Figure 3. — Fighting a fire in the San Bernardino National Forest, Calif. Nearly half 

 the fires in our national forests are man-caused. 



guarded; (2) owners interested in promoting forest conservation and dis- 

 posed to dedicate to public purposes forest lands from which some return 

 may be derived ; ( 3 ) owners of large areas, generally cut over, but occasion- 

 ally bearing good stands of timber, and often rather inaccessible, who cannot 

 see any market for their land and prefer to donate it outright rather than 

 see it revert for taxes. 



Donations up to June 30, 1943, totaled 420 tracts, covering 371,076 acres. 



GUIDING PRINCIPLES OF NATIONAL 

 FOREST ADMINISTRATION 



The policy under which the national forests are administered by the 

 Department of Agriculture through the Forest Service was laid down by 

 Secretary of Agriculture James Wilson in a letter of February 1, 1905, to 

 the Chief Forester, Gifford Pinchot: 1 



In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that 

 all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the 

 whole people and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies. All the 

 resources of forest reserves are for use, and this use must be brought about in a 

 thoroughly prompt and businesslike manner, under such restrictions only as will 

 insure the permanence of these resources. * * * You will see to it that the 

 water, wood, and forage of the reserves are conserved and wisely used for the 

 benefit of the home builder first of all; upon whom depends the best permanent use 

 of lands and resources alike. The continued prosperity of the agricultural, lumber- 

 ing, mining, and live-stock interests is directly dependent upon a permanent and 

 accessible supply of water, wood, and forage, as well as upon the present and future 

 use of these resources under businesslike regulations, enforced with promptness, 



1 Forest Service, the use book : regulations and instructions for the use of the national 

 forests. U. S. For. Serv. Misc. Unnum., 341 pp. 1908. (Revised.) See pp. 14-15. 



