Show THE NATIONAL FORESTS the use of the national fores forests ts y 11 a pub P of 0 li cation just printed by the department for public P agriculture is a brief clear manual of information as to the forest policy the national government to the tn it is too true as the short preface not know do public says that many people ahat national forests are others may have leard much about them but have no idea f their true purpose and use it is the i 7 abject of this publication to explain just what the national forests mean what they re ire for and how t to 0 use them in the first place it is explained how the ff orests are created and how their boundaries ries are drawn next their direct use and avalue alue are shown from the point of view of the the prospector and miner the user of timber the user of the range the user of water and other users of forest resources third it is shown how the forests are intended for use for the production of usable products and for the establishment and maintenance of homes how on all of them the timber is protected from fire the water flow is kept steady the forage on the range is increased and guarded from abuse and how in addition they serve as great public playgrounds and as breeding places mid refuge for game finally the management of the national forests is described here it is that the great usefulness of the forests is brought out most clearly and strikingly for the forests are managed by the people in their own interests and every means is used to meet the desires and wants of all forest users half way by dealing with them in the main directly on the ground and in all cases with the utmost practicable dispatch and freedom from red tape in a word the special interest of this manual lies in its showing t that the forest policy of the government both in principle and practice is for the benefit of the ordinary man for the benefit of every citizen equally there is still a tendency to think of the national forests as preserves closed for use and to leave the public lands exposed to unregulated individual exploitation where these misapprehensions apprehensions mis still prevail the ause of the national forests will go far to correct them the book is written by mr frederick E olmstead whose intimate knowledge of conditions in the west and the policy under which the national forests are managed especially fits him to deal with the subject |