THE OREGON SPORTSMAN 251 
of the forests on account of the prevalence of forest 
fires and the ensuing danger from them. 
The general public accept the newspaper stories 
that appear each year without thought and imme- 
diately jump to the conclusion that if the hunter 
were kept out of the forests that forest fires would 
be reduced to a minimum in number; and until the 
general public is made to understand that this is 
not true, the Governor of this State and the Game 
Department will be annually besieged by requests 
to close the hunting season, and the sportsmen will 
be denied their vacation in the forests. 
As a matter of fact, the man who goes into the 
forest to hunt deer or bear, or any other animals, 
is about the most cautious man outside of the for- 
estry officers and employes who goes into the forests. 
He realizes that extraordinary care and precaution 
must be taken. He is not careless with his fires; 
nor does he frequently toss aside a lighted match 
or a cigar along the trail. 
We must, and do, fully appreciate the value of 
our standing timber to this state, and we would not 
advocate anything that would bring this value into 
jeopardy. The law gives the Governor of this State 
_the power to suspend the hunting season upon the 
recommendation of the State Forester, when, 
through an extreme drouth, forest fires are liable 
to become prevalent. This does not give the Chief 
Executive authority to keep people out of the for- 
ests—it simply closes the season on hunting, but 
permits anyone to go within the forests, camp along 
their streams, and roam over the wooded area. The 
law to be effective at all should prohibit anyone 
from entering the forests during the time when the 
hunting season is suspended. 
