Part 5 (1/2)
The appalling waste of ti, a to forest devastation, is deplorable, but we are helpless to prevent it Since the bulk of woodlands are privately owned, and there are no effective laws li the supply, the onlyon private lands is through cooperation with the owners This is being done in soh educational ations, reports, de i owners and enlisting their cooperation and support in forest conservation
Forestry in the state, or in the nation, seeress no more rapidly than the timber disappears; in fact, the individual states do not take precaution to conserve their tie has been largely done before the re a treht in thesestate beco in in to pay a heavy toll in the loss of hoht charges on lumber that we must import from distant points to supply our needs In many states, the expenditure of an amount for reforestation and fire protection equal to this freight bill on i in a decade, instead of becoress has been un totheir future timber supply
CHAPTER XII
THE PLAYGROUNDS OF THE NATION
The public forests are steadily increasing in popularity as the playgrounds of the Nation The woodlands offer splendid opportunities for ca and outdoor life
Millions of overnment and state forests Railroads and automobiles make the forests accessible to all Thousands of hways lead into the very heart of the hills More than 5,500,000 people annually visit the National Forests Of this number, some 2,500,000 are campers, fishermen and hunters
[Illustration: A CAMPING GROUND IN A NATIONAL FOREST]
The forests provide cheap health insurance to all ill enjoy what they offer in sport and recreation For example, over 1,000,000 vacationists visit Colorado's forests each year If each person spent but five days in the forests, this would mean a total of 5,000,000 days or 50,000,000 hours of rest and enjoyment Recreation at the beaches and amuse that rate to the free fun which the people get out of the forests, in Colorado in one year the tourists, caained 25,000,000 worth of pleasure from the forests
The National and State Forests furnish su cities and towns Regular summer home sites are laid off in many of the forests Usually these individual sites cover about one-quarter acre or less They rent for 5 to 25 a year, depending on the location A rounds for a teralow on it There are no special rules about the size or cost of the houses Uncle Sahtly and the surroundings be kept clean and sanitary Many of the cabins are built for 150 to 300 Some of them are more pereles National Forest in southern California, over sixteen hundred of these cottages are now in use andbuilt
Where there are dead or mature trees in the forest, near summer home sites, ties Even the people of s in thethe heat of the sus and su people
In California a number of cities have set up municipal camps in the National Forests At very low costs, the city residents can spend their vacations at these caes are provided Facilities for all kinds of games and sports furnish recreation Each family may stay at the camp for teeks The expenses are so low for meals and tents that the municipal camps furnish the best and cheapest vacation which the family of limited means can enjoy These camps are very popular Wherever they have been tried, they have been successful There are twelve municipal camps in California They cost 150,000
Fine auto hways for the use of tourists
Concrete fireplaces, tables, benches and running water are provided at these wayside ca places The tourists who carry their camp kits like to stop at these autoe information about the best trails to follow and the condition of the roads Sometimes, permanent cabins and shelters are provided for the use of the cross-country travelers The only rules are that care be exercised in the use of fire and the ca sites be kept in clean and sanitary condition
All the forest roads are posted withthe tourists to be careful in the use of matches, tobacco and camp fires, so as not to start destructive forest fires In the Federal and State forests hundreds of lect and carelessness of caleauto the season from May to October, the western forests usually are as dry as tinder Rains are rare during that period A fire once started runs riot unless efficient control measures are used at once
Those interested in fishi+ng and hunting usually can find plenty of chance to pursue their favorite sports in the National and State Forests There is good fishi+ng in the forest strea in cooperation with Federal and State hatcheries yearly restock i in the National Forests are regulated by the fish and game laws of that state in which the forests are located The killing of wild ga certain open seasons in ions
[Illustration: GOOD FORESTS MEAN GOOD HUNTING AND FIshi+NG]
The eastern forests in the White Mountains, the Adirondacks, and the Appalachians, are not, for the rounds as are the western vacation lands However,taken each year in the outdoor life features of the eastern forests, and ultirounds Many hikers and campers now spend their annual vacations in these forests Throughout the White Mountain forest of New Ha parties have been made At frequent intervals simple ca clubs This forest, located as it is near centres of large population is visited by a half-ah National Forest of North Carolina is beco a centre for automobile travel as it contains a fine macadam road The Superior National Forest of Minnesota, which covers 1,250,000 acres and contains 150,000 acres of lakes, is beco very popular It is called ”the land of ten thousand lakes” One can travel in a canoe through this forest for aover the saeles in southern California, the Pike and Colorado in Colorado, and the Oregon and Wenatchee--the Pacific Northwest Visitors to these forests total more than 1,750,000 a year
The western forests are also being used for winter sports They furnish excellent conditions for snow-shoe trips, skiing and sledding The people who have caovern the snow season when the roads are passable The White Mountain National Forest is used overnment woodland At e carnivals are held each winter Cha, ski juames are also annual events in the Routt, Leadville and Pike National Forests of Colorado Cross country ski races and ski-joring contests are also held In the Truckee National Forest of California, dog-team races over courses of 25 to 50 hty per cent of the 5,500,000 people who visit the National Forests are automobile tourists The other twenty per cent consists of sports,
In the Pacific Coast States there are a nu clubs whosedifficult ascents The e an interesting contest each suhest peaks in the country
CHAPTER XIII
SOLVING OUR FORESTRY PROBLEMS