Forest reserves are for the purpose of preserving a perpetual supply of timber for home industries, preventing destruction of forest cover which regulates the flow of streams, and protecting local residents from unfair competition in the use of forest and range. They are patrolled and protected, at Government expense, for the benefit of the community and the home builder.

We know that the welfare of every community is dependent upon a cheap and plentiful supply of timber; that a forest cover is the most efficient means of maintaining a regular stream flow for irrigation and other useful purposes; and that the permanence of the livestock industry depends upon conservative use of the range. The injury to all persons and industries which results from the destruction of forests by fire and careless use is a matter of history in older countries, and has long been the cause of anxiety and loss in the United States. The protection of forest resources still existing is a matter of urgent local and national importance. This is shown by the exhaustion and removal of lumbering centers, often leaving behind desolation and depression in business; the vast public and private losses through unnecessary forest fires; the increasing use of lumber per capita by a still more rapidly increasing population; the decrease in the summer flow of streams just as they become indispensable to manufacture or irrigation; and the serious decrease in carrying capacity of the summer range. It can not be doubted that, as president Roosevelt has said, "the forest problem is, in many ways, the most vital internal problem of the United States."

As early as 1799 Congress provided for the purchase of timberlands to supply the needs of the Navy, and in 1817 further legislation directed the setting apart of public lands for the same purpose, and provided penalties for the unauthorized cutting of any public timber. Other acts, from time to time, made similar provisions for setting apart forestland for specific purposes, but the first attempt to secure a comprehensive administration of the forests on the public domain was in 1871, by a bill introduced in the Forty-second Congress, which failed of passage.

In 1876, $2,000 was appropriated to employ a competent man to investigate timber conditions in the United States, and on June30, 1886, an act was approved creating a Division of Forestry in the Department of Agriculture. On July 1, 1901, this Division became the Bureau of Forestry (now the Forest Service), employing practically all the trained foresters in the United States, and engaged in almost every branch of forest work in every State and territory, except the actual administration of the Government forest lands. This remained in the Department of the Interior, which, although possessing complete machinery for the disposal of lands, was provided with neither system nor trained men for conservative forest management.

In the meantime, with the increasing realization that the Nation's timber supply must be protected, and with the immense growth of irrigation interests in the West, the necessity for retaining permanent Federal control over selected forest areas was recognized by a brief section inserted in the act of March 3, 1891, which authorized the President to establish forest reserves. The first exercise of this power was in the creation of the Yellowstone park Timberland Reserve, proclaimed by President Harrison March 30, 1891.

The mere creation of forest reserves, however, without provision for their administration, was both ineffectual and annoying to local interests dependent upon their resources. Consequently the Secretary of the Interior, in 1896, requested the National Academy of Sciences to recommend a national forest policy. This resulted in the passage of the act of June 4, 1897, under which, with several subsequent amendments, forest reserves are now administered.

On the theory that the management of land, not of forests, was chiefly involved, this law gave the Secretary of the Interior authority over reserves, and provided that their surveying, mapping, and general classification should be done by the United States Geological Survey, and the execution of administrative work by the General Land Office.

The result was not satisfactory. The technical and complex problems arising from the necessary use of forest and range soon demanded the introduction of scientific methods and a technically trained force, which could not be provided under the existing system. The advice and services of the Bureau of Forestry were found necessary, but, under the law, could be but imperfectly utilized. The necessity of consolidating the various branches of Government forest work became apparent and was urged upon Congress by the president and all of the executive officers concerned. Finally, the act of February 1, 1905, transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture entire jurisdiction over the forest reserves except in matters of surveying and passage of title.

The regulations and instructions for the use of the national forest reserves here published are in accordance with the act last mentioned and with that of March 3, 1905, making appropriations for the department of Agriculture, which changed the Bureau of Forestry into the Forest Service. They are based upon the following general policy laid down for the Forest Service by the Secretary of Agriculture in his letter of February 1, 1905, to the Forester:

"In the administration of the forest reserves it must be clearly borne in mind that all land is to be devoted to its most productive use for the permanent good of the whole people, and not for the temporary benefit of individuals or companies. All the resources of the forest reserves are for use, and this use must be brought about in a thoroughly prompt and businesslike manner, under such restrictions only as will insure the permanence of these resources.

"The vital importance of forest reserves to the great industries of the Western States will be largely increased in the near future by the continued steady advance in settlement and development. The permanence of the resources of the reserves is therefore indispensable to continued prosperity, and the policy of this Department for their protection and use will invariably be guided by this fact, always bearing in mind that the conservative use of these resources in no way conflicts with their permanent value.

"You will see to it that the water, wood, and forage of the reserves are conserved and wisely used for the benefit of the homebuilder first of all, upon whom depends the best permanent use of lands and resources alike. The continued prosperity of the agricultural, lumbering, mining, and live-stock interests is directly dependent upon a permanent and accessible supply of water, wood, and forage, as well as upon the present and future use of these resources under businesslike regulation, enforced with promptness, effectiveness, and common sense. In the management of each reserve local questions will be decided upon local grounds; the dominant industry will be considered first, but with as little restriction to minor industries as may be possible; sudden changes in industrial conditions will be avoided by gradual adjustment after due notice, and where conflicting interests must be reconciled the question will always be decided from the standpoint of the greatest good of the greatest number in the long run."

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1905 Use Book