Notes and Correspondence. 139 



San Francisco, April 6, 191 1. 



Mr, William E. Colby, 

 Secretary Sierra Club, 



Mills Building, San Francisco, California. 



My dear Mr. Colby: I am surprised and exceedingly sorry 

 to hear that there is an impression that the Forest Service is in 

 any way opposed to the policy of national parks. This idea is 

 entirely contrary to the facts, for I am, and always have been, 

 emphatically in favor of a vigorous national park policy. I be- 

 lieve, however, that we should not only have national parks com- 

 prising those areas which should be handled primarily with a 

 view to the preservation of their scenic beauty, but there should 

 be a well-defined policy with regard to the permanent development 

 of each of the parks in accordance with the purposes for which 

 they were established. In administering the national forests we 

 are preparing, as fast as possible, working plans which consider 

 the development of each forest for a long period in the future. 

 We determine the amount of timber and other resources, the 

 productive capacity of the forest, and plan the work of develop- 

 ment so that the purposes of the forest will be carried out con- 

 sistently in the future. There is usually a general plan for a 

 whole tree-rotation, then a more specific plan for a period of ten 

 years, and finally an annual forest plan for the work of the en- 

 suing year. The national parks should be so organized that 

 similar plans could be developed, having in view, of course, their 

 protection and improvement from the standpoint of scenery and 

 other general public benefits. 



At one time I believed that the best plan would be to combine 

 the administration of the national parks and the national forests. 

 While this unquestionably would be the most economical method 

 of administration, there are various reasons why it may be wiser 

 to have a separate bureau of national parks. I have, therefore, 

 given my hearty approval to the idea of a bureau of national parks 

 and have advocated it both in private and in my public addresses. 

 I think that you will find that the impression that I am opposed 

 to the parks is unwarranted. Very sincerely yours, 



H. S. Graves, Forester. 



Note. — This letter was written in response to an inquiry as to the attitude 

 of the Forest Service toward the National Park problem. We are glad to 

 be able to publish this eminently satisfactory reply. — The Editors. 



