REPORT OF THE FORESTRY BUREAU Hon. CHARLES H. JACKSON, Deputy Commissioner, Division of Lands and Forests, Conservation Commission, Albany, N. Y.: SIR.-I respectfully submit the following report relative to the affairs of this bureau for the year 1913. The subjects to be considered are forest preserve, forest fire protection, forest products, reforesting, and State forest problems. FOREST PRESERVE The main duties in connection with this vast area consist in protecting it from trespass and fire. On account not only of its large area but the fact that it is bounded by and has intermixed with it private holdings of large and small areas, it is necessary to exercise the greatest diligence over an extended area in order to properly protect the Preserve from trespass. The same fact links the matter of state fire protection with that of the private owners. The various phases of the work will be separately considered. TRESPASS The decrease in the number of trespasses has been very gratifying; only sixteen cases have been reported, and the total value of material is $2,008.25. There was probably not more than one case of deliberate theft. In this instance the trespasser was quickly detected and only $14.93 worth of material cut. Ten of the sixteen cases occurred on land in which private owners dispute the State's title. The largest trespass was caused by an erroneous survey. A man who owned a lot adjacent to State land, desiring to lumber his lot, employed a surveyor to locate his lands before the lumbering operations were commenced. This surveyor located a State lot rather than the private property. The contractor commenced cutting on State land but was soon detected. The value of the material cut was $1,683.86. We promptly made a survey, determined the correct boundaries and stopped the operation before any timber was removed. The operators, not having removed any of the logs cut, suffered a large loss on account of the money which they had paid for cutting the timber and the fine of $3,000. If an exception is made of the last named trespass, together with those in which the State's title is questioned, the damage is practically nil. This report is very creditable in face of returns of a few years ago when the computed value of the material was from $20,000 to $40,000 per annum. OPEN CAMPS The Forest Preserve, at the present time, is a great playground for the people. It has been the policy of this Commission to encourage its use for such purposes, but building of structures has been prohibited, only tents with board floors being permitted. A large number of people go into the woods for seclusion, quietude and to get away from the ordinary lines of travel, and it has not always been convenient or possible for them to pack tents which they might require for camping purposes. The cost of packing such ontfits is expensive and tends to restrict the legitimate use of the forest area. Application was made to this Commission for permission to erect upon State land in the Forest Preserve open camps under such rules, regulations and restrictions as the Commission might impose. The matter deserved careful consideration, and received it. It was determined that such camps would tend to increase the usefulness of the Preserve, and that such places would also be useful for men who might be needed to fight forest fires. An open camp is one in which but three sides are enclosed, therefore, it cannot be locked, or other steps taken which would lead to exclusion. Believing that the interests of the people would be better served by having a reasonable number of such buildings erected in proper places suitably distributed, the Commission formulated and adopted the following rules in regard to open camps: Resolved, That the following rules and regulations be and the same hereby are adopted in relation to the construction and use of trails and open camps upon State land: |