alternate host. Ribes eradication work has been 

 carried on in northeastern Washington under the 

 supervision of the Bureau of Entomology and Plant 

 Quarantine. 



Fire Control 



Even though losses from insect epidemics are 

 much greater, fire loss is an important factor in 

 saw-timber stands. The forests are dry for a 

 large part of the year, resinous trees predominate, 

 and lightning storms are common during the 

 driest time of the year. Yet, in spite of these 

 adverse conditions, fire losses are relatively smaller 

 than in the Douglas-fir region. This is accounted 

 for by the open nature of the ponderosa pine 

 forests and the scarcity of the undergrowth, which 

 retard the rate of spread and make fires less likely 

 to crown. Also, the easy topography and open 

 stands make possible a high degree of mechaniza- 

 tion and effectiveness i-n fire suppression, at least 

 in the ponderosa pine forests. 



The most critical fire problem area in the region 

 is in northern Washington, where lodgepole pine 

 and upper-slope types predominate. This dis- 

 trict is comparatively inaccessible and the topog- 

 raphy is rough, making fire protection more diffi- 

 cult than in the areas where the ponderosa pine 

 types predominate. Climatic conditions are un- 

 favorable and lightning is common. 



The entire forest area is under organized fire 

 protection, varying in degree, however, with 

 forest-cover type, accessibility, timber values in- 

 volved, and ownership. Naturally the areas of 

 valuable saw timber have received the most in- 

 tensive protection. In the past few years, help 

 received from the Civilian Conservation Corps has 

 made it possible to strengthen protection on all 

 forest lands. 



National Forests 



The national forests with 10.9 million acres of 

 forest land are protected by the Forest Service, 

 which also protects alienated lands within the 

 exterior boundaries through agreement with the 

 State foresters. Isolated parcels of national-forest 

 land intermingled with private land are usually 



protected by the State foresters and private asso- 

 ciations through agreement with the Forest Service. 

 Protection standards have improved steadily in 

 recent years as a result of increased facilities, more 

 scientific planning, training of personnel in organ- 

 ization and technique, and cooperation of the Civil- 

 ian Conservation Corps and other emergency work 

 programs. Fire detection has benefited through 

 the construction and betterment of guard stations, 

 lookouts, and telephone lines. Attack on fires has 

 been made more effective through construction of 

 new roads and trails and airplane landing fields. 

 Reduction of hazards along roads and in especially 

 inflammable areas has prevented many fires from 

 starting. Moreover, C. C. C. units have consti- 

 tuted a mobile fire -fighting force which can be 

 organized and trained, held in readiness, and its 

 organized units quickly transported to fires, with 

 the result that fires have been attacked more in- 

 tensively and effectively than by pick-up labor. 



Other Federal Lands 



On most national parks and monuments, pro- 

 tected by the National Park Service, protection is 

 not an acute problem. Many of these areas are at 

 high elevations where the fire season is short or are 

 covered with types that are not unusually hazard- 

 ous. 



The Indian-owned lands compare with the na- 

 tional forests in fire danger and are protected by a 

 system generally similar to that used on national 

 forests. 



The public domain lands are usually scattered 

 and are protected by the agency protecting the ad- 

 joining lands. No separate organization is pro- 

 vided. 



State, County, and Private Lands 



State and county lands are protected by the State 

 foresters except where such lands fall in national- 

 forest protective units, in which case the State for- 

 ester contracts with the Forest Service to furnish 

 protection. 



The fire-protective system is practically the same 

 in both States, and close cooperation among 

 Federal, State, and private agencies is the key to 



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