THE IRRIGATION AGE. 



39 



LAND CLASSIFICATION GIVES NATIONAL FORESTS 



PERMANENCE 



As a result 

 of land classi- 

 fication work, 

 more than eight 

 million acres 

 were eliminated 

 from the Na- 

 tional Forests in 

 the last fiscal 

 year and, in ad- 

 dition, over 1,100 

 individual tracts 

 within the for- 

 ests were made 

 available for 

 homestead entry, 

 according to the 

 annual report of 

 Henry S. Graves, 

 chief of the for- 

 est service, 

 which empha- 

 sizes the neces- 

 sarily permanent 

 character of the National Forests, and points out 

 the importance of definitely determining the status 

 of the land which the forests contain. 



"The National Forests," says Mr. Graves, "are 

 gaining in stability through the land classification 

 work. It is important for the general public to 

 know what lands are to be retained permanently by 

 the Government, and what lands will be available 

 for agricultural settlement. The whole forest enter- 

 prise is based on the assumption of permanence. 

 All the work is conducted with a view to construct- 

 ive development of the property and its constantly 

 increasing usefulness. 



"Every timber sale is made with a view to 

 future consequences. The work of protection from 

 fire is not only to prevent the destruction of stand- 

 ing timber, but to save young growth and encour- 

 age the natural reproduction of lands which have 

 been injured by previous abuse. Millions of trees 

 are established each year which will not come to 

 maturity for a very long time. A regulated system 

 of grazing looks to the upbuilding of the Forest 

 range, as well as to its present use, and the invest- 

 ment of public funds in extensive improvements is 

 predicated on the permanence of the Government 

 enterprise. 



The need for consolidating land ownership 

 where government and private lands are interlocked 

 is pointed out by Mr. Graves. Congress has, he 

 states, already authorized an exchange of lands on 

 the Florida, the Oregon and the Whitman National 

 forests. Under the same policy exchanges have 

 been or are being negotiated with South Dakota, 

 Montana, Idaho and Washington for school lands 

 in the National Forests located in those states. The 

 consummation of three of these exchanges now 

 awaits final approval by Congress. 



Concrete Lined Canal, Garden City, Kansas, Irrigation Project. 



Other meas- 

 ures which will 

 have a far-reach- 

 ing significance 

 in relation to the 

 per manence of 

 the National for- 

 ests, says the re- 

 port, are the ap- 

 p r o priation by 

 Congress at its 

 last session of 

 ten million dol- 

 lars for the con- 

 struction of roads 

 within the for- 

 ests and that of 

 three million dol- 

 lars to extend 

 the National 

 Forests in the 

 eastern m o u n- 

 tains by pur- 

 chase. "The ap- 



propriation for the construction of roads will per- 

 mit the opening up of regions heretofore inaccess- 

 ible, will greatly increase the use of the resources in 

 the forests, will shorten lines of travel across the 

 states and between communities, will stimulate 

 prospecting and mining in mineral regions and will 

 aid community upbuilding. 



"The importance of having public forests at 

 the headwaters of important streams has been rec- 

 ognized and greatly emphasized through the appro- 

 priation of $3,000,000 for continued purchases of 

 lands begun under the so-called Weeks law. The 

 work of establishing these forests has been started 

 under the most favorable auspices, and its discon- 

 tinuance would have been peculiarly unfortunate. 

 W T ith the new appropriation the purchases may 

 now go forward with a view to blocking out and 

 extending the various units." 



14,908,127 ACRES OF LAND OPEN TO HOME- 

 STEADERS 



There are 14,908,127 acres of government land open 

 to homestead entry, of which about 4,000,000 is 

 suitable for cultivation. Perhaps a somewhat larger 

 amount is valuable for grazing purposes, and 6,000,000 

 acres, including some of the agricultural and grazing 

 land, is mineralized. A large acreage of government 

 land yet open to entry is underlaid with coal. For 

 further information address Irrigation Age. 



