A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other CountriesFernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
History
A Brief History of Forestry.: In Europe, the United States and Other Countries
Fernow, B. E. (Bernhard Eduard)
Forests and forestry -- History
New Hampshire appointed such a commission in 1881, which reported in
1885, without result, and another commission in 1889, whose report, in
1893, led to the establishment of a permanent commission of inquiry and
advice, with a partial supervision of forest fire laws. Vermont followed
suit with a commission of inquiry, in 1882, whose report made in 1884,
remained without consequences.
In Michigan the expedient was resorted to of constituting the State
Board of Agriculture a commission of inquiry, whose report, published in
1888, had also no consequences except those of an educational character.
Similarly, the State of Massachusetts ordered the State Board of
Agriculture in 1890, to inquire “into the consideration of the forests
of the State, the need and methods of their protection,” with similar
results, or lack of result.
In New Jersey, the matter was referred to the State Geologist, who,
since 1894, has made reports on forest conditions and needs. Similar
reference of the subject was made in the State of North Carolina, in
1891, and in West Virginia.
The first more permanent State institution deliberately established as
an educational and advisory agent was the Forestry Bureau of Ohio, in
1885, which published a number of annual reports, but eventually
collapsed for lack of support.
In the same year, three important States, New York in the East, Colorado
in the Middle States, and California in the West, seemed simultaneously
to have awakened to their duty, largely as a result of the propaganda of
the American Forestry Association.
In California, a State Board of Forestry was instituted, with
considerable power and ample appropriations, which, however, eventually
fell into the hands of unscrupulous politicians and grafters, the
resulting scandals leading to its abolishment in 1889.
In Colorado, which when admitted to Statehood in 1876, had, in its
Constitution, directed the general assembly to legislate on behalf of
the forestry interests of the State, these interests were rather tardily
committed to a forest commissioner, who was charged to organize county
commissioners and road overseers throughout the State as forest officers
in their respective localities, to act as a police force in preventing
depredations on timbered school lands and in enforcing the fire laws.
Col. E.T. Ensign, who had been most instrumental in bringing about this
legislation, was appointed commissioner, and, with singular devotion, in
spite of the enmity aroused by his activity, which eventually led to a
discontinuance of appropriations, tried, for a number of years to
execute this law. With his resignation from the office, this legislation
also fell into innocuous desuetude.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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