INITIATING A STATE FOREST POLICY 



IN KENTUCKY 



By J. E. BARTON, State Forester 



TO a man who undertakes the task what a wide-spread ignorance with 

 of organizing a forest policy in regard to forestry there is, even among 

 any State, I feel certain a great educated and well-informed people. It 

 many situations and circum- is against this stone wall of ignorance 

 stances which arise will come as a shock, that a State Forester is continually 

 especially if, heretofore, his earnest en- butting his head and for that reason 

 deavors have been confined to private one of the chief features of any policy 

 work, teaching or work in the federal he may initiate must be educational 

 Forest Service. There is a poem en- exposition of what he is trying to 

 titled, "In Kentucky," which contains accomplish. He must talk and write 

 these lines "Politics are the damdest Forestry continually and must take 

 in Kentucky," and the force of this advantage of every opportunity to 

 statement with relation to the initiation arouse an interest in forestry and con- 

 of a forest policy in the State I have servation problems. In this connection, 

 felt most keenly. By no means do I I have undertaken lectures at Farmers 

 desire to give the impression that Institutes and meetings of diverse 

 politics in Kentucky are worse or more character; wherever, in fact, the oppor- 

 in evidence than in any other State; tunity presented itself. I have taken 

 but since I have been myself engaged the matter up through Women's Clubs, 

 in State work my observation here and the Boy Scouts, and through the Edu- 

 elsewhere has been that the political cational Department of the State. A 

 exigencies of the State, the party, and plan is now under way to organize 

 the individual are the "form factor" of Boys' and Girls' Forestry Clubs through- 

 the situation as far as a State forest out the State on the same general lines 

 policy is concerned. An adequate prep- as Boys' Corn Clubs and Girls' Canning 

 aration for the office of State Forester Clubs are organized by the United 

 would involve, among other important States Department of Agriculture. It 

 features, a course in county politics and seems to me that the hope of forestry in 

 training for the diplomatic service, the State and in the United States lies in 

 Then, if the receptive individual is an intelligent understanding of the 

 long on suavity, patience and tact, he problem by the rising generations and 

 will probably hold his job through one that through the children a sense of the 

 administration and accomplish some importance of the problem will be 

 effective work. The people of the brought into a large number, if not the 

 South love politics and the Southerner majority, of the homes within the corn- 

 is a born politician, which facts should monwealth and the nation, 

 be written in large letters in the mind Of course, a wide dissemination of 

 of such persons as seek to initiate forest literature on forestry is desirable and 

 policies in the Southern States. this should be as timely and helpful 

 It is perfectly astonishing, when one in a practical way as it can be made if 

 considers the length of time during it is to count for anything in enhancing 

 which there has been a concrete forest the value of a forest policy for the State, 

 policy for the United States, the amount For instance, it has been my observation 

 of literature that has been published in that one of the important problems for 

 this country concerning forestry and Kentucky (certainly in the Blue Grass 

 conservation generally, the discussions, Section and Western Kentuck 

 lectures and talks upon this subject raising of fence post material, 

 that have been staged everywhere, exhaustive study of the species 



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