310 REPORT OF THg FORESTRY COMMITTEE 



In 1911, the State inspector was given the power to withdraw from service 

 any locomotive without satisfactory fire protective equipment. In the same year 

 a change was made in the town fire warden system, depriving the State fire 

 warden of the appointive power formerly held, and making the town chairman 

 ex-officio fire warden and the superintendent of highways assistant town fire 

 wardens. This new system has not yet been tried out in a bad fire year, but it 

 appears to be unwise legislation which substitutes a continually changing set of 

 local officials for an organization where officers can be removed if inefficient or 

 retained year after year if their services are satisfactory. 



Aside from the appointment of town wardens and regulation of railroads, 

 little legislation has been enacted in Wisconsin toward the prevention and con- 

 trol of forest fires. 



On the State-owned forest, a complete fire protective organization exists. 

 Telephone lines, lookout towers, camps, roads, fire lines and trails are being con- 

 structed. 



Wisconsin receives assistance through the Weeks law appropriation for the 

 protection of the watersheds of navigable streams. 



Last season twelve State rangers, twelve Federal patrolmen and six patrol- 

 men, maintained by private interests, were in the field and this force patrolled an 

 area of 1,860,000 acres of State and private land. 



During the past two years 160 miles of old logging railroad grades were con- 

 verted into highways and serve as excellent fire lines. One hundred and eigh- 

 teen miles of other fire lines were cleared through the forests; most of these 

 follow old railroad grades, and, where possible, connect rivers, lakes or highways. 

 Four 55-foot steel towers were built for lookout stations and 56 miles of telephone 

 line constructed for protection purposes. 



WYOMING 



ABOUT sixteen per cent of the land area of the State, or 10,000,000 acres, is 

 forested. Of this amount over 8% million acres are within the exterior 

 ^boundaries of National Forests where fire protection is systematically 

 carried on. The Yellowstone National Park, with a gross area of 2,142,720 acres, 

 and' a timbered area of about one-half this amount is also well protected by Fed- 

 eral troops and in cooperation with the Forest Service. 



So far as known there is little or no effort on the part of private owners to 

 systematically protect their property, fire protection being considered for the 

 thost part the function of the Government whose holdings form such a large 

 proportion of the timbered area. 



Wyoming's forest laws are insufficient, but owing to the comparatively small 

 acreage in private ownership, there has been no great incentive to enact forest 

 legislation. The State being a large owner of timber land, however, there is ap- 

 parent need for a well-defined policy in the handling of these lands, and this is 

 evidently the opinion of the land commissioner. 



Cooperation with the Forest Service in forest protection and management 

 and adequate laws governing the handling of State forest lands, are needed in 

 Wyoming. 



