FIFTH NATIONAL CONSERVATION CONGRESS SS? 



ment itself is largely fallacious. The taxable value of much timber in remote 

 and inaccessible regions is, to say the least, very problematical ; and the perpetual 

 income the State will eventually receive from sales of the stumpage when acces- 

 sible must far exceed any amount that could be received from taxes. At the 

 present time 25% of the gross proceeds from national forests is paid to the State 

 for road and school purposes in the counties whence derived. Ten per cent more 

 must be spent locally by the Government for road work. While this total, 35%, 

 is not now a large sum in all States, it is considerable, and timber sales are now 

 increasing so rapidly both in number and amount that the revenue received by 

 the States will soon amount to large sums. This is a permanent revenue. 



CHARACTER OF FOREST LANDS 



MUCH is made of the area of the national forests and withdrawal thereby 

 of lands from settlement and use. Analysis and examination is neces- 

 sary if a right conclusion is to be reached. We may wonder why, 

 when this statement is made, three other facts are not stated; first, the situation 

 of the lands; second, the reason for non-classification; third, the purpose of the 

 withdrawal. It would seem that the public, to whom such appeals are made 

 and arguments presented, should have all the facts and not merely a part of them. 

 In connection with this particular topic Oregon is perhaps a fairly illustrative 

 State, as the amount of lands in the national forests in this State are very great. 

 Its topographic features are much like other forest States. The net acreage in 

 the national forests in Oregon, for example, is about 13,658,679, certainly a vast 

 area. Much of it, however, is situated in the highest and most inaccessible 

 regions of the State, far removed from transportation facilities, a fact to which 

 no consideration is ever given when criticisms are being made of the failure to 

 sell ripe timber by the Forest Service. Much of the area is so broken and the 

 slopes so steep as to make cultivation out of the question. Approximately 43 

 per cent of this area is at an altitude of more than 5,000 feet above sea level. 

 About 17% per cent 4,000 to 5,000 feet above sea level, and about 9 per cent 

 3,000 to 4,000 feet above sea level. On these mountains the forests stand as 

 guardians of our water sheds, affecting not only this State but other States as 

 well, a matter of direct concern to the well being of every citizen now living or 

 hereafter to live in the vast domain protected by them. 



REAL HINDRANCES TO SETTLEMENT 



IT is true there are lands within the forests that are agricultural and should 

 be restored for settlement. No one disputes this fact. While restorations 

 have not been made as rapidly as many of us would like and feel they should 

 be, to what extent this is the fault of the Forest Service and to what extent the 

 fault of Congress, in not providing funds for classification to be made as required 

 by law, is seldom understood. The entire fault is generally cast upon the Forest 

 Service. Both causes have operated, but it is not to be doubted that Congressional 

 economy has been potent. Moreover, large areas are constantly being restored, 

 the law requires it and those responsible for the conduct of the department have 



