18 MICHIGAN FORESTRY. 



God-given heritage its original, wonderful features of surpassing natural 

 beauty. " 



In order to live, we need something to eat, something to wear, something 

 to keep us warm, but we need something more than all this — something to 

 live for, and the beauty of the forest may be compared favorably with sculp- 

 ture, architecture, painting, literature, music, and all the things that make 

 life worth the while. 



TAXATION AND FORESTRY. 



The following letter from E. A. Robinson, surveyor of Charlevoix county, 

 located at Boyne City, takes up so important a matter in connection with 

 Michigan forestry that it is given to the public by the commission together 

 with some practical observations from State Warden Filibert Roth which were 

 brought out through his perusal of the letter. 



MR. Robinson's letter. 



Michigan Forestry Commission — Gentlemen: 



I live in northern Michigan, Charlevoix county, where large tracts of land 

 now covered with timber, are being lumbered by the various large lumber com- 

 panies. To reach these lumbermen, for the purposes of taxation, on the basis 

 of actual value of the property being cut off, as shown by the purchasing 

 prices, the state tax commission has ordered supervisors to raise the valuation 

 of all lumbered lands to ascertain empirical value. 



"Now as far as large lumber companies are concerned, it is all right, for the 

 reason that they are converting the timber into money as fast as it is possible 

 to saw it into lumber, but there are a few farmers who have reserved timber 

 lots on their farms, ranging from five to forty acres, for their own uses, such 

 as stove wood, sugar bushes and pasture lots. These reserve lots have 

 been valued on a par with the commercial timber lots, by these misguided 

 officials, making taxes so high for these farmers that it offers a premium on 

 cutting the timber away, solely in order to avoid taxes. Our taxes on 115 

 acres, forty of which is reserved for a sugar bush, pasture and woodlot, last 

 year was $56. Almost as bad as a mortgage, or rent. 



You are the state forestry commission, the object of which is to promote the 

 preservation and maintenance of forests, on farms, state lands or wherever 

 possible. You are urging farmers to keep a wood lot, and at the same time 

 the state tax commission, by ordering large valuations on forest lands, is offer- 

 ing a premium on forest destruction, the one working against the other, and 

 the farmer pays the tax in order to avoid having his home sold from over his 

 head. 



It seems to me that the state forestry commission should see to it, that 

 farmers ^\ho are protecting and saving timber lots, for other than immediate 

 speculative purposes, should be encouraged in so doing by being only nomin- 

 ally taxed thereon. 



You can do farmers a great favor by using your influence in the direction I 

 have indicated, and also promote the upbuilding of our forest preserves. 



I therefore appeal to|you to bring this phase of taxation to the notice of 



