Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

The First Federal Steps. The first step taken by the federal authorities was at the urgent request of the Statistician of the Department of Agriculture in 1870. At that time lands were recognized as being either "improved" or "unimproved" farm lands. He recommended that the category of "unimproved farm lands" be subdivided into "woodlands" and "other unimproved lands." By thus dividing off woodlands from other unimproved farm lands more attention was concentrated upon the former. This attention was manifested in the investigations that followed shortly in which it was estimated that 39 per cent. of the area of the country was in woodland. This was the first and most logical step toward taking an inventory of our forest resources.

Another early attempt to assist in forest conservation was an attempt to reforest the treeless plains of our Western States. On March 3, 1873, the Timber Culture Act was passed by Congress by which the planting to timber of 40 acres of land in the treeless territories conferred the title to 160 acres of public domain. At first this act seemed to work out as intended but it did not take very many years before it proved a dismal failure. Settlers had no knowledge of planting trees; the restrictions of the act could not be enforced, and the act was open to other abuses. The act was finally repealed in 1891. Many similar laws for encouraging the planting of timber were passed by the legislatures of some of the Middle Western States, but all met with little success. In 1874 Nebraska inaugurated Arbor Day. By this act of the legislature the second Wednesday in April of each year was set aside for planting trees. Other States have followed the example of Nebraska, so that to-day almost every State provides one day in the year for planting trees. Thus Arbor Day has become practically a national institution.

The Act of August 16, 1876. The first constructive piece of legislation enacted by the Congress of the United States was the Act of August 16, 1876. This was the first of a series of Acts passed by Congress which, although occurring many years apart in some cases, put forest conservation upon a firm basis. Under the first act the Commissioner of Agriculture was directed:

"To appoint some man of approved attainments who is practically well acquainted with methods of statistical inquiry and who has evinced an intimate acquaintance with questions relating to the national wants in regard to timber, to prosecute investigations and inquiries with the view of ascertaining the annual amount of consumption, importation, and exportation of timber and other forest products; the probable supply for future wants; the means best adapted to their preservation and renewal; the influence of forests upon climate and the means that have been successfully applied in foreign countries, or that may be deemed applicable in this country for the preservation and restoration or planting of forests, and to report upon the same to the Commissioner of Agriculture, to be by him in a separate report transmitted to Congress."

Dr. Franklin B. Hough, an active, untiring, and intelligent scholar, was the first man to be appointed by this act. As Commissioner of Forestry he prepared the first report and submitted it to Congress. The next year, in 1877, Congress granted its first appropriation of $6,000, "for the purpose of obtaining other facts and information preparatory to establishing a Division of Forestry."

Further Work Under the Act. The office of Commissioner of Forestry gradually enlarged the scope of its duties and functions. Five years later, due to the ever-increasing importance of the subject, a distinct division, the Division of Forestry, was established in the Department of Agriculture. The duties and powers of this Division were "to devote itself exclusively to such investigations of the subject as would tend to the fullest development of the resources of the country in that respect, to discover the best methods of managing and preserving our waning forests and to maintain in all its bearings the universal interest involved in that industry."

In 1881 an agent of the Department was sent to Europe to study the work of forestry there. In 1882 the American Forestry Congress was organized. This organization had for its object the discussion and dissemination of the important facts of forestry, and while strictly a private body, had a considerable influence in later years in educating the people to the needs of forestry and in helping to establish a rational forest policy in the United States. Its first meeting took place in Cincinnati. At a second meeting held the same year in Montreal the name was changed to the American Forestry Association and since then has been the center of all private efforts to advance the forestry movement. In 1898 this association began the publication of a propagandist journal which is now called American Forestry. In 1884 the duty of making experiments with timber was added to the functions of the Division. The next year the collecting and distribution of valuable economic tree seeds was begun. In 1886 the study of the biology of some of our important timber trees was taken up, while in the following year silvicultural problems first engaged the attention of the Division.

THE FIRST FOREST RESERVES ESTABLISHED MARCH 30, 1891

The Situation Before 1891. Before 1891 the Division of Forestry was simply a bureau of information. In general the information supplied was of a twofold nature. It was technical in so far as it related to the management of private woodlands and statistical in so far as the knowledge of the conditions of our forest resources induced the application of forestry principles. Up to that date Congress had neither appropriated enough money for efficient outdoor work nor did she attempt to put any government woodlands under the control of the Division. Therefore there had been no management because there were no forests to manage. This one-sided development of the forestry work of the Division was greatly impeding a rational development of the forest conservation movement.

The Need of a Forest Policy. The need for a well-defined forest policy with respect to the government forest lands now began to be felt. Railroad land grants, the Homestead Act, Preëmption claims, and the Timber and Stone Act were taking much valuable timberland out of government ownership. People secured claims under these acts merely for the timber that was on them. The purposes of the laws and acts of Congress were being fraudulently evaded. Also the Government had restrictive and protective laws in regard to its lands, but it could not enforce them on account of lack of appropriations with which to maintain an administrative and protective organization. The time was now ripe for an executive policy to manage the woodlands that still remained in the possession of the Government before it was too late to save what was left.