Ficure 18.—The fire that killed the forest stand on this area has been followed by a series of fires that have prevented restocking. 
F325521 
Areas of 
similar history within the Douglas-fir region total more than 1% million acres 
The National Park Service is responsible for pro- 
tecting the national parks and monuments. Gener- 
ally speaking, the fire problem is not so acute on 
these lands as on the national forests. A large part 
of the area of the parks and monuments is nonforest 
land, or noncommercial forest land at high eleva- 
tions where the fire season is comparatively short 
and the hazard not high. Indian lands are pro- 
tected by the Indian Service. The protective 
organizations of these bureaus are similar to that 
of the Forest Service. 
Protection on State, County, and Private 
Lands 
Oregon and Washington both have progressive 
forest-fire codes providing for protection of private- 
ly owned forest lands, as well as laws requiring every 
owner of forest land to provide protection therefor. 
If an owner does not protect his land, the State 
forester does so and the cost is assessed against the 
property on the county tax rolls. Both States have 
compulsory slash-disposal laws. Oregon has a law 
enabling the Governor to close forest areas to 
67 
entry during critical fire weather, and this has been 
invoked several times even when it meant post- 
ponement of the hunting season. In Washington, 
hazardous areas may be closed or other restrictions 
applied thereon by the director of conservation and 
development. Oregon also has an operator’s per- 
mit law that gives the State forester authority to 
shut down logging operation during periods of high 
fire hazard, and a law requiring snag felling. 
Washington the supervisor of 
forestry to close logging, land-clearing, or other 
law authorizes 
industrial operations during periods of extreme fire 
hazard. 
The organization of fire-protective agencies is 
On private 
lands, associations of timber owners have been 
In Wash- 
ington one such association functions over all terri- 
tory west of the Cascade Range. Western Oregon 
has 11 associations, each of which covers a certain 
area, in some cases less than a county. Several 
timber companies maintain their own patrols. ‘The 
Forest Service by contractual agreement with the 
associations and States protects practically all the 
essentially alike in the two States. 
formed to protect holdings of members. 
