| OCR Text |
Show USE Of NATIONAL FOREST RESOURCES ON INCREASE Growth in Volume of Business Arising From Use of Forests Has Created Serious Administrative Problem. Washington. The actual use of the varied resources of the government's 168,000,000 acres of national forest land is on the increase, according to the report of the work for the fiscal year 1908. The report says that from an administrative standpoint the most striking fact of the year was the remarkable re-markable increase which took place in the volume of business transacted. This growth in business done by the United States forest service lasl year over the previous year is partly brought out in the following statement showing percentages of increase: In the number of timber sales, 236 pel cent; in the amount of timber cut under sales, 102 per cent; in the number num-ber of free timber permits, 76 pel cent; in the number of grazing permits, per-mits, 11 per cent, and in the number, of special-use permits, 67 per cent That the additions to existing national forests and now creations caused this increase only to a small extent is shown by the fact that the area increased in-creased is only 11 per cent. In speaking speak-ing of this feature of the work of the forest service in his annual report, the secretary of agriculture says in part: "The growth in the volume of business busi-ness arising from use of the forests has created a very serious administrative administra-tive problem. Last year 78 per cent of the time of the administrative and protective force was taken up by the demands of national forest business. The average forest area to each officer of-ficer supposedly available for patrol duty was about 120,000 acres; but with more than three-fourths of the time of these officers occupied with timber-sale, grazing, and other business, busi-ness, the force actually available for patrol was equivalent to about one man to each 500,000 acres. That under un-der these circumstances the fire losses in a year of exceptional danger were kept down to a very small figure in comparison with the value of the timber tim-ber exposed and the damage from forest for-est fires elsewhere is a matter of congratulation. con-gratulation. "The risk incurred, however, is out of all proportion to the added cost which more adequate protection would involve. I am convinced that the provision pro-vision made for the care and use of the national forests has become inadequate inade-quate to their needs, and I have therefore there-fore sttbmited estimates for the fiscal year 1910 which ask for a substantial Increase In the appropriation. With the further growth in business which Is certain to take place during the present year, even less protection can be given than has been given in the past. Indeed, the point has now nearly near-ly been reached at which it is not even a choice between providing for the needs of those who would use the forests and protecting the forests themselves." |
