-3- 



permits for siOTmer caraps, resorts and hotels. 



You mif^ht think this big invasion of our last virgin forest areas v/ould 

 make foresters wild. And so it does. Some of them, Mr. Kneipp, however, 

 points out that while oxor National Forests were originally set aside for con- 

 servation of our timber s\jpply and protection of the watershed, they helv. in 

 large measure to supply our people with recreation facilities. In this day 

 and time, we need places where we can "get out under the open sky, ^Jid list 

 to Nature *s teachings'*. Recreation in itstruest sense is to be found in the 

 forests. But when folks flock into the wildwood, of course, there is more dan- 

 ger of fire and more of a menace to health. Any tourist or hunter or fishennpji 

 or CDjnper or picknicker who carelessly drops a lighted match or a smoiildcring 

 cigarette butt or who fails to put out the campfire properly may start a fire 

 which will destroy millions of dollars worth of timber and maybe doom others 

 to death in the smoke and flames. 



However, our modern |)ioneers on our recreation frontier are getting 

 woods wise. They break their matches before they throw them a?/ay. They are 

 always sure the match is out and the cigarette stub dead and they never throw 

 them into brush or leaves or needles, 



TVhen they go to build a camp fire, they scrape everything inflammable 

 from a s-^>ot five feet in diameter. Then they dig a hole in the center of that 

 cleared spot in which to build the fire. They practice the caution of the 

 old-time hvinter. They keep the fire small, and never build it against trees 

 or logs or near brush. And when they break camp, they are always sure the 

 fire is dead out. 



So as to be sure, they stir the coals and soak them with water. Turn 

 the little sticks and drench both sides of them. Wet the ground around the 

 fire. If they can't get water, they stir in earth and tread it down until it 

 is packed tight around the fire. They know that the last, single spark may 

 be the dangerous one. They kill off that spark. They have begun to realize 

 that these are oxjr camp-site in our, forests. It is up to us to protect them, 



M?ji is a social animal. Even in the wilds, he likes company. Our early 

 f ronticrsane'a. most often traveled in parties, TThen they camped or built their 

 cabins they generally tried to get near others of their kind. That is the way 

 it is with those on our recreation frontier, Mr. Kneipp says. They lilce compan;, 

 in getting back— to— nature. 



That very human instinct is a big help to the Forest Service in saving 

 the forests from its friends. Forest officials have encouraged that tendency 

 as one of the best ways to keep down the menace to propertj' and health created 

 by so many folks taking to the* woods. 



They have established camp-sites and improved them with such sanitary 

 facilities as trash baskets, and garbage cans, and the like. TThere the fire- 

 menace is great, they have built in fire pidces to reduce the hazard. In 

 some back-woods sections where forest rovers are in danger of meeting her.vy 

 storms, they have built log lean-to shelters. In that way, they are ?:ottir^ 

 a voluntojry concentration of vacationists either on the least dangerous .rreas 

 of the forest or v^ere government forest rangers can keep better check on the 

 fire pjid. health menace. 



