34 STATE OF MICHIGAN. 



amount of stock owned ^^•ithin, or in the vicinity of tlie Reserve being 

 quite small as yet. In District No. 1 the amount of stock is much larger, 

 in fact so large that a proper regulation of grazing on the Reserves 

 seemed necessary. During moist or favorable seasons there is a con- 

 siderable amount of grass-and-sedge-feed well reinforced by a large 

 amount of "br-ouse'' of young Poplar, Willow, JMaple and other "brush." 

 ^Miile always more or less destructive, to the young forest trees, it is 

 quite evident that under present conditions the good from I'easonable 

 and moderate grazing will balance the mischief done to the forest cover. 

 Besides the feed gathered by the stock direct, a considerable amount of 

 tall marsh grass is Iteing cut by the settlers of the vicinity in parts of the 

 Reserve. 



The hunting on the Reserve is done,. as on all State lands, without let 

 or hindrance, save the ordinary game laws of the State, and while little 

 remains to kill, the eager uimrod during each fall faithfully roams 

 over every section of the land and with his long range rifle, a weapon 

 fully as dangerous as light field ordnance succeeds chiefly in making 

 the district dangerous, as is clearly evidenced by the numerous acci- 

 dents wliich have become part of the regular fall program. To what 

 extent the troop of hunters, which visit these lands every year, are re- 

 sponsible for fires, as is so often charged against them, remains uncertain. 

 Certain it is that some method of control whereby certain persons would 

 be limited to certain districts and there held reasonably responsible for 

 their proper behavior as regards fire, and gunning would vastly improve 

 matters and undoubtedly could be made as welcome to the true, honest 

 sportsman as it would be helpful to the settler and the forester. 



MARIvEX CONDITIONS. 



While perhaps of little importance at the present, with practically all 

 merchantable material removed from the land, the market conditions 

 must still remain a very important feature in all future work as well 

 as in the general decisions concerning these lands and their use for forest 

 purposes. It is pleasant to be able to say, therefore that the lands of 

 the Reserve share with millions of acres more in our State a most ex- 

 traordinary condition. Waterways in all directions permeating every 

 ])art of the land, vie with a level accessible topography and an easily 

 "worked, well drained ground to make every efCort at transportation easy 

 and effective. Sled roads II miles in length, today carry cedar from 

 within the Reserve. Pole roads and regular railways, abandoned after 

 the logs were cut, all have proved as eflicient and as economical as the 

 Ijroverbially cheap methods of driving the streams. A pleasant, healthy, 

 frosty -winter with certain and reasonable snows have added to make our 

 State a woodsman's ]iaradise and while millions of feet of timber go beg- 

 ^ging in Maryland, Virginia and other warmer states, every stick of 

 timber in Jlichigan has a ready market value. While this very feature 

 has been one of the temptations of the lumberman and has, undoubtedly, 

 helped to hasten the destruction of much of our forest, it will also help 

 in rebuilding it, since at every step the forester is met with the 

 encouraging word that every foot of timber, regardless of species has 

 CYon now ils market and fair price. 



