120 UNITED STATES FOREST POLICY 



incapacity to deal intelligently with the public timber; and all hope 

 for future conservation must center in the provision which would take 

 some of the timber lands out of the hands of Congress — the provision 

 enabling the President to set aside forest reserves. 



THE CREATION OF NEW RESERVES 

 The President's new power was not long unused. Within less than 

 a month after the passage of the Forest Reserve Act, President Harri- 

 son proclaimed the Yellowstone National Park Reserve, adjoining 

 Yellowstone Park in Wyoming,^ and in September of the same year 

 added still another section to the reserve, giving it an area of over a 

 million acres. ^ In October, he set aside the White River Plateau Re- 

 serve in Colorado, of over a million acres, ^ and the following year 

 several reserves in various regions of the West. President Harrison 

 established altogether fifteen forest reserves, embracing an estimated 

 area of over thirteen million acres.* 



President Cleveland, in the first year of his second administration, 

 established two reserves in Oregon, embracing nearly five million 

 acres ; but here he stopped, and took no further action for several 

 years — because he found that the reservation of these lands secured 

 no special protection. Congress had made no provision for their pro- 

 tection, and they stood in the same position as unreserved lands. 



THE NEED FOR PROTECTION OF THE RESERVED LANDS 

 The need for protection of the new forest reserves was very soon 

 perceived and constantly urged upon Congress. In 1891, Secretary 

 of the Interior Noble pointed out the necessity for better care of the 

 new Yellowstone Reserve.^ In the same year, and repeatedly there- 

 after, the American Forestry Association urged legislation on the 

 subject.® In 1893, Commissioner of the Land Office Lamoreux called 

 attention to the inadequacy of the laws and appropriations for pro- 

 tecting the reserves from timber trespassers and forest fires. ^ Almost 



1 Stat. 26, 1565. 



2 Stat. 27, 989. 



3 Stat. 27, 993. 



4 Report, Land Office, 1894, 438. 



6 Report, Sec. of Int., 1891, CXXXVIII. 



6 Proceedings, Am. Forestry Assoc, 1891-92-93, 12; 1894-95-96, 75. 



7 Report, Land Office, 1893, 79. 



