National Parks. 



67 



charged with such work, and a measure looking to this end is now 

 pending in Congress. 



The laws relating to all the parks, excepting the Yellowstone National 

 Park, should be amended so as to authorize the Secretary of the In- 

 terior to grant leases for periods of 20 years or less, with provisions for 

 renewal or for payment for the lessee's appropriate improvements at the 

 end of the lease. The present limitation of 10 years in most of the res- 

 ervations is not such as to induce capital to make investments in build- 

 ings and hotels, etc. 



It is of special and urgent importance that provision should also be 

 made by Congress for the extinguishment of private holdings in the 

 several parks. These holdings seriously interfere with the proper ad- 

 ministration of the parks and impair their usefulness and beauty in 

 many ways. They can be extinguished either by way of direct appro- 

 priation for their purchase, or by authorizing their exchange for lands 

 or timber within the particular parks or within the national forest re- 

 serve adjacent thereto. The public timber so exchanged can, in many 

 cases, be confined to dead or matured timber which can be removed 

 from the parks without injuriously affecting the scenic beauty thereof. 

 If authority of this sort is vested in the Secretary of Agriculture and 

 the Secretary of the Interior, as to the reserves of which they have 

 jurisdiction respectively, exchanges of park or forest lands or timber 

 can be made for appropriate strips of private timbered lands along 

 the public roads within the exterior limits of the parks or forest re- 

 serves, so as to protect the scenic beauty of these roads from impending 

 destruction. Walter L. Fisher, 



Secretary. 



National Park Conference (1912). 



The second annual conference of national park officials was held in 

 Yosemite Valley, last October 14th to i6th, inclusive. There were in 

 attendance Secretary of the Interior Walter L. Fisher, who presided ; 

 Chief Clerk of the Department Clement S. Ucker, and other depart- 

 ment officials, the superintendents of the thirteen national parks and 

 twenty-eight monuments, officials of the various divisions of the Geo- 

 logical Survey and of the United States Forest Service, many of the 

 concessionaires of the various parks, representatives of the railroads 

 and of the press, interested citizens and public officials, and representa- 

 tives of the American Civic Association, the Mazamas, the Moun- 

 taineers, and the Sierra Club. 



The various problems that confront the national park officials were 

 carefully considered and much light was brought to bear on them from 

 many sides. Much of the time of the conference was occupied in con- 

 sidering the admission of automobiles into the Yosemite National Park 

 in particular, as well as to other parks. Forceful advocates of this were 

 former United States Senator Flint, Congressman Raker, and State 

 Senator Curtin. 



