Слике страница
PDF
ePub

area, over which the Conservation Commission has jurisdiction, should furnish the Conservation Commission with lists showing the location of camps, men, tools, food, supplies, etc., showing what help could be given in case of fire. Also, that maps showing the character of the timber, topography, roads, trails, camps, telephone lines, etc., should be issued by the Conservation Commission and should be kept up-to-date at all times.

After considerable discussion, a plan of co-operation, embodying the principles just mentioned, was agreed upon between the Committee of the Forest Products Association and the Commission, on January 25, 1916. Letters explaining this plan were sent out by the commission to all important land owners in the Adirondacks, but not to the members of the Forest Products Association. Your President agreed to send out similar letters to members of the association. The records of the Conservation Commission show about 150 land owners of large tracts of land of which 27 are members of the association.

The response to the letters sent out was not as satisfactory as might have been desired. Letters in regard to assistance which could be given in fire protection, some of these being accompanied by maps, were received from 29 land owners, of which 17 were members of the association. Except in a few instances, only very little exact data was furnished. I am inclined to believe that this was probably because the land owners did not have such data available. Perhaps our commission was at fault in not following the matter up a little closer, but we hesitated to do so in the case of the members of your association for your committee expected to receive complete information from amongst your own members.

Furthermore, I believe that one reason for the failure of the land owners to respond more heartily to our appeal, was, that it is frequently difficult to arouse great interest in fire protection during the winter months when there is no danger. Then, too, the early part of the fire season of 1916 was accompanied by wet weather and comparatively few fires started. Later on, although the weather became very dry in some sections, the commission was enabled, through the usual facilities at its command, to keep fires down to a minimum.

However, we may not be so fortunate next year, and 1 wish to urge upon all of you to furnish us whatever data you can with regard to your timberlands, so far as that data may be required for organizing our campaign against forest fires.

As a matter of fact,. while there was a notable failure on the part of many land owners to furnish us with the data desired, some of those very men responded promptly when they were called upon to render assistance in case of fires which were actually burning. Those efforts are appreciated by the commission, but, if we are to organize this work on a scientific basis, as we are trying to do, it is absolutely necessary to make plans as complete as possible before the beginning of the fire season.

For this purpose we have prepared our fire protection map of the Adirondacks, and we are planning to publish a similar map of the Catskills during the present winter. Any information on fire protection matters which we have and which you might desire, we will be very glad to place at your disposal. Similarly, any information or suggestions which you can give us will be used for the improvement of our fire protective system, and consequently, to the direct benefit of those of you who are owners of timberland. PRESIDENT OSTRANDER: Mr. Gaylord.

MR. GAYLORD: I think that the members of the association will all agree with me that the plan as outlined would be a most excellent plan if we would carry it out. We are not carrying it out. There were only 17 members who sent in the desired information while there ought to have been many more. I have tried to do what I could along the lines of making the map. I put it off quite a little while thinking it would be quite a job but when I really did get at it it was not such a job. But you must realize it is a very hard job for some one to plan out in a general way the telephone lines and the roads which could be used and might be most easily reached from each observation station. It really is not such a big job if you would send in the information. But perhaps it is like the man shingling the roof; when it rained it was too wet and when it was dry it didn't need shingling.

We all know that getting to a fire at the earliest possible moment is of the most vital importance. And if we

know just how to get there, how many men we can get and how to get hold of them, that information is almost invaluable at the certain time, and we have got to arrange some way to get this information. I think some state officer, someone acquainted with the work could get hold of this information in connection with their work at very little expense. I am sure all owners of estates would give the information desired to such a man.

PRESIDENT OSTRANDER: As a member of the committee representing this association, with Mr. Wilbur and Mr. Gaylord, we agreed to what we thought was a simple, inexpensive plan for the woodland owners to co-operate with the State Commission which we thought would get almost unanimous response to the request which was sent to our members. As Mr. Howard has pointed out we were disappointed. I would be very much interested to have the statement of any members who did not respond explaining what his objection to the plan was so that if we fail again your committee may form and adopt some plan which will be valuable to all of you. If there is any one who would like to extend his views we would be very glad to hear from him. The Secretary tells me we have but fourteen replies to sixtythree requests for information. Mr. Cutting, have you anything to say upon this subject?

MR. CUTTING: No, I don't think I have, except to say I think every land owner ought to have little ways of his own through his property and the place fitted up with all sorts of tools and ought to have telephone lines so that he can get in connection with the people at Albany. There are five different telephones on my place so that we can get in connection at any time.

PRESIDENT OSTRANDER: Did you read the plan we agreed upon in co-operation with the commission?

MR. CUTTING: Yes, I did, but I think that was covered pretty well. This plan provided that fires should be reported to the commission by owners of property whose property is in danger of fires. Employees of the woodland owner shall report at once.

MR. MEIGS: Gentlemen, this fire question is, I think, one of the most important problems which we have to meet. Now, this plan, Mr. President, is most excellent, it was very

carefully thought out and it should have met with the cooperation of the land owners and it didn't. I have been in the Adirondacks a good many years, I have been always, most deeply interested in fire protection and I tell you I approve of this scheme, but I did not reply, I don't know why, but I simply did not. Our company did not go into it. We have many miles of telephone wires in the various parts of our lands and we have given the state every opportunity to fix up with our system. I have always felt that the lumbermen were the fire fighters of the Adirondacks. To speak perfectly plainly I have not personally had much confidence in the ability of fire fighting of some of the owners. I agree with the feeling of the association that since we are cooperating with the commission not only should our land be protected with fire fighting devices, but that it should be protected against fire, that we have a right to live and that we are of value to the State of New York not only because of the forest lands we happen to own but because of the industry we are operating and I think it will take a little time to get that principle in working order but I think it will come during a few years, if constant agitation is taken up.

MR. GAYLORD: I am sure that we agree most truly with Mr. Meigs and Mr. Cutting in saying that fire protection is of prime importance. I am sure that we would continue to be just as helpful at Ne-ha-sa-ne although we did not thoroughly agree and it seems that by giving this information we would be adding to the conservation to do what we could for it.

MR. HOWARD: Far be it from me to let you assume that a land owner has a perfect system and that our protective system is not as good. Cases will arise where we can be of assistance and fire protection is such a thing that it requires co-operation to be effective. A fire might start in a tract surrounded by another tract and we have prepared to express our feeble efforts to protect private land as well as state land and I urge on all of you to furnish us with the information requested. It can't do you any harm and by giving that information it may help you on some occasion.

MR. CUTTING: Under the old system when the towns had the fire alarm land owners would protect the town, but under the present system most of us feel we are protected. In case of fires on my own land, all my employees are taught

to notify Albany at once, and at the same time go and get busy. Two years ago a fire started 2 miles away. We notified Albany, shut our sawmill, took our men and held the fire thru all that day and our men did not get back until 9 o'clock that night. I was willing to do all this, we must co-operate with the state, we must look out for all the timber land of our neighbors.

PRESIDENT OSTRANDER: I think we are pretty well agreed on the principle of the proposed plan and possibly if we take another chance at it we may succeed this year. I hope we shall.

MR. HIGBIE: I feel just like making a suggestion, if I may. As the subject has been reviewed it shows up very complete, yet, there is one phase of it I have never heard discussed, perhaps that phase is a little unpopular. It seems more harm is done by the hunter, the fisher, and the campers than by any other source and it seems that the viewpoint of the state policy is wrong in this respect. I understand that any man who gets a license can go in on property and become a camper or hunter, the fee is one dollar and nonresident, twenty dollars. Just think what that license gives to the man who has the money; he can go on your property, he can erect his camp, he can go anywhere, he can catch fish, he can shoot any deer. Even though this is not very extensive, just suppose the state should issue a license and say that if you have a spare bed room anybody can go and sleep there. I wonder if the time has not pretty nearly come when the lumberman should make this matter a subject of some thought and after a little publicity we could reverse the protest, if anybody wanted to hunt on private land he must get the owner's consent. It may be incumbent for a man to get your permission rather than allow the state to issue a license, but we are getting some new views on this subject and they are sure to be valuable to us.

MR. SYKES: I am agreed with all that Mr. Higbie has said and I believe that the Adirondack forests are more than endangered because of the irresponsible people who go there year after year by the thousands simply to hunt and fish and seek pleasure at the expense of private land owners. I don't like to repeat but perhaps some of you have forgotten what I said at Watertown. I made this statement, that I believed the greatest enemy of the Adirondack forests was

« ПретходнаНастави »