A LETTER TO OUR MEMBERS 



On December i8th the following 

 letter was addressed to the members 

 of the American Forestry Associa- 

 tion by the Secretary : 



The year just closing has been one 

 of great activity for the Association. 

 The magazine, FORESTRY AND IRRIGA- 

 TION, has been purchased and mater- 

 ially improved. Weekly press bulle- 

 tins have, since July ist, gone to fif- 

 teen hundred newspapers; 118,937 

 circular letters and 125,437 folders 

 have been distributed. The Secretary 

 has delivered 37 addresses in 12 

 States, and 1,647 new members have 

 been added to our rolls. 



The forest problem is far-reaching. 

 Through timber supply alone it af- 

 fects the welfare of the whole Nation. 

 As the following testimonies show, 

 it underlies the problems of irrigation, 

 drainage, soil conservation, control 

 and use of rivers and the safeguard- 

 ing of the public health. 



The 

 Message 



We have made a be- 

 ginning in forest preser- 

 vation, but . . . only a 

 beginning . . . The country is un- 

 questionably on the verge of a tim- 

 ber famine . . . The only trouble 

 with the movement for the preserva- 

 tion of our forests is that it has not 

 gone nearly far enough, and was not 

 begun soon enough. It is a most 

 fortunate thing, however, that we be- 

 gan it when we did. We should ac- 

 quire in the Appalachian and White 

 Mountain regions all the forest lands 

 that it is possible to acquire for the 

 use of the Nation. These lands, be- 

 cause they form a National asset, are 

 as emphatically National as the river- 

 which they feed, and which flow 

 through so many States before they 

 reach the ocean. 



THEODORE ROOSKVKI.T, 



President. 



United States will last probably from 

 twenty to thirty-three 



When the forests fail, the Km 

 business, now the fourth greatest in- 

 dustry in the country, will, of cour 

 disappear. Suffering among all 

 building industries will immediately 

 follow ; mining will become greatly 

 more expensive; then naturally the 

 price of coal, iron, and all other min- 

 erals will rise; by this the railroads 

 will be directly affected and the cost 

 of transportation and water power 

 for lighting, manufacturing and trans- 

 portation will immediately increase. 

 All goods made from products of the 

 mines will increase in price, which 

 will hamper, not only agriculture, but 

 the cost of production generally. In 

 fine, when the forests fail, every man, 

 woman and child in the United States 

 will feel the pinch. And through mis- 

 use the forests are failing rapidly. 

 GIFFORD PINCHOT, Forester. 



Redeeming In six ^ rs the Govern- 

 the Desert rnent has reclaimed 



250,000 acres. upon 

 which are now living 20.000 people, 

 representing 4.000 families. It is a 

 reasonable estimate that, in another 

 decade. 2,000.000 more acres may be 

 reclaimed, upon which 250,000 more 

 human brings may maintain them- 

 selves in reasonable comfort. 



The water for this work comes 

 chiefly from streams rising in moun- 

 tains. To maintain the -upply of this 

 water, it i< e^entinl that be 



maintained upon these mountain-;. To 

 this end. National Fo- re indis- 



pensable. 



!'. 1 1. NEWELL, />.' 



I ' . S. /\\\-!(i>uati. 



Saving 

 the Soil 



Forest 

 Destruction 



Under present policies 

 of use and waste, the 

 timber supply of the 



The waterways of the 

 United States annually 

 sweep from land to sea 

 a billion tons of i-arth. ' 'f this, 

 ninety per cent, i- chiefly soil matter. 

 In weight it i> comparable with the 

 total tonna: '11 our railroad- and 



river and Ink' I !>ulk is 



one-fifth of a cubic mi'' I '|tinN a 



