Conservation Commission 23 



New York and is open to the public." Further rules prohibit 

 exclusiveness and require a general use and enjoyment of the 

 open camps, while insuring, however, to State employees engaged 

 in fighting fire a first claim to occupancy. 



Trespass Decreasing 



Trespass on State land is decreasing, both in number of cases 

 and in value of material. Sixteen cases were reported, this year, 

 with a total value of material computed at $2,008.25. There was 

 but one case of deliberate theft, and this trespasser was promptly 

 detected, only $14.93 worth of timber having been cut. Ten of 

 the sixteen cases reported involved disputed title ; and the same is 

 probably true of a majority of trespass cases, at the present time. 



The following comparative table shows conditions as to tres- 

 pass, in recent years: 





Trespass 

 cases reported 



Computed value 

 of material 



Average damag 

 per case 



1909 



83 



$39,063 07 



$470 64 



1910 



104 



20,054 29 



192 82 



1911 



46 



1,499 20 



32 59 



1912 



27 



502 23 



18 60 



1913 



16 



2,008 25* 



125 51 



■ --■ ■■ i — 



It is obviously unfair and improper that trespass should. largely 

 be caused by uncertainty of boundary lines. We renew our recom- 

 mendation of last year, that sufficient appropriations be allowed 

 for a careful survey to determine for all time, the metes and 

 bounds of the State's property, and also for a valuation survey 

 whereby the monetary value may be accurately determined. 



Decreased Timber Cut — The Remedy 

 The timber cut of the State of New York has decreased from 

 1,250,000,000 feet in 1908 to less than 1,000,000,000 feet in 

 1912. The cut, however, is approximately five times the annual 

 growth, and the consumption is at least 16 times the growth. 

 These are facts whose serious import is all too apparent. 



* Four-fifths of this was in one big case, which of course makes the average 

 abnormal. 



