File:American forestry (1910-1923) (18144976075).jpg

Title: American forestry
Identifier: americanforestry231917amer (find matches)
Year: 1910-1923 (1910s)
Authors: American Forestry Association
Subjects: Forests and forestry
Publisher: Washington, D. C. : American Forestry Association
Contributing Library: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden
Digitizing Sponsor: The LuEsther T Mertz Library, the New York Botanical Garden

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138 AMERICAN FORF.SI^RY
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BOY SCOUTS IN THE NATIONAL FOREST In such regions the boys find everything needed to amuse and interest those who love the outdoors, and in camps and traveling they acquire much-needed instruction regarding nature. leased and developed for this purpose in a plan-wise fash- ion, public camp grounds are being improved by the Forest Scr\-ice, maps and circulars are furnished to visit- ors, and all are given a cordial and cooperative welcome to use the public facilities. A rapid development for recreation is following ihe building of roads and trails that has for its purpose the general opening up of different parts of the Forests. Al- ready there have been built about 25,000 miles of trails and some 3000 miles of roads. Most of the trail work has been done for fire protection or general cormnu- nication. But many of the trails pass through sections of surpassing scenic interest. At the last ses- sion of Congress there was appropri- ated a special fund of ten million dol- lars to be available at the rate of a million a year, which, added to the quarter of a million now annually available from the receipts of the Forests, will result in opening up many regions now inaccessible. While the selection of the roads may be primarily for general development purposes, nearly every new road will greatly add to the recreational use and development of the Forests. Of great importance as a recreational feature to at- tract the visitor is the wild life of the National Forests. Through the help of the Bureau of Fisheries and the state hatcheries a great deal is being done to maintain the fish in the numerous mountain streams, and with excellent results. The game problem is a more difficult one. The game is far less than shovild now be produced in the For- ests. Restricted authority has prevented the Govern- ment doing what is obviously desirable and necessary in order to restock depleted areas. There is still, however, a good deal of game at certain points, and I hope that it may be possible to secure authority to go forward with the plans which have already been formulated to increase the game supply. Of special interest are the elk herds in the Yellowstone region and the Olympics, and the re- markable moose of the Kenai Division of the Chugach Forest in Alaska. Other elk herds occur in Montana, Colorado, and Arizona. Small bands of sheep range the rugged portions of many of the Forests, and in some places they are increasing under prohibition of hunting; and at numerous points deer and other game are still fairly plenti- ful. But we hope that the opportunity may be given us to take the steps necessary to restock the depleted areas that could carry abundant game (and that is possible without interfering with the livestock industry'), so that practically all the Forests will produce both big and small game. These would be an added resource valuable in itself, and a special attraction to the visitor, to the real sportsman and to the increasing number that now hunt with the camera. In considering the recreational features of a large for- est tract one is apt to think first of the points of special scenic interest, such as lakes, mountain peaks, a certain bit of forest, and so on. Of course such areas will be central points of attraction and perhaps visited more than any other portions of the For- est. At the same time every portion of a public Forest furnishes some rec- reational feature which must be con- sidered in a broad plan of recreational development. As soon as the visitor enters a Forest he encounters some activity of interest from the public standpoint. It may be the protective system, with its roads and trails, tele- phones, lookouts, tool and food caches, etc.; or nurseries, or plantations; or timber sales in actual operation; or mines; or water-power development. The Forest system is a great public enterprise, and the \asitor is almost invariably interested in seeing how the Forest activities are being conducted and what public results are being secured. In working out the recreational development there are involved many technical problems. In our road building we have the servace of the engineers of the Office of Public Roads. In the game problems, the Biological Survey ex- perts are available for advice and assistance. Problems of landscape and sanitary engineering present themselves in large numbers, and we have associated with us a dis- tinguished landscape engineer to guide our work, each stc)) in which counts large and must be taken right. An important aspect is the correlation of the work on the several Forests with that of the National Parks, which in many cases are surrounded by National Forests or are adjacent to them. We seek to coordinate the Forest road and trail systems with those in the Parks. The systems of scenic highways should be comprehensive in character. They should comprise the National Parks, the scenic points in the National Forests, and the scenic points in the forest and park systems of states and municipalities, and even those privately owned. It is all a part of the broad policy of making the public recreation resources of real service to the people. The returns of such service are very real and greater than can be measured.

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