Canadian Forestry Journal. September, ipij. 195 



PROBLEM OF SLASH DISPOSAL 



By 



Clyde Leavitt, 



Chief Fire Inspector, Board of Railway Commissioners; Forester, Commission of 

 Conservation; Director, Canadian Forestry Association. 



Beyond any doubt, fire is and always 

 has been the greatest enemy of the forest. 

 Lumbermen, as a class, are therefore m- 

 terested in everything which pertams 

 directly or indirectly to the prevention 

 or control of forest fires. This is theore- 

 tically true, notwithstanding the fact 

 that, even yet, some lumbermen— now 

 happily a minority— apparently base their 

 practice upon the theory that for the 

 most part preventive measures are im- 

 practicable, and that only Divine Provi- 

 dence, through the agency of rain, is 

 able to extinguish a forest firfie once it 

 gets under way. When such lumbermen, 

 together with a considerable portion of 

 the general public, once realize what is 

 really practicable in the way of reduction 

 of the fire loss, and how well worth 

 while such results would be from every 

 point of view, a revolution in existing 

 policies and methods will follow that 

 will at once check the present process 

 of annually converting vast areas of 

 non-agricultural lands into a desert con- 

 dition. 



Seven Starting Points. 



Although material improvements have 

 taken place in recent years, still the situ- 

 ation as a whole is far from satisfactory 

 over any considerable area anywhere in 

 Canada. Some of the points in connec- 

 tion with which further action is urgent- 

 ly needed are as follows: 



1. Adoption of the merit system for 

 the appointment of fire-rangers, replac- 

 ing the system of political appointments 

 now generally in effect. 



2. Larger staffs of fire-rangers. For 

 the most part, the present staffs are in- 

 adequate to afford really efficient pro- 

 tection. 



3. Appropriations on a much more 

 generous scale for the construction of 

 permanent improvements in forest sec- 

 tions, such as roads, trails, telephone 

 lines, lookout stations, etc. Such works 

 greatly facilitate the efforts of fire-rang- 

 ing staffs. 



4. Closer supervision of fire-rangers in 

 the field. Experience shows conclusive- 



ly that this is imperative, if efficient 

 results are to be secured. Too often, in 

 the past, fire-rangers have had practically 

 no supervision, and money thus spent is 

 largely wasted. 



5. Closer co-operation between all in- 

 terests concerned with forest protection. 

 In provinces where the limit-holders are 

 required to bear the whole cost of fire- 

 ranging on their limits, as is generally 

 the case in eastern Canada, experience 

 shows that the best results are secured 

 by the organization of co-operative asso- 

 ciations. Of these, two are already in 

 existence in the province of Quebec, 

 covering an area of some fifteen million 

 acres. It is greatly to be hoped that this 

 movement will spread, not only in Que- 

 bec, but also into Ontario and the ]Mari- 

 time Provinces. There has been brought 

 out, in the work of co-operative fire pro- 

 tection, a curious attitude of mind on the 

 part of some of the men in charge of 

 logging operations of firms and corproa- 

 tions who are association members. 

 Either because they are too ignorant to 

 appreciate the value of fire protection or 

 are jealous of any intrusion on what 

 they consider their own special domain, 

 or are afraid that the crude and wasteful 

 way they carry on their operations will 

 be discovered, these men put obstacles 

 in the way of fire rangers and let their 

 subordinates and foremen see their hos- 

 tile attitude, with the result that fires 

 are set by drive crews, dam keepers and 

 other woods workers. This causes the 

 anomalous situation of a concern paying 

 several thousands .of dollars each year 

 to put out fires set by its own emplo3'ees, 

 all of which could be prevented by pro- 

 per discipline. The spirit of true co- 

 operation should be instilled into these 

 men bj' their managers. Only by real 

 co-operation and the elimination of petty 

 jealousies can the best results be accom- 

 plished. 



Cut Over Lands. 



6. A translation into practice of the 

 theory that it is both practicable and 

 desirable to afford protection to cut- 



XoTE. — This article, written by Mr. Leavitt for the Canadian Forestry Associtaion, 

 appears also in the current issue, "(Sept. 15), of the "Canada Lumberman," of Tornoto. 



