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Training of a Forester

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<h2>PRIVATE FORESTRY</h2> As yet, the practice of forestry by private owners, except for fire protection, has made but little progress in the United States, although without doubt it will be widely extended during the next ten or fifteen years. The concentration of timberland ownership [Pg 107]in the United States has put a few men in control of vast areas of forest. Many of them are anxious to prevent forest destruction, so far as that may be practicable without interfering with their profits, and for that purpose Foresters are beginning to be employed. Until now the principal tasks of Foresters employed by lumbermen have been the measurement of the amount of lumber in the standing crop of trees, and the protection of forest lands from fire. Here and there the practice of a certain amount of forestry has been added, but this part of the work of the private Forester employed by lumbermen has not been important. It is likely, however, to increase with some rapidity before long. In the meantime, the private Forester must usually be willing to accept a good many limitations on the technical side of his work. It is essential for the Forester thus [Pg 108]employed to have or promptly to acquire a knowledge of practical lumbering, that is, of logging, milling, and markets, and for the forest student who expects to enter this work to give special attention to these subjects. Already about 170 graduates of forest schools are in private employ, a considerable proportion of which number are employed by large lumbermen. The time is undoubtedly coming, and I hope it may come soon, when forest destruction will be legally recognized as hostile to the public welfare, and when lumbermen will be compelled by law to handle their forests so as to insure the reproduction of them under reasonable conditions and within a reasonable time. The idea is neither tyrannical nor new. In democratic Switzerland, private owners of timberland are restrained by law from destroying the forests [Pg 109]upon which the welfare of that mountain region so largely depends, and if they disobey, their forest lands are replanted by the Government at the owners' expense. Another opening for Foresters in the employ of lumbermen is through the forest fire protective associations. Of these, two stand out most conspicuously at the present time, one the Northwestern Conservation and Forestry Association, the other the Oregon Forest Fire Association. Each has as its executive officer a trained Forester whose knowledge of the woods not only makes him exceedingly useful to his employers, but also, when combined with the Forester's point of view, enables him to be of great value in protecting the general interest in the forest. The object and methods of one of the associations is described by its Secretary as follows: [Pg 110]"A field hitherto narrow but continually broadening, and offering much opportunity for those with peculiar qualifications, is the management of the coöperative forest work carried on by timber owners in many localities, often jointly with State and Government. This movement originated in the Pacific Northwest, where it still has the highest development, but is extending to the Lake States, New England, and Canada. "As a rule the primary object of these coöperative associations is fire prevention and their local managers must have demonstrated ability to organize effective patrol systems, build telephone lines, apply every ingenuity to supplying and equipping their forces, and, above all, to handle men in emergencies. But in most cases the association of forest owners to this end has led also to progress in many other matters inseparable from improvement, such as study [Pg 111]of reforestation possibilities, forest legislation, educating lumberman and public in forest preservation, and the extension of coöperation in all these as well as in fire prevention from private to State and federal agencies. "The development of such activities is already employing several highly paid men who can command the confidence, not only of forest owners, but also of the public and of public officials. Advisers in legislative as well as technical forestry matters and particularly proficient in all that pertains to forest protection, their usefulness lies as much outside their own association as within them, and to be successful they must be skilful organizers and campaigners. It is these men who have developed to its highest extent the adaptation to forestry propaganda of modern publicity and advertising methods. "As a rule, however, these may be [Pg 112]described as graduate positions, filled by men of experience and acquaintance with the several agencies involved, rather than by newly fledged Foresters. A practical knowledge of protection problems is essential." Forestry associations offer a different, but often a most fascinating field, of work for the trained Forester. There are at present 39 such associations. The work which they offer has much in common with the duties of a State Forester. Fish and game associations are beginning to employ Foresters, realizing that the wise handling of the forests may well go hand in hand with the care of the game and fish which the forest shelters and protects. Eventually nearly all such associations which control any considerable body of land in timbered regions may be expected to utilize the services of trained Foresters of their own. [Pg 113]In addition to the work for lumbermen and for associations of various kinds, land owners in considerable variety have begun to employ Foresters. Among these are coal and coke companies, iron companies, wood pulp and paper companies which are beginning to look after their supply of timber; powder, arms, and ammunition companies, hydraulic and water companies; a great corporation engaged in the manufacture of matches; and a number of railroads, including the Delaware and Hudson, the Illinois Central, and the Pennsylvania. In addition to the need for cross ties, railroads are among the largest consumers of lumber. The Foresters who work for them are largely occupied with growing the wood supplies which the railroads need, and nursery practice often occupies a very large share of their attention. <hr /> [Pg 114] <div style="break-after:column;"></div>

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