riculturists have a plan for control of the forest fire menace at the same 

 time serves to point out an important fact which is that interests 

 which hitherto have been at variance are at last coming together. 

 Farmers are beginning to get in on the foresters' problem, in a helpful 

 way, at least hereabouts, that is, in the area of the Lake States. 



The Northwest Michigan Development Bureau, with headquarters 

 at Traverse City, in the general location where have occurred the 

 worst of the Lower Peninsula forest fires of recent date, adopted at 

 one of its meetings not long ago a set of resolutions calling for state 

 control and administration of the worst of the slash lands. 



"Thousands of acres of cut-over land lying idle in Michigan are a 

 menace to surrounding lands. They are a breeding place for grass- 

 hoppers and are fire traps," say these agriculturists; and when they 

 speak of fire they have the full accord of Upper Peninsula men on 

 grazing lands, whose flocks and herds have been driven many miles at 

 times by fire, often perishing. 



PASTURAGE SUGGESTED. 



Say the Northwestern Michigan agriculturists: "It is possible to 

 handle these lands in such a manner that all lands suitable to. 

 reforestation could be planted and cared for; and all lands suitable 

 for pasturage could be used for that purpose. 



"Cut-over pine lands not owned by the state could be condemned, 

 a just value placed by a competent board of appraisers and the owners 

 reimbursed. This should be done only when a majority of the free- 

 holders of a township or a county request it. The township or county 

 requesting such action by 4;he state could agree to keep the fire lines 

 open, the initial cost to be borne by the state. The township or 

 county could also agree to maintain a fire warden. 



The shrewd policy dictating this proposal mayliot at first appear to 

 the general reader. Here is a proposition, not for the state to step on 

 to private lands, perhaps at the behest of a state forestry department 

 which wants acres allotted to it for free planting, but for communities 

 themselves to put the first stigma of non-agricultural availability and 

 existing menace upon private property the state to accede to the 

 proposition only on proofs arising among the people who know the 

 lands as neighbors and naturally would be interested in seeing the land 

 exploited for agriculture, if there were any hope of that outcome. 



PRIVILEGE TO COUNTY. 



"In order to furnish an incentive for a township or county to make 

 such a request (for condemnation)," the north country men continue, 

 "the state could agree to reforest such land as would be suitable for 

 reforestation and give the township or county the privilege of 

 pasturing cattle on the land. This would be a great boon for the live 

 stock industry, as the live stock men would be reasonably sure that 

 fires would not destroy their pastures in the middle of the season." 



North Michigan live stock men are taking a leaf from the book of 

 the western herdsmen. First fighting forest conservation, these latter 

 finally became reconciled to grazing fees on Federal forest lands, 

 finally finding, by all accounts, that the forest conservation "cranks" 

 were actually working to the stockmen's advantage. Grazing fees pay 

 a large part of the forest activities on Government lands in the West. 



"Making the township or county a co-operator would insure a 

 greater measure of success than would be possible in a state under- 

 taking," conclude the North Michigan men. "It might be made 

 compulsory for a township or county having a certain percentage of 



44 



