Senator Smoot, who introduced the bill, says that each of these national parks would become an exhaustless gold mine if their wonders were made accessible to the public. The American Civic Association has shown an especial interest in this matter, and as President J. Horace McFarland of the association pointed out, the preservation of the scenic places in America is doubly important. They will develop a love of country, and, if used as places of recreation, will increase the health and efficiency of the people. Both the Sierra Club of California and the Appalachian Club of Boston have endorsed this measure.-American Civic Association Press Clipping Sheet. A BILL AFFECTING THE YOSEMITE NATIONAL PARK. At a recent meeting of the Board of Directors of the Sierra Club the following resolution was unanimously adopted: "Resolved, That the Sierra Club is strongly opposed to H. R. Bill No. 21,954, providing for a change in the western boundary of the Yosemite National Park and the exclusion from the park of nearly 50,000 acres which is an essential part of this great wonderland, containing as it does splendid forests, meadows and streams and admirably adapted to camping, especially for those who are traveling by way of the Tioga Road and the trails which lead to the famous Tuolumne Meadow region. This whole situation was carefully canvassed and the present boundary determined after due deliberation by the commission specially appointed for that very purpose, and to alter the boundary as now proposed would be in our opinion a grievous mistake; and the Secretary of this Club is instructed to communicate this resolution to our Senators and Representatives in Congress and urge them to oppose any change in the boundaries and to request that in lieu thereof legislation be enacted whereby the present private holdings within the park may be acquired by an exchange for public lands or timber situated without the present park boundaries. The following is a summary of reasons for retaining in the Yosemite Park the area of over fifty thousand acres proposed to be eliminated by H. R. Bill No. 21,954: 1. Because this area contains some of the finest specimens of coniferous trees to be found anywhere in the world. John Muir, who is strongly opposed to the elimination of this area, says of this very land that its noble forest is made up of two silver firs and the yellow and sugar pines, "which here seem to reach their highest pitch of beauty and grandeur. . . . Here, indeed, is the tree-lover's paradise. The dullest eye in the world must surely be quickened by such trees as these." (See "My First Summer in the Sierra," by John Muir, pp. 123-142.) Some of the forest area is included in private holdings, but much of it is still public land and should be preserved as an example of the very best types of these forests that exist. It is important to preserve this strip of wonderful forest in a national park, since there is no other place where it can be done so appropriately. 2. The area in question contains many fine meadows, already used by campers, and will as time goes on be used more extensively by those desiring to reach the eastern portion of the park. 3. Many miles of the Tioga road, which is the key to the wonderful scenic region in the eastern part of the park, lies in the area proposed to be eliminated. The Government is now taking steps to acquire this road and when repaired thousands of persons will travel over it and must camp along the road on the way. It is vital that these camp-grounds and streams and forests should be kept in the park, as they are essential to its proper enjoyment and administration. FOREST HARMONY. The harmony of sentiment between the cattle men and the Forest service, as shown in yesterday's meeting, is distinctly encouraging. Essentially the two interests are the same, but it is not always that this fact has been so cordially realized. The forests cannot long be used unless they are protected, and it would not be practicable to protect them permanently unless they were used. The old unregulated use of the forests was already rapidly destroying itself, when it was stopped. The trees were being burned up and over-grazing was reducing the pasturage to nothingness. There was not enough for all, and nobody had any very effective title to what he held, if someone else with a rifle chose to dispute it. The use of the forest was destruction and the law of the forest was anarchy. Such a situation could not have lasted much longer, and it would not have helped the forestusers if it had. They needed protection against themselves and each other as much as the forest needed protection against them. Then came the Forest Service to meet an emergency situation, and it met it rather ruthlessly, at first, by emergency methods. There was nothing else to do. The forest had to be preserved for future use, even at the cost of interrupting its present use. It is easier to stop things than to regulate them, and in the beginning some things were stopped which the more fully organized service later on found it possible again to permit. The era of total prohibition could no more have been permanent than the preceding era of unregulated abuse. The Forest Service must justify itself by results and prohibition is not a result. This was recognized in theory by the Forest Service from the beginning, and has been realized in practice as rapidly as the means of carrying it out could be provided. Now it has reached the point that the forest protectors and the forest users can work together in mutual harmony for mutual benefit. The only difficult problem remaining is that of the tourists, and steps were taken yesterday looking to a more effective management of that. The forests belong to all the people, not merely to the few who are privileged to graze cattle in them, and they must be made accessible to all the people who care to travel in them. There are no roads and no merchants in the High Sierras. The only possible way to travel in them is by saddle-horses and pack-animals, and these animals cannot carry their own food. No feed is for sale in the forest. Unless the animals can find forage, travel in the forests is impossible. And they should have this forage as a right, not as a courtesy. Where one must depend on courtesy, he is at the mercy of any person who chooses to be discourteous. And in the wilderness, where there are neither police nor spectators, unsupported human nature is not unanimously courteous. It is therefore necessary to have authority and collective action to establish rights. This fact is now recognized on all sides, and it is a distinct step forward to have it embodied in formal action.-Fresno Republican editorial, January 30, 1912. FEED FOR TOURIST PARTIES TO BE PROVIDED SUPERVISOR TELLS OF WORK. Following an address by Forest Supervisor Paul G. Redington, the cattlemen at their annual meeting here yesterday voted to co-operate with the Government in making the forests more attractive to tourists. The meeting voted to assess each cattleman using the reserve three cents a head on his stock to fence off "tourist pastures" and to improve trails. Two of the meadows will be established this coming year, one at Dinkey and the other back on Big Creek. As approximately 10,000 cattle are admitted to the reserve, the assessment will amount to $300. The Forestry Service will contribute a like sum.-Fresno Republican, January 30, 1912. [We are glad to note Mr. Redington's progressive stand and the generous action which has resulted from his suggestion.EDITORS.] |