300 



CONSERVATION 



and of the character of the land, and the 

 timber and other growth, along these bound- 

 aries. 



Repeated charges, well known to be base- 

 less by those actually acquainted with the 

 situation on the ground, have been made, 

 that the National Forests contain vast areas 

 of agricultural land. Whatever agricultural 

 lands may be found along the boundaries will 

 be restored to entry, for one of the strongest 

 desires of the Forest Service now and in the 

 past is that any agricultural lands which 

 may "have been included in National Forests 

 should be open to use for agricultural pur- 

 poses. Indeed, this is already provided for 

 in the Act of June n, 1906. The Forest 

 Service undertook the mapping of the Na- 

 tional Forest boundaries on its own initiative 

 in the regular line of its work and in pur- 

 suance of general plans laid years ago. 



I have been greatly interested, but not at 

 all surprised by the persistent circulation of 

 these rumors. President Taft's statement to 

 me, coupled with his authority to make it 

 public, should set them at rest once and for 

 all. The present administration is in the 

 fullest sympathy with forestry and conserva- 

 tion. Friends of these movements should 

 recognize their obligation to the President 

 for his prompt and direct support. 



That friends of conservation should 

 be deeply interested in the attitude of 

 the President toward the question 

 they have so much at heart was to be 

 expected. The strong stand taken by 

 President Roosevelt, his earnest and 

 frequent utterances and, better still, his 

 aggressive policy, have brought a large 

 and increasing body to the point where 

 they expect, and are disposed to insist, 

 not only that no backward steps shall 

 be taken, but that a vigorous forward 

 policy shall in every way be promoted. 



President Roosevelt' s policy was thor- 

 oughgoing, and it continued to the end of 

 his administration. Notwithstanding the 

 congressional attempt, about a year ago, 

 to check the extension of National For- 



ests met, as will be remembered, by a 

 very material enlargement of those for- 

 ests by the President before he signed 

 the bill limiting the executive power- 

 one of the last official acts of President 

 Roosevelt was the signing of procla- 

 mations creating additions to National 

 Forests in Nevada, South Dakota, Cali- 

 fornia, New Mexico and Arizona, ag- 

 gregating 26,761,626 acres, thus bring- 

 ing the total National Forest area up to 

 194,500,053 acres. 



On this matter, as on some others, 

 President Taft has been much less out- 

 spoken than his distinguished prede- 

 cessor, and the question arose in many 

 minds as to what might be expected. 

 The abolition of the National Conserva- 

 tion Commission was a severe shock to 

 the friends of conservation, though this 

 act is attributed, not to the President, 

 but to Congress. Still, a strong, earn- 

 est word from the White House was 

 awaited with deep interest. Such a state- 

 ment, in part, was found in the Presi- 

 dent's letter of March 24, reported in 

 our news columns, to Mr. John Hays 

 Hammond, of the Joint Engineering 

 Societies. In this the President says: 

 "I have already pledged the administra- 

 tion to as full support as possible to 

 the policy (of the conservation of the 

 natural resources of the country), and 

 I am glad to renew my expression of 

 sympathy with the movement." The 

 statement issued by Forester Pinchot 

 adds, in point of fullness, to the above ; 

 and when, as is expected, the President 

 makes, in his coming message to Con- 

 gress, a full and formal declaration, it 

 is believed that all fear of indifference 

 on this subject on the part of the pres- 

 ent administration will be set at rest. 



