THE USE OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 



WHY NATIONAL FORESTS WERE FIRST MADE. 



In 1 89 1 Congress authorized the President to establish 

 forest reserves (now called National Forests), and Pres- 

 ident Harrison created the first one — the Yellowstone — 

 that same year. 



Congress took this action because the forests of the 

 great mountain ranges in the West were being destroyed 

 very rapidly by fire and reckless cutting. It was real- 

 ized that Unless something were done to protect them, the 

 timber resources of the country and the many industries 

 dependent upon the forest would be badly crippled. So 

 the law aimed to save the timber for the use of the peo- 

 ple, and to hold the mountain forests as great sponges 

 to give out steady flows of water for use in the fertile 

 valleys below. 



At the start there was much opposition to the Forests. 

 Often this opposition was just; for although Congress 

 had set apart the lands and their resources it had made 

 no provision for their use or their protection . The timber 

 was simply locked up and left to burn. This mistake 

 was remedied in 1897, when a law was passed which 

 made it possible to use all the resources and give them 

 suitable protection. 



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