Government Forest Work 



fight of Mount McKinley, the valuable Sitka spruce 

 nd hemlock growth clothes the lower flanks of the 

 coastal mountains. In these rugged regions of the 

 country permanent forests constitute the highest use 

 to which the land can be put. 



The timber, water, grazing, recreational oppor- 

 tunities, and other resources of the national forests 

 mre for the use of the people. They contribute largely 

 to industrial enterprises through their yearly cut of 

 over three-quarters of a billion feet of timber, mostly 

 used by sawmills and mines, protect watersheds of about 

 one-third of the water-power resources of the country 

 and the pure and abundant water supplies of a thou- 

 sand towns and cities, furnish pasturage for nearly 

 14,000,000 head of livestock of all ages, and afford play- 

 grounds for millions of recreation seekers, to whom 

 these vacation places are made accessible by the 



• building of roads and trails. 



This booklet tells in a general way how these re- 

 sources are handled in carrying on the manifold 

 work involved in making them of fullest use to the 

 public. It tells also something of other activities of 



* the Forest Service conducted to bring about better 

 use of our forests and forest products generally. 

 More detailed information concerning the use of the 

 national forests and their resources may be obtained 

 by applying to any forest officer or to the Forest 

 Service, United States Department of Agriculture, 



- Washington, D. C. 



BEGINNING OF GOVERNMENT FOREST WORK 



Though the national forests represent the greatest 

 single activity of the Government in forestry, Gov- 

 ernment forest work had its real beginning as far 

 back as 1876, with the appointment by the Depart- 

 ^•ment of Agriculture of a special agent to study gen- 

 eral forest conditions in the United States. In 1881 

 a Division of Forestry was created in the department, 

 but for a long time it received an annual appropria- 

 tion of less than $30,000, and could be little more 



