136 
from a scenic and recreation standpoint. 
Systematically such areas, both large and 
small, are being searched out and desig- 
nated so that the cutting of timber and 
other uses may not result in their injury. 
Such areas include mountain peaks, lakes, 
canyons of special interest, high mesas, 
roadways, and so on. In effect these con- 
stitute a multitude of parks and parkways 
within the Forests, to be used especially 
for recreation purposes. 
But protection is only the beginning. 
The areas must be opened up and made 
available for use by the public. A few 
examples will illustrate some of our prob- 
lems and how we are working them out. 
In southern California, lying directly 
west of the Imperial Valley, rise the La- 
guna Mountains in the Cleveland National 
Forest. Those of you who have visited 
the Imperial Valley know something of 
the intolerable heat in the summer, situ- 
ated as it is below the sea level. At times 
the temperatufe is said to remain above 
110 degrees for eight or ten days and nights 
at a time. Thousands of people leave the 
valley in summer. In fact, it is estimated 
that the aggregate cost of these summer 
flights amounts for those communities to 
from one to three million dollars. We are 
now building a road from the main El 
Centro- San Diego highway into the moun- 
tains, to a very beautiful tract of forest 
situated at 6,1100 feet elevation. This road 
will enable people of the Valley' to reach 
the forest tract in a few hours by automo- 
bile. The tract will be developed, in co- 
operation with the citizens, as a resort, with 
hotels, summer cottages, tents, and public 
camping grounds. Many hundreds can be 
accommodated who now have to travel 
long distances by rail to secure relief from 
the heat. It is a real problem of public 
health. It is also a matter of saving many 
thousands of dollars to the Valley people. 
Can any one say that from every stand- 
point that forest tract is not more valua- 
ble for recreation use than to cut into lum- 
ber? 
A similar situation exists in the Coro- 
nado National Forest near Tucson, Ariz. 
Here the Santa Catalina Mountains rise 
some 5,300 feet above Tucson on the des- 
ert, and are clothed with a splendid stand 
of timber, furnishing a cool and refresh- 
ing summer climate. Here the Forest Serv- 
ice has worked out a complete plan of pub- 
lic resort development, including a system 
of roads and trails, a water supply, sani- 
tary provisions, a telephone system, play- 
grounds, and park areas for motors. The 
value of this resort, when completed, to 
the city of Tucson with its 20,000 or more 
inhabitants will be appreciated when one 
considers that during the summer months 
there is a difference of over 20 degrees in 
temperature of the mountains as compared 
to that in the city immediately below. Well- 
to-do people regularly flock to the Cali- 
fornia coast at this time; a means for rec- 
reation will, by the proposed plan, be af- 
forded to all, and it is expected that 5,000 
PARK Ai\ D CEMETERY, 
or more would avail themselves of the ad- 
vantages at the first opportunity. 
Still another illustration is the develop- 
ment of the Angeles Forest that com- 
prises the mountain ranges back of Los 
Angeles. Each year many thousand peo- 
ple visit this Forest for short trips or a 
night's camping. In addition there are be- 
ing developed scores of summer communi- 
ties and permanent camps. The canyons 
are lined with cottages and camps, and 
the highland forest areas are attracting 
people by scores for temporary and perma- 
nent summer accommodations. Every new 
road and trail built by the Forest Service 
opens up new recreation sites, which are 
eagerly sought. It is in this Forest that 
the city government of Los Angeles, through 
its Playground Commission, has developed 
a municipal playground. After a diligent 
but vain search in the mountains and at 
the beaches for a suitable place nearer 
the city, the Commission asked for the set- 
ting apart of a suitable tract. The pur- 
pose of the Commission was to use the 
land as a camping and recreation ground 
for the children of the city, and for other 
patrons of the municipal playgrounds. The 
following results were attained during the 
first year. 
Four hundred and twenty-seven children 
were accommodated on the camping 
grounds, each one for a period of two 
weeks. (The Commission estimates that 
next year this number will be from 1,200 
to 1,500.) 
The charge for each person taken was 
$7.50, which included a trip from Los An- 
geles by electric car for 61 miles, followed 
by an auto stage ride of 15 miles to the 
camp, board for two weeks at the camp, 
and the use of a tent and cot during the 
stay, with return to Los Angeles by the 
same route. 
After the opening of the schools, the 
tract was open to the parents of the chil- 
dren on similar terms. 
About $800 was donated to the Cornmis- 
sion by various people with which to de- 
fray the expenses of such children as did 
not have the necessary $7.50. 
During the past summer the Commission 
expended (exclusive of salaries) $4,552 on 
this playground, providing, among other 
things, a large outdoor plunge, a building, 
and a water system. Telephone connec- 
tion was also maintained with the city. 
(The plans approved for the coming sea- 
son are quite elaborate ; 25 cabins will be 
constructed during the spring months, a 
cement plunge will be built, a substantial 
building with kitchen, storeroom, and 
bedrooms will be constructed, and tennis 
and croquet courts will be laid out.) 
The Playground Commissioners have 
provided three instructors to teach the chil- 
dren all kinds of outdoor games and sports. 
Two or three evenings each week some 
prominent man from Los Angeles gives 
the children a “campfire talk.” Each morn- 
ing every boy camper donates an hour’s 
service for cleaning up the camp and im- 
proving the grounds ; in fact, everything 
indicates that most careful arrangements 
had been made for giving the city children 
an opportunity for recreation and the en- 
joyment of nature in the mountains. 
A persistent effort had been made by 
one person to secure control of the tract 
under the allegation that it was chiefly val- 
uable for farming. It would have been 
very profitable for him, as a real estate 
venture, to sell lots, for there is an active 
demand for such sites for summer camps. 
But the Secretary of Agriculture chose to 
put it to a public use, with the results I 
have described. 
The action of the Playground Commis- 
sion of Los Angeles has resulted in the 
starting of other camps of a similar nature. 
The Pacific Electric Railway, with 5,000 
employes, has applied for a tract about two 
miles distant, where , it proposes to build 
tent houses, dining rooms and a store, and 
will rent these facilities to its employes 
at cost. The Masonic Lodge is looking 
for a site for its orphans. 
Many cities are spending thousands of 
dollars for welfare work among children, 
but are hard put to find adequate play- 
grounds. The problem has been met in 
large measure by the Playgrounds Commis- 
sion of the city of Fresno, Cal. This 
Commission has recently been granted the 
use of a site of land near Huntington Lake 
in the Sierra National Forest, and proposes 
to transport annually 5,000 children of the 
city to this National Forest during the 
heated months. The children will not only 
enjoy a unique outing, but, according to 
the plans of the Commission, will be given 
instruction in outdoor subjects. 
In many cases the development of recrea- 
tion areas becomes a co-operative enter- 
prise by various public agencies. A con- 
spicuous example is the Columbia Gorge 
division of the Oregon National Forest. 
This is located on the Columbia River and 
borders at many points the Columbia River 
Highway which is one of the most famous 
drives in the world and one of the most 
attractive scenic features of the West. 
Certain areas have been permanently set 
aside in the Forest for protection and de- 
velopment in connection with the Columbia 
River Highway. The Forest Service has 
constructed a number of scenic trails like 
that up to Larch Mountain and up Eagle 
Creek, and is developing public camping 
grounds at strategic points. In planning 
and carrying out this work we have the 
co-operation of county officials and the 
citizens of Portland who are in some cases 
giving financial aid to various of the proj- 
ects. The plans are correlated with those 
of the city and county in the entire Park 
and parkway enterprise. 
A similar plan is being worked out in 
Denver in connection with development of 
the Mount Evans region, and with other 
communities which have direct interests in 
and adjacent to the Forests. 
In the eastern mountains, too, we are 
fostering the recreation use of the Na- 
