New York may well be called the Empire State because of its great population, its railways, canals, navigable rivers, agricultural development, and diversified industries. It also has within its boundaries vast forests that give it an important place among the States of the Union in regard to woodland products, fish, and game.
No statement regarding the Conservation question in New York would be complete without first referring to a few of its assets and their stupendous value. Those to which I refer will readily indicate the importance of New York as a field for the protection, development, and use of natural resources.
The State has an area of 50,203 square miles, or 32,129,920 acres. Of this great territory 27 percent is occupied by forests, a proportion nearly the same as that of the forest area of Germany. There is standing in New York about 41,500,000,000 board feet of timber; the output of our forests last year was 1,064,000,000 board feet. There are 2,308 saw-mills. The value of our forest product in 1907 at the mill was $24,000,000. In the manufacture of wood pulp New York leads all other States. Last year 245,000,000 board feet of domestic logs were used for pulp, and that was only about 20 percent of the total amount used. New York also leads in the number of paper-mills. It has approximately 170 establishments for the manufacture of paper. The paper and wood-pulp industry is represented by a capital investment of about $57,000,000.
New York's vast wilderness contains much large game. Over 6,000 deer and 100 bear are killed each hunting season. The annual commercial value of fur and game animals and game birds approximates $750,000. We rank third as a fish-producing State; the products of all species, including shell-fish, amounts to about $40,000,000 annually, the annual shell-fish product being valued at about $12,000,000.
The Adirondack Park contains 3,313,564 acres, the Catskill Park 576,120 acres, and 1,641,526 acres of land are owned by the State, of which one-third is virgin forest or that which is now equally good. Twelve large rivers wholly within the State have their source in the Adirondacks. The course of each is marked at frequent intervals by falls or rapids, and they, with others outside of the Adirondacks (excluding the Niagara and Saint Lawrence), have a natural horsepower already developed of 630,000; they are capable of furnishing at least 1,500,000 horsepower. This estimate would indicate that there is still 880,000 horsepower running into the sea wasted. It has been estimated that New York State would derive a revenue of over $15,000,000 annually from its fully developed water-power if controlled and sold by the State. Besides the Adirondack rivers there are the Delaware, Susquehanna, Chemung, Alleghany, Esopus, Genesee, and many other rivers of great value.
New York has over 500 miles of canals, or about 25 percent of the total canal mileage of the United States, over which there are transported annually some 3,500,000 tons of freight. Mineral production is considerable. The mining of iron ore is a well developed industry. One of the largest known iron ore deposits in the world is located in the Adirondack wilderness. Gas, oil, garnet, graphite and many other mineral products are marketed annually to an amount over $5,000,000.
Only three other States yield a greater total value of agricultural products. New York ranks first in average value of production per acre. One-ninth of the hay and forage of this country are raised in New York, and the animal industries are of enormous value. Our hay-producing acres are worth $93,000,000. New York has 226,720 farms with an aggregate area of 9,522,000 acres, valued at $1,070,000,000, furnishing employment for 373,650 persons. The annual product of these farms is worth $345,000,000. New York has 30 acres of tree nurseries capable of producing 12,000,000 trees annually, and will double that acreage during the next year. We have taken the lead in the establishment of tree nurseries, in planting, and general work of tree propagation.
Work Accomplished
These are some of the factors which make Conservation of natural resources in New York State very important. The work is being carried on by various State Departments rather than by any single commission. Governor Charles E. Hughes, and the Departments under him, gave great impetus to the work during his term as Governor. Besides $101,000,000 authorized for canal improvement and $55,000,000 for good roads, over $2,000,000 is expended each year by the State in Conservation work as represented by the activities of the Forest, Fish, and Game Commission, the Agricultural Department, and the State Water Supply Commission.
All sections of the State have been awakened, and active steps are being taken in every direction. New York was first to achieve an onward movement in the preservation of its natural resources when in 1885 it led the way in the establishment of State Forest Preserves, and inaugurated the policy of protecting her forests for the health and recreation of the people and the protection of water sources. The same leadership has been continued in control of water by statute creating the State Water Supply Commission in 1905 and vesting it with jurisdiction over the water supply of the State.