74 JFOREST RESERVES IN IDAHO. 



Acting Secretary of Agriculture Hayes to Governor Gooding. 



May 10, 1905. 



Sir : I am in receipt, by reference from the honorable the Secretary 

 of the Interior, of your letter of April 24, in regard to temporary 

 withdrawals of land in Idaho for forest-reserve purposes. 



In accordance with your request, I am glad to inclose a State 

 map showing in black those areas which are at present withdrawn, 

 pending decision on the advisability of including them in permanent 

 forest reserves. These withdrawals were made by the honorable the 

 Secretary of the Interior in accordance with my recommendations. 

 The President acts only on the final establishment of forest reserves, 

 not on temporary withdrawals. 



If the State desires to place its selections on timber lands alone, the 

 proposed forest reserves, if finally created, will of course have the 

 effect of withdrawing certain areas from the privilege of selection. 

 The State, however, would not lose its right to school lands within 

 the reserves nor would it be denied the right of indemnity selection 

 for such lands in case it wished to exchange them. 



I assume that your protest against the creation of additional for- 

 est reserves is based principally on the fact that 50,000 acres still 

 remain unselected from the State's various grants. This Department 

 has no intention whatever of recommending action that would be 

 prejudicial to the permanent good of the State's resources; in fact, 

 the chief object of forest reserves is to protect and wisely use these 

 resources with special regard to the lasting prosperity of local inter- 

 ests. In my judgment, it may be asked with reason w^hether the 

 present policy of the State in reference to the disposal of its timber 

 is in accordance with the best permanent good of the many important 

 interests involved. It is apparent that the State and Federal gov- 

 ernments are working along somewhat different lines; the State 

 considers chiefly present financial returns, overlooking to a large 

 extent the ultimate result of this course of action ; the Federal Gov- 

 ernment, on the other hand, looks ahead to supplying many great 

 industries with an adequate supply of timber, wood, water, and 

 range in the future, and this it aims to do, at its own expense, by 

 protection and Avise use at the present time. Please let me again 

 emphasize the fact that all the resources of forest reserves are of 

 immediate use, for the use, primarily, of local interests, and for such 

 use as will insure permanency. 



After full consideration of the matter I am convinced that the 

 establishment of forest reserves in Idaho will not in any way act 

 against the best interests of the State, but will, on the contrary, prove 

 an indispensable help to the substantial prosperity of the lumbering, 

 agricultural, mining, and live-stock industries. 

 Very respectfully, 



W. M. Hays, Acting Secretary. 



The Governor of Idaho. 



The President to Senator Heyburn. 



The White House, 



Washington, June 13^ 1905. 

 My Dear Senator Heyburn : With your recent letter were several 

 newspaper clippings from Idaho papers on the subject of forest 



