the National Forests 



values it obviously becomes good public policy to sacrifice the 

 lesser interest to the greater. 



Actually this is the situation which arises in many restricted 

 areas. In the White Mountains of New Hampshire, for exam- 

 ple, are a number of very beautiful neighborhoods the charm of 

 Avhich could be quickly annihilated by heedless stripping of the 

 forests. These specific localities have a high recreation value 

 enjoyed by thousands of persons annually — a value immeas- 

 urably greater than that to be reaped from a sale of the lumber. 

 The preservation of such tracts for their purely scenic and 

 recreational values seems hardly open to debate. The only 

 questions are just what areas must be preserved for their land- 

 scape beauty, how they shall be defined, and how they shall be 

 managed to secure their largest contribution to the beautv of 

 the landscape. An early study should be made in the White 

 Mountain Forest to determine these very matters. 



There are hundreds of areas within the National Forests 

 where similar reservations should be made for the same ends 

 and on the basis of similar investigations. One other outstand- 

 ing example deserves special mention. This is the scenery of 

 Lake Chelan in central Washington. Here we have an ancient 

 glacial gorge now dammed by the moraine at its mouth and filled 

 with the deep blue waters of many glaciers. These glaciers 

 hanging on the steep alpine heights which shut in the lake 

 are reflected, along with the white rolling clouds upon the 

 mountain summits, in the glassy waters below. If one had the 

 wildest fjord of Norway brought inland and filled with sweet 

 and quiet waters, or if one had Lake Brienz of Switzerland 

 extended to a length of 50 miles, one would have a possible 

 competitor for Lake Chelan; but until such improvements in 

 terrestrial topography can be made this lake is unique. It 

 is in short, and without exaggeration or qualification, one of 

 the best landscapes in the world. 



