Conservafion in California Past Present

Future

A T THE close of the Cir-il War A there began to develop among a few individuals and groups of citizens, a campaign to preserve and perpetuate some of our vast national heritage of wildland resources. There r,vas great controversey over the disposition of the unsettled public domain. much of which was enentuallv transferred into our present Nationai Forests.

In California a few citizens decried the waste caused by deliberate or carelessly ignited forest fires. A threeman State Forest Commissiorl was created by staute in 1885 and allotted $5,000 for the first two years operation. After a rather stormy period involving many political squabbles, the Commission was abolished in 1893. When George C. Pardee became Governor in 1903, he joined with Gifford Pinchot to provide for a joint state-federal survey of the forest and water situation in California. As a result of this survey and the politics developed during its progress, the legislature was persuaded to create the offrce of State Forester and a new Roard of Forestry. The first appointed State Forester wis E. T. Allen. He remained only for about a year but he labored mightily to build up a fire protection system composed of volunteer fire wardens. In l9l9 great t,hings happened for forestry in the legislature. The State

by ETMER F. OSTER,I AN Supervisor of Conservolion Educotion

ond DAVID K. MACK

Forestry Troinee Colifornio Division of Forestry shed protective measures. This made possible, in 1919, the hiring of the first four State Forest Rangersby the State Forester. The next season ten more Rangers were hired and the "protected" area rose from 3.5 to 8.5 million acres. By 1922 there were twenty-one Rangers and two State Lookouts.

Forester rvas granted authority to enter cooperative agreements with persons and agencies to engage in fire protection, and the sum of $25,000 was appro- priated for such work durins the 1919 and 1920 seasons. Separate State ap- propriations had been made for several years to l-relp protect a few important watersheds in southern California. The Weeks Law provided matching funds to the states from the federal governrnent for certain fire control and water-

In 7924 a new and broader cooperative law was passed by Congress replacing the federal Weeks -Law of 1911. It was called the Clarke-McNary Act. This legislation provided for fecieral aid in the protection of state and private lands. Viewed in respect to its cumulative effect after its mlnv vears of operation, the federal Ctaike-McNary Act of 1924 must be acclaimed a-s one of the greatest single steps on the part of government toward forest land conservation in this Nation. Conservation leaders in California played a very active part in securing the passage of this legislation.

A bill was introduced in Washing- torr irr 1922 to appropriate money to establish a forest experiment station in California. The 6itt passed but money wasn't made available until the 1926-27 fiscal year. Ry July, 1927 the specialized business of research into forestry problems in California was at last established upon a sound and permanent basis. It has thus continued and expanded. The station is now known is the Pacific Southwest Forest and Range Experiment Station.

The great Depression of the 1930's had a great influence on the attitude and philosophy toward natural conservation in the general public and public officials. Work camp programs are

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commonly said to have advanced the material progress of forestry agencies twenty years or more ahead of normal anticipated accomplishment. California fathered this movement with State forestry work camps that were the forerunner of the Civilian Conservation Corps program that contributed so much to conservation.

To strengthen cooperation with the states -in forestry work and also pro- vide farmers with low cost forest planting stock, the Norris-Doxey Cooperative Farm Forestry Act was passed in 1937. The federal sovernment carried on a forestry asJistance and conservation education program as authorized by this legislation.-The attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941 caused a violent change in lesislative attitude toward fire protectioi. Up to this time, requests foi any substantial increase in ihe budget of the State Division of Forestry had been turned dorvn. The Legisliture in a special session appropriated four million dollars to triple the Division's fire organi- zation. This presented a most formidable task in a Nation rushing into war preparedness. Despite great difficulty in securing personnel and equipment, the Division did not fail.

More than 'a half century ago a few states endeavored to regulate by law the manner in which forest products were harvested upon privati lands. Private industry proved forests can- not be conserved and wisely used merely by enacting laws which stipu- late this shall be done. Many legal codes contained scores of such la*s. excellent in intent. but unenforceable because they wer.e not based on sound economics. In California. definitelv with the assistance of leaders in the industry, a Forest Practice Act was written into law in 1945. The law defines four major forest practice distrjcts and provides for the appointment of members to respective committees in each district. The committees formulate rules designed to protect forest land for harvesting in a- manner that will insure continuled forest regeneration. After the rules are approved they have the force of law. It is interesting to note that forest harvesting in its several forms has more than doubled in volume since the Forest Practice Act became law.

Fire- prevention also made worthy gains in the Forties. Educational programs and campaigns designed to^ en- list public support for forest fire prevention saw their beginning. While-the U_nited States population grew from 132 million in 19,10 to l80-million in 1960, the number of forest fires dropped from 195,427 to 103,387. This is i -decrease of forty-seven p,ercent in the number of fires while population zoomed thirty-six percent. Duiing the same perio'd acreage burned wai reduced eighty-three percent. California's fire prevention activities contributed heavily to these statistics.

A regionwide campaign was initiated in l94l by the Conservation Association of Southern California. a private- organization that had begun !o^r^e.st frre prevention work as early as 1924. Recognizing the success of -this educational effort, the War Advertis- irg Council (now the Advertising Council) decided to include forest firi prevention as one of the essential nationwide campaigns necessary in the war effort. Consequently, "Smokey" the Fire Preventin' Bear, was officially adopted as the symbol of this national campaign in 1945. The "Smokey Bear" program is now a cooperative campaign between State Forestry Departments and the United States Forest Service with the assistance of the Advertising Council. The popularity of Smokey is without equal. In fact, Smokey became so popular so fast that Congress actually had to step in and protect him with legislation ap- propriately called the "Smokey Bear Act." Smokey's live counterpart lives in a zoo in Washington, D.C., and is far and away the biggest attraction among all the animals there.

The California Fire Prevention Committee, in 1947 adopted the slogan "Keep California Green and Golden." Today, the Committee membership approaches five hundred. These state leaders represent informational services, business, industry, agriculture, labor, and government. Using statewide educational outlets and channels available to their particular business or organization, these citizen representatives are now responsible for a large share of the forest fire prevention information that is seen and heard by the state's urban residents. There are many conservation groups active in California. The forest industry's "Keep California Green" program and the work of the Redwood Region Conservation Council are outstanding fire prevention efforts. The Conservation Association of Southern California is contintring the work started in 1924. Many other groups contribute immeasurably in conservation activities.

With California's past achievements in mind, one should not be complacent or self-assured about the future of conservation in California. Ideas that were once thought to be bizarre and unrealistic are now operational and effective. Fire suppression research and experimentation offer new hope in reducing the size of major forest fires. The use of aircraft, both fixedwing and rotary, is a relatively new and useful tool. Chemical fire retardants are being used more extensively every year. Equipment engineering is providing the fire control agencies with more efficient, versatile types of apparatus. To further this imaginative and effective research, construction rvill begin this year on a western fire research laboratory of the United States Forest Service to be headquartered at Riverside, California.

Pre-planning is a much used term in modern fire co,ntrol. We will, within not too many years, see a complete fi rebreak network constructed throughout the valuable watersheds of southern California. This form of land treat(Couiru^ted on Page 96) r