96 
FOREST AND STREAM 
[Jan. i6, 1909. 
Commissioner Whipple’s Report. 
Albany, N. Y., Jan. 8 . —Editor Forest and 
Stream: Radical legislation, including amend¬ 
ments to the State constitution, to provide bet¬ 
ter safeguards for the protection of the State 
forests is recommended by Commissioner James 
S. Whipple, of the State Forest, Fish and Game 
Department, in his report to be submitted to the 
Legislature. Among the recommendations are: 
Sufficient appropriation annually to permit the 
establishment of, and to maintain a permanent 
fire patrol and observation stations for the bet¬ 
ter protection of private and State forests in the 
forest preserve counties. 
Change in the use of fuel by railroads operat¬ 
ing roads in the forest preserve counties, the 
substitute to be fuel oil or electrical power, with 
a view of eliminating the dangers from fire. 
Establishment of a paid fire patrol, maintained 
at State expense and made up of the best men 
that can be selected by the Commissioner of 
Forest, Fish and Game. The patrol should be 
a large enough body of men, properly placed to 
completely patrol and guard the forests from 
fire. They should be given power to arrest 
without a warrant, for violations of the forest, 
fish and game laws and to enforce their orders. 
Enactment of a law under which the State 
authorities can control the cutting to some ex¬ 
tent on private land and the cleaning up and dis¬ 
posal of refuse left after lumbering. 
Amendment to the constitution so as to pro¬ 
vide for the sale or exchange of land outside 
of the blue line as necessity may require and the 
interests of the State warrant. The proceeds 
received by sale or exchange to be applied to 
acquiring land within the blue line. 
In view of all the facts elicited by the Water 
Storage Commission, it would seem that the 
constitution should be amended so a general 
State policy of water storage could be adopted. 
This suggestion is made by this department, not 
because it is directly charged with water con¬ 
servation, but for the reason that water con¬ 
servation is intimately connected with and af¬ 
fected by forest conservation. 
The constitution should be amended in such 
a way that the Commission may lease small 
tracts of land, under strict regulation and for¬ 
feiture clauses, for permanent cottage and camp 
sites. In that way a very large annual revenue 
would be obtained, many more people would go 
to and enjoy the forests, and each one invest¬ 
ing money for such a purpose would necessarily 
become an interested forest protector. 
If the constitution was amended in a way to 
allow a well defined good road system to be 
built through the forest reserve, on plans to be 
approved by this department, to the end that 
more of our people would visit the Adirondack 
and Catskill regions and have a chance to see and 
enjoy their great beauty, it would be beneficial 
in many ways. The roads would be fire break¬ 
ers and furnish a quicker and better way to 
reach many sections now inaccessible, and, there¬ 
fore, difficult to protect. 
The constitution should be amended to allow 
the State itself, from time to time, to remove, 
as necessity may require for State purposes, 
dead and down timber and, when advisable, 
abate threatening conditions to lessen the dan¬ 
ger from fire. 
“Some of these suggestions, undoubtedly, will 
seem radical,” says the report, “but to those who 
are constantly studying and dealing with the 
subject they will appear absolutely necessary if 
we are to have a practical and sane policy of 
forestry and forest preservation. In no other 
way can our forests be preserved, utilized and 
enjoyed for the benefit of all.” 
It recommends that a provision be made to 
protect the highlands of the Hudson, approxi¬ 
mately one hundred and fifty thousand square 
miles of woodland country, and to exemplify 
there the results that may be obtained by prac¬ 
tical forestry. This is deemed advisable, espec¬ 
ially on account of the historical interest that 
attaches to that beautiful section of the Hud¬ 
son valley. 
“It will be remembered that in 1908,” says the 
report in part, “there was a thorough overhaul¬ 
ing, revision and rearrangement of the forest, 
fish and game laws, which comprehended several 
new and important features. The law was sim¬ 
plified, strengthened and much improved. It 
was made general, except in a few instances. 
Among the many new features embodied in the 
revision, the two most important relate to the 
Marine Fisheries Bureau and hunting licenses. 
It was demonstrated within six months from the 
enactment of the new law, that the new features 
were fully justified; that they would accomplish 
the object sought. 
“The Marine Fisheries Bureau has been placed 
on a self-sustaining footing, a better control and 
regulation of State lands under water obtained, 
fairer prices and rentals for land occupied, and 
means provided for proper and safe sanitary in¬ 
spection of shellfish, to the end, that consumers 
of shellfish may know that this product, so gen¬ 
erally used for food, is clean and wholesome. 
“The hunting license law, in the short time 
since its enactment, has by results obtained, been 
justified a hundred times over. How much the 
hunting license law was justified is shown by the 
fact that it has stopped almost entirely the pro¬ 
miscuous use of guns by foreigners along our 
railroads, public works, and near populous com¬ 
munities. It undoubtedly has done more in a 
single year to save song birds, birds of plum¬ 
age and insectivorous birds—those vital factors 
in the preservation of plant life—than all the 
combined Audubon Societies have accomplished. 
I say this with due regard for the valuable work 
being done by those societies. It has yielded 
without being a burden to those who use a gun 
a total revenue of more than $115,000, which will 
furnish means to establish a farm for propagat¬ 
ing game birds, for restocking depleted covers. 
It will provide additional protection for forests, 
fish and game; it will help to conserve all of 
them, as it has done in other States and civilized 
countries. The hunting license law has come to 
stay. 
“In the judgment of the department, it should 
not be changed or amended, unless it can be 
very clearly shown that it is radically wrong. 
“An examination of the reports of the last 
three years will show the constant annual im¬ 
provement along every line of work with which 
the department is charged. The service, in the 
judgment of heads of departments within the 
commission, has been radically and beneficially 
improved. 
“There is a marked decrease in violations and 
the value of reasonable protection is much better 
understood. Nowhere is this improved condi¬ 
tion more noticeable than in the lesser number 
of trespasses on State land. The total amounts 
from all sources collected by the department are 
shown in the following statement: 1904, $23,- 
636.66; 1905, $58,548.08; 1906, $61,366.03; 1907, 
$52,264.77; 1908, $i77-07577- 
“The large increase in collections for the year 
1908 is primarily due to the hunting license law 
and the marine fisheries law. The department 
is more nearly self-sustaining now than ever be¬ 
fore. With proper management of our State 
land holdings, a sane utilization and conserva¬ 
tion of water, judicious use of ripe, down and 
dead timber, and closely restricted occupation 
of land for cottage and camp sites, enough 
money could be saved from what is now wasted 
annually to pay all expenses of the department, 
even on a more efficient plan of service. It 
would also yield sufficient revenue to purchase 
all the additional land the State’s interests de¬ 
mand. 
“The willful trespasses, aggregating twenty-five, 
were less during 1908 than any year, and all of 
them were small. In addition twenty-nine were 
discovered, such as cutting fire wood and small 
trespasses, which had been committed prior to 
igo8. 
“The violations during 1908 were 742. There 
were left over undisposed of Jan. i, 1908, 413, 
making a total during the year of new and old, 
1,155. Three hundred and six were placed in 
the hands of the legal department; 849 were dis¬ 
posed of without employing attorneys by the 
department. Total disposed of 1,043, leaving un¬ 
settled 112. 
“We now have nine fish hatcheries. They are 
located at Bemis Point, Chautauqua county; 
Caledonia, Livingston county; Bath, Steuben 
county; Constantia, on Oneida Lake, Oswego 
county; Old Forge, Herkimer county; Saranac 
Inn, Franklin county; Margaretville, Delaware 
county; Linlithgo, Columbia county, and Cold 
Spring, Suffolk county. The output from these 
hatcheries has been increased each year since 
1904. That year the State hatcheries produced 
about 111,000,000 fish. In 1908 it has been in¬ 
creased until the production has reached the 
yearly large output of more than 400,000,000 fish. 
It will be noticed that in less than four years, 
with practically the same yearly expenditures, 
the annual output has been quadrupled. 
“The table will show number of acres of land 
owned by the State and purchased, but not yet 
conveyed to the State. 
FOREST PRESERVE. 
Jan. 1, 1908. 
.Adirondack preserve .1,438,999 
Catskill preserve . 109,451 
- 1,548,450 
Purchases, conveyed 1908. 
Adirondack preserve . 61,617 
Catskill preserve . 1,740 
- 63,367 
1,611,817 
1,438,999 
61,627 
-1,500,626 
109,451 
1,740 
- 111,191 
Present area . 1,611,817 
Lands contracted for, not yet conveyed. 
Adirondack preserve . 24,648 
Catskill preserve . 19,295 
- 43,943 
Total acreage owned and contracted for 1,655,760 
“During the last summer and autumn, a long 
protracted drouth prevailed. The water in many 
streams dried up, fires sprang into being every- 
Area Jan. 1, 1909. 
Adirondack preserve, Jan. 1, 1908. 
Adirondack preserve purchases. 
Catskill preserve, Jan. 1, 1908. 
Catskill preserve purchases. 
