20 GOVERNMENT FOREST WORK. 



Mining. 



Mineral deposits within National Forests, except 

 such Forests as were purchased under the act of 

 March 1, 1911, are open to development exactly as on 

 unreserved public land. A prospector can go any- 

 where he chooses and stake a claim wherever he 

 finds any evidence of valuable minerals. The only 

 restriction is that mining claims must be bona fide 

 and not taken up for the purpose of acquiring valu- 

 able timber, or for a town or power site, or to mo- 

 nopolize the water supply on stock ranges. Bona fide 

 mining men do not wish to take up claims for an un- 

 lawful purpose, and the National Forests are open to 

 them at all times. Prospectors may obtain a certain 

 amount of National Forest timber free of charge to 

 be used in developing their claims, and in other ways 

 the Forest Service gives the mining man all the help 

 it can. As to deposits of coal, oil, and gas, permits 

 to prospect for and leases to develop must be secured 

 through the Department of the Interior. 



Water Power. 



Along the streams within the National Forests are 

 many sites suitable for power development. These 

 are open to occupancy for such purposes and have the 

 advantage of being on streams whose headwaters are 

 protected. The Government does not permit the mo- 

 nopolization of power in any region or allow power 

 sites to be held without prompt development. Utiliza- 

 tion and development of water powers in the National 

 Forests are encouraged. The Federal Power Com- 

 mission is by law permitted to issue licenses for 

 periods of not to exceed 50 years, and such licenses 

 may be renewed under certain conditions. A pre- 



