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Show i HOW THE NATIONAL FOR- t ESTS SERVE THE PUBLIC. I ' "The Use of the National For- w ests," a publication just printed by the Department of Agriculture, is a j . brief, clear manual for public infor- 4 matiou as to the forest policy of the 1 National Government. It is too true, as the short preface to the public says, that "many pco- i pic do not know what National For- I ests arc. Others may have heard much about them, but have no idea t of their true purpose and use." It is the object of this publication to explain ex-plain just what the National Forests mean, what they arc for, and how to use them. In the first place, it is explained how the Forests arc created and how 1 their boundaries arc drawn. Next, their direct use and value arc shown from the point of view of the home-seeker, home-seeker, the prospector and miner, the user of timber, the user of the range. . r;, the user of water, and other users of Forest resources. Third, it is shown how the Forests arc intended for use, for the production of usable products, and for the establishment and maintenance main-tenance 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 guard-ed from abuse; and how, in addition, they serve as great public playgrounds play-grounds and as breeding places and - refuges of game. Finally, the man- d agement of the National Forests is described. , ' ''' Here it is that great usefulness of the Forests is brought out most clearly clear-ly and strikingly; for the Forests arc managed by the people in their own interests, and every means is used to - -i 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 ut-most practicable dispatch and freedom free-dom from red tape. In a word, the special interest of this manual lies in its showing that the Forest policy of the Government, both in principle and in practice, is for the benefit of the ordinary man, for the benefit of every citizen equally. equal-ly. There is still a tendency to think of the National Forests as "preserves" "pre-serves" closed to use, and to leave the public lands exposed to unregulated unregu-lated individual exploitation. Where these misapprehensions still prevail " The Use of the National Forests " will go far to correct them. The book is written by Mr. Frederick Fred-erick E. Olmsted, whose intimate knowledge of conditions in the West and the policy under which the National Na-tional Forests are managed especially fits him to deal with the subjee. o |
