STATE FORESTRY. 17 



(2) Greater independence of local firewardens. There is at present 

 a sound tendency away from adding the duties of a firewarden to the 

 duties of existing offices. Firewardens should give all of their time 

 to their work and receive pay for it . 



(3) The extension of the plan, followed in part in California, Idaho, 

 Oregon, and Washington, of appointing employees of private forest 

 owners as State firewardens or rangers, the State delegating the pow- 

 ers of peace officers to such appointees and the forest owners bearing, 

 the added expenses, if any. 



(4) A very great extension of patrol. Efficient patrol is the first 

 essential of effective protection. The great object of all protective 

 systems is to prevent fires, and patrol alone will prevent them. It is, 

 therefore, good business for the State to pay for patrol on its own 

 holdings; for the same reason patrol is the best kind of business for 

 private o^\'ners, who should be, and usually are, entirely willing to 

 bear their share of the burden, as they are required to do in 

 Nova Scotia, may do in California, and will do in Wisconsin if a bill 

 that has been presented is enacted into law. State rangers under the 

 State forester or firewarden should be permanently maintained by 

 the State, assisted by the voluntary or compulsory cooperation 

 of private owners. Legal provision should be made for the appoint- 

 ment of employees of private owners as State firewardens, with the 

 powers of such officials. Patrol may be limited to .the dangerous 

 season, except that district firewardens should patrol at all seasons. 

 Where no merchantable timber remains on cut-over lands, and the 

 owners of such lands are consequently indifferent to fire, there will 

 not be effective local support or sufficient funds to maintain patrol. 

 In such cases the State should acquire the land for State forest pur- 

 poses and protect it by State patrol. The results would encourage 

 the practice of forestry by private owners. 



(5) Better provision for inspection. 



(6) Further provision for cooperation between State and Federal 

 Governments in the States having National Forests. At present 

 the National Forest officers may be appointed State firewardens in 

 California and Oregon. In order fully to protect the National For- 

 ests it is frequently of great importance to extinguish threatening 

 fires outside of but adjacent to the Forests, and it is always desirable 

 to prevent such fires. In the States above mentioned Federal forest 

 officers receive the needed State authority on State lands adjacent 

 to the Forests, but no provision is made for reimbursing the Govern- 

 ment for expenses incurred in the protection of such State lands. 

 Should such provision be made by the States, so as to permit National 

 Forest officers acting as State firewardens to incur such expenses as 

 may now be incurred by other State firewardens, the cooperative 



2281— Cir. 167—09 3 



