OUR FORESTS So 
STATE FORESTRY 
State interest in forestry antedated Federal forestry by many years. 
As early as 1777, North Carolina, and in 1787, South Carolina enacted 
laws against willful and careless woods burning. In 1867, Michigan 
and Wisconsin both made inquiries into conditions and needs of their 
forests. In 1869, the Maine Board of Agriculture appointed a com- 
mittee to report on a forest policy for the State, and in 1872 the Maine 
Legislature enacted a law “for the encouragement of the growth of 
trees.” By this law, lands planted with trees were exempt from taxa- 
tion for 20 years. Laws offering tree planters either bounties or tax 
. exemption were passed between 1868 and 1872 in Connecticut, New 
‘York, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa, Missouri, Dakota, Nebraska, 
Kansas, and Nevada. In fact, most of the Eastern States gave early 
legislative attention to their forest resources, although the actions 
taken were far from adequate to meet the growing problem of forest 
depletion. 
As early as 1872, New York created a commission to consider owner- 
ship of the “wild lands lying northward of the Mohawk,” and the 
definite building up of the present Adirondack and Catskill State 
Forest Preserves dates from 1885. When Colorado became a State 
in 1876, its constitution provided that the general assembly enact laws 
to preserve the forests on the State’s lands. California created a 
State board of forestry in 1885. A number of other States established 
forestry bureaus or commissions in the eighties. 
Today, 43 States have established forestry departments. The States 
ovn in the aggregate about 19,000,000 acres of forest land, and most 
of them maintain State forests or parks. Some have forest nurseries, 
where trees are grown from seed for forest or shelterbelt planting and 
for planting along roadsides. One of the most important projects of 
State forestry administration, of course, is the suppression of fire. 
Many States have therefore developed excellent systems of forest-fire 
prevention and control. State forestry agencies give farmers and 
other private forest owners advice and assistance in the handling of 
their timberlands. They also extend cooperation to schools, clubs, and 
other associations interested in the spreading of forestry education. 
Forty States and Puerto Rico have adopted laws providing for some 
form of forest study in the public schools. In 11 of these States and 
Puerto Rico the laws provide that forest study be a part of the 
regular school curriculum in the primary or advanced schools, or both. 
Courses in forestry are also given at many of the State agricultural 
colleges. 
Forty States and Puerto Rico have extension foresters. These for- 
estry specialists are in most cases attached to the extension departments 
of the agricultural colleges and work with the county agricultural 
agents and farmers in much the same way as do the extension specialists 
in other lines of agriculture. Forestry information and advice can 
therefore be obtained in nearly every State either from the extension 
forester or the State forestry department. 
The passage of the Clarke-McNary Act gave an added impetus to 
State forestry work, and many States are now cooperating with the 
Forest Service under this law. Forty-two States and Hawaii have 
cooperative protective systems for the prevention and suppression of 
