American Forestry 



VOL. XVIII FEBRUARY, 1912 No. 2 



THE PROGRESS OF FORESTRY* 



BY HON. ROBT. P. BASS 



GOVERNOR OF NEW HAMPSHIRE 



T is a source of deep satisfaction for us to contemplate the large acreage 

 of forest lands that have passed into public ownership and manage- 

 ment in this country since the forestry movement started. The forest 

 reserves which were created in 1891, and later more appropriately named "Na- 

 tional Forests," have been increased in area and now include about 190,000,000 

 acres. Many state forest reservations have been created, established, so that at 

 the present time about one-fifth of the forest area in the country is owned by 

 the public. To this extent at least has a system of management looking toward 

 the protection, improvement and wise use of our timber supply present and fu- 

 ture been insured for the benefit of all the people. It is particularly gratifying 

 to note the growth in technical efficiency by which we are rapidly realizing the 

 best ideals in the management of these public forests. 



The states are also coming to the front, recognizing their duties in pro- 

 viding efficient fire protection, aiding private owners in reforesting waste lands 

 and in educating the public in the best methods of handling timber lands. 

 There are now twenty-three states that maintain active departments of for- 

 estry. Of these twelve employ technical foresters in charge of all state for- 

 estry activities. 



While we are rejoicing in the changed attitude of the public mind toward 

 forestry, let us continue to exert our influence to maintain and steadily im- 

 prove public forest policies. Above all, let us recognize that a great field of 

 usefulness awaits our efforts in bringing about a more economic management 

 of private forests. At present about four-fifths of the timberiands of the 

 country are in private hands and it is our earnest desire to see as great 

 progress in this field during the next decade as the past decade has witnessed 

 in public forestry. 



The total timber cut of the country in 1900 was 35 billion feet, in 1905 37y 2 

 billion, and 1909 44 1 /fc billion. The enormous increase shown by these figures 



*Address of Hon. Robt. P. Bass, President of the American Forestry Association, at 

 the annual meeting in Washington, D. C., on Jan. 9, 1912. 



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