FORESTRY COMMISSION. 35 



WORK OF THE YEAR. 



Tn keeping with the rf(|uireiuents of the law of creating the Forest 

 Reserves, work was at once begun in. three principal directions: 



1. rrotection and care of the lands. 2. Reforestation and improve- 

 ment. 3. Survey and classification of the lands. 



The protection of the Reserves is under present conditions naturally, 

 by far tlie most important work, for it is here, not a case of caring for 

 regular well established forests, containing a full assortment of timber 

 from the young plant to the mature tree, but it is rather a case of guard- 

 ing a sparse hut valuable young growth coming up over a large area 

 and under rather ditflcult, somewhat risky conditions. Since October 

 last a regular Forest Ranger patrols District No. 2, the Reserve south 

 of Houghton Lake. On April 1, 1904, another Ranger was added and 

 assigned to District No. 1. Since, of necessity the patrol, at least against 

 fire, extends over all lands within the confines of the Reserves, an area 

 of two towns was patrolled for nine months, and one of one town for 

 three months, making an amount of patrol work equal to the patrol of 

 over 38,000 acres for one year. In this work the Rangers followed detail 

 instructions (see copy of Manual of Forest Reserves) guarding the in- 

 terests of the State in every direction. For a few weeks last spring the 

 Rangers were reinforced owing to specially dry weather. As a result 

 of the patrol work, there was not a single large fire on either district; 

 the few cases of trespass were promptly discovered and, it is safe to say, 

 further trespass permanently discouraged. Of the several cases of tres- 

 pass three were recommended for prosecution, two of these were prose- 

 cuted and the offenders fined, while the third, and apparently the most 

 mischievous case was, for reasons unknown to the Warden, dropped 

 without prosecution. 



While primarily protective oflicers, the Rangers found time to perform 

 a large amount of additional work, locating and re-establishing monu- 

 ments and lines, and improving trails, and both Rangers assisted in 

 planting and one of them worked for weeks during all spare time in the 

 nursery, at survey work and in construction of fire lines. For this reason 

 the exact cost of protection is considerably below the figures given in 

 this report, and even these show that the protection of over 38,000 acres 

 for an entire year cost only 1191.63 or the small sum of less than 1.3 

 cents per acre a year. 



While this must be regarded as too small for as thorough protection 

 as is really desirable and while much depended on a favorable season, 

 this figure fully demonstrates at what small expense, compared to the 

 good accomplished, our State lands might be furnished the protection so 

 sorely needed and so fully warranted. 



The reforestation of the Reserve lands is commonly misunderstood 

 to mean only the work performed in planting and seeding or artificial 

 restocking. This is not the case, and, as has been stated before, the 

 process of restocking these lands is aided far more by the protective 

 work which enables the growth of the plants already established, than 

 by the small efforts at actual artificial reforestation. 

 " Nevertheless it would be an error also to make light of this line of 

 work, of actual improvement by seeding and planting for there are sev- 



