Show FOREST SERVICE REVIEWS 25 YEARS OF supervision marked expansion in the public use of the national forests and in the protection and development of the forest resources was noted in a review of the growth of the governments forestry work in the last quarter century issued today by the forest service U S department of agriculture when the forest service took charge of the old time forest reserves in 1905 they numbered 60 with an area of approximately 59 million acres the area Is now million acres embraced in national forests in 25 years of administration the work of physical development of the national forests has progressed continuously in 1905 there were no fire towers or lookout stations today are maintained A total of 1186 public camp grounds have been improved in the 25 year period since 1907 the mileage of national forest roads has been extended from to forest trails have increased from to miles mileage of telephone line built for fire protection and administration purposes increased from to receipts of the forest reserves in 1905 amounted to all for timber cold receipts jast year totaled of athla more than was from the sale of timber to be cut under forest supervision on a sustained or continuous crop basis the appropriation for the forest service for the fiscal year 1905 was funds available for forest service work during the current fiscal year amounted to more than of which about is for extending and improving the national forest road and trail system and for other national forest improvements approximately is tor cooperation with the states in giving fire protection aid to private forest lands about representing 25 per cent of the national forest receipts is turned over to the states for road and school purposes road development and the stabilization of forest using industries have played no small part in the up building of communities in national forest regions in the last 25 years the forest service finds livestock grazed under permit on the national forests increased from head in 1905 to in 1929 special use permits in force on the national forests registered a gain in 25 years of more than 1100 per cent from in 1905 to this year there was no record of the number of national forest visitors in 1905 in the latest year for which records are available persons visited the forests the forest service began work in the quarter century the progress of decentralization Is indicated by the fact that members of the service were attached to the washington headquarters to 1905 as compared with only today this decentralization Is in line with the forest service policy of administration of the national forests by field officers on the ground and to close touch ath local problems |