Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

Figure 5. The Big Trees. "Mother of the Forest" in the background. North Calaveras Grove, California.

The Use of Forage and Water Resources Was Regulated. The forage and water resources of the public domain have been subject to similar abuse. Before the National Forest policy was put into effect the large ranges of the West were used indiscriminately by all. The range was subject to considerable abuse because it was used very early in the spring before the forage was mature, or too late in the fall, which prevented the forage from ripening its seed and reproducing for the next season. Not the small, local stockmen, however, but the large sheep and cattle companies, many controlled by foreign capital, benefited by this condition of affairs. These "big men," as they were called, illegally fenced and monopolized large areas, varying in size from townships to entire counties. What chance would a local rancher with fifty or sixty cattle have against a million-dollar outfit with perhaps 40,000 to 50,000 cattle? He was merely swallowed up, so to speak, and had no chance whatever to get his small share. "Might made right" in those days, and it is said that if a man held any title or equity on the range it was a "shotgun" title. Also, the sheep and cattle men had innumerable disputes about the use of the range which in many cases resulted in bloodshed. If a sheep man arrived first on the range in the spring with his large bands of sheep, he simply took the feed. The Government owned the land and the forage but it had no organization in the field to regulate the use of it. It was indeed a chaotic condition of affairs and ended only after the inauguration of the present policy of leasing the lands under the permit system. These permits are issued and charged for upon a per capita basis.

The conservative and regulated use of the grazing lands under Forest Service supervision has resulted in better growth and better weights on stock and more actual profit. There are ample data that show that the National Forests produce some of the best lambs that are put upon the market. Data secured from the Modoc National Forest, California, in 1910, show that lambs brought 50 cents per head more and weighed an average of 10 pounds more than lambs produced outside the Forest. Weights taken of 10,000 head showed an average of 72 pounds for National Forest lambs, while outside the Forest average weights on 3,000 lambs showed only 62 pounds. The regulation of the length of the grazing season, the introduction of better methods of handling sheep, and the prevention of over-grazing are some of the Forest Service methods that produce better lambs.

Then also under the old system the valuable water-power sites were being rapidly eliminated from government ownership by large corporations who secured valuable property for a song. The National Forests, however, still contain about one-third of the potential water-power resources of the United States and over 40 per cent. of the estimated power resources of the Western States. And this vast wealth will not pass from the ownership of the United States but will be leased under long-term leases from which the Government will receive yearly a fair rental.

The Forests Were Protected from Fire and Trespass. But not only have these large timber, forage, and power resources been put under administration for the use of the people. The protection of the National Forests, which goes hand in hand with their administration, means a great deal to the local communities, the States, and the nation as a whole. Until about twenty years ago the forests upon our public lands—the timber of the Rocky Mountains from Montana to New Mexico and of the Pacific Coast ranges from northern Washington to southern California—seemed destined to be destroyed by fire and reckless, illegal cutting. Nothing whatever was being done to protect them from fire or trespass. They were simply left to burn. When the people living near the public domain wanted any house logs, fence posts, or firewood, they went into the public domain and took them. The best trees were usually taken first. In California, especially, there was a common practice of cutting down the finest sugar pine trees and cutting and splitting them into shakes to make a roof covering. Then, too, much government timber was stolen by lumber companies operating in the vicinity of valuable government timber. After the land had been stripped of everything of value a fire was started in the slashing, which among other things burned the stumps and thus practically obliterated all evidence of trespass. Had this destruction continued there would to-day have been little timber left in the West, and the development of the country which demands timber all the time, and not only at certain intervals, would have been retarded, if not stopped altogether.

Figure 6. A scene on one of the famous National Parks. Upper Lake, Glacier National Park, Northern Rockies, Montana.

How terrible the forest fires were in this western country is well illustrated by what an old California settler once told me, and what I have heard repeatedly in many Western States. He said: "In the years before the Forest Service took over the care and protection of the forests around here, the mountains within view of my ranch were not visible for many months at a time, being almost continually enveloped in smoke from the big forest fires that were raging in the forests all summer without ever being under control. They started in the spring as soon as it became dry and were not suppressed until the late fall rains and snows put them out." But he added with great enthusiasm, "Since the Service has taken charge the sky around here is as clear as crystal all summer. I never see any forest fires, not even smoke, because the Rangers seem to get to them before they get to be of any size." Such testimony as this speaks volumes for the efficiency of the present system of protecting the Forests from fire.

The Watershed Cover Was Preserved. The destruction of the forest cover on the watersheds feeding thousands of streams which rise in the western mountains would have had its bad effect on stream flow—low water during the long dry periods, and destructive floods after heavy rains. This condition of affairs would have meant disaster to the systems of irrigation by which most of the western farmers raise their crops. It would also have seriously impeded and in many cases prevented electric power development, to say nothing of affecting the domestic water of many of our large western cities whose drinking water comes from the streams rising in the National Forests. The protection of these valuable watersheds by the Forest Service from fire and destructive lumbering is of such vital importance to the welfare of the nation that it has been made one of the main reasons for establishing National Forests.