REPORT ON EXAMINATION OF THE FOREST RESERVES. 



By Gifford Pinohot. 



I. BOUNDARIES. 

 AREA. 



The forest reserves established under the act of March 3, 1891, 

 consist almost entirely of mountainous lands valuable for the produc- 

 tion of timber, but for the most part incapable of making any other 

 contribution to the national wealth. Their capacity for the sustained 

 production of wood is, however, vast, and of itself forms an imperative 

 reason for their protection. Their estimated area is 38,944,640 acres, 

 or 60,8.51 square miles, of which more than one-half has been suspended 

 until March 1, 1898, so that the reserves at present fairly protected 

 against loss by sale or entry embrace less than 19,000,000 acres. It 

 will, however, be necessary in this report to deal with all the reserves 

 as being equally subject to administration by the Government, without 

 reference to the suspension of some of them. 



The estimate of area given above is based upon the total numl)er of 

 acres included within the boundaries of the reserves. It disregards 

 the acquired rights of settlers and miners, the grants of school lands, 

 and the very considerable area covered by the land grants of various 

 rail and wagon roads. A sulficiently reliable estimate of the loss to the 

 reserves from settlement and mining claims is not available at this time; 

 nor will it probably be reached in the near future, since, under the law, 

 rights acquired to lands within the reserves may be exchanged for simi- 

 lar rights to unreserved lands without limit as to time. Sections 16 and 

 36 have been granted as school lands in every township throughout 

 the reserves, but title does not pass until after the lands are surveyed. 

 Where these lands are disposed of by the Government before survey 

 lieu lands must be selected elsewhere to make their loss good. Where 

 the lands have been surveyed it is believed that the right of exchange, 

 mentioned above as applicable to individuals, should enable the States 

 also to transfer their claims from lands within the reserves to lands 

 without them. An approximation to the area of railroad lands within 

 the boundaries prepared for this report by the General Land Ofdce 

 indicates that the loss from this source may be in the neighborhood of 

 4,000,000 acres, Accurate figures are out of reach on account of unde- 



' This report is divided into tliree parts, of wliicli the first deals with boundaries 

 and general policy, this second with administration, and the third with 18 of the 

 forest reserves, in alphabetical order. The English names of trees have been made 

 to conform, With some important exceptions, to the list contained in Bulletin 14 of 

 the Division of Forestry, Department of Agriculture. The Latin names, a list of 

 which will be found at the end, are taken from the same document without change. 



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