELF-SUSTAIN" I XG. 



The income from the reserves is as 

 vet but a small fraction of what may 

 be expected as they approach full util- 



