6. Defacing buildings, peeling bark or injuring trees is prohibited.

7. No boat is entitled to the exclusive use of any dock. There must be free access for all boats at all times.

8. Persons using the St. Lawrence Reservation must not leave refuse on the grounds.

9. All persons will be held strictly liable to the State for any damage done to State property.

Application was made to the Commission for permission to erect, upon State lands, "Open Camps." The application stated that remote and desirable places could not be ordinarily enjoyed because there was too great a burden imposed in packing necessary camp outfits; that camps of this character could not be enclosed, therefore were always open; that they would be built at private expense and given to the State and thus not be private property; and that they would be subject to rules and regulations of the Commission.

The Conservation Commission, September 2, 1913, duly adopted the following resolution:

Rules and Regulations, Re Construction and Use of Trails and Open Camps Upon State Land

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:

1. No person, association or corporation shall build any trail or open camp upon State land without first obtaining written permission from the Conservation Commission.

2. The location of such trails and open camps shall be fixed by the Commission.

3. Application for permission to construct such open camps shall state the source of supply and the character of the material to be used, and no such camp shall be constructed until the character of the material and the source of the supply thereof shall be approved by the Commission.

4. All such camps shall contain a conspicuous sign reading as follows:

This camp is property of the State of New York and is open to the public."

Such sign shall be maintained at such camps by the person, association or corporation constructing the camp.

5. A suitable fireplace shall be constructed and maintained in front of such camp, the form and material thereof to be approved by the Commission.

6. No such camp shall be occupied by the same party or persons more than ten days in any year, nor more than three nights in succession. This rule shall not apply to State employees while engaged in fighting fires. A copy of this rule shall be posted and maintained in a conspicuous place at such camp.

7. The Commission may remove or discontinue the use of any such camps at any time.

8. No building, camp or structure shall be erected on State land except as above provided.

There are upon lands claimed by the State as the Forest Preserve about 700 cases of occupancy of various kinds. These vary from farms which are occupied and cultivated to small hunting camps or a few acres used for pasture. Where there are extended uses of the properties, the people claim title adverse to the State and substantially all such cases of occupancy have been transmitted to the Attorney-General for prosecution or determination of title. There are 406 cases reported, with buildings valued at $276,375. It is fair to say that approximately 95 per cent. of them are such as would be willing to execute leases. Nearly all of these occupancies are of many years standing. We have secured "disclaimers of title " as far as possible, and referred cases where they could not be secured to the Attorney-General. We have endeavored to prevent further erection of structures and thereby protect the State's interests. The question as to what should be done with these numerous occupants of the State land has been held in abeyance pending the voice of the people relative to leasing camp sites. It did not seem necessary to eject them or destroy property of a citizen if the people were willing to lease the privilege of occupancy.

The question of administering these matters is important, and will be further discussed under the title of Forest Management.

CONSTITUTIONAL PROHIBITION

The present provision of article VII of the Constitution which was enacted* in 1894 reads as follows:

"Forest Preserve.- Section 7. The lands of the State, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept as wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private, nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed."

It was adopted when conditions were much different from what they are today.

During the two decades since that provision was adopted important economic, industrial and administrative changes have taken place. At that time there was but a slight appreciation of the importance of scientific forestry; there was not a single American school of forestry, and probably not more than five professional foresters in the whole country. The forests were then generally considered as something the maximum quantity of which was fixed, and not capable of reproduction or increase by growth. The area included has increased from 720,744 acres to more than 1,800,000 acres; our population has grown from 6,000,000 to 9,000,000 people. It is, therefore, apparent that the prohibition was made at a time when there was but 40 per cent. of the present area and 60 per cent. of the present population, and when the quantity of material affected was but a small part of the whole. However, at the present time, the timber on State land is a large portion of our total forest resources. It is estimated that the amount of standing timber in the Forest Preserve counties in 1894 was approximately 40,000,000,000 feet, board measure, and that this quantity has decreased until at present there is not over 25,000,000,000 feet. It is estimated that in 1895 approximately 4,000,000,000 feet, or 10 per cent., was owned by the State, while now the stumpage on State land is approximately 8,000,000,000 feet, or over 30 per cent. of the total in the Forest Preserve counties, or 20 per cent. of the whole stumpage of the State. Dur

An amendment was adopted November 4, 1913, providing that three per centum could by authority of the Legislature be used for water storage purposes.

ing this period a change has resulted in the proportion of lumber cut in this section from about 1 per cent. of the stand in 1894 to approximately 212 per cent. at the present time.

This provision of the Constitution prevents any direct utilization of this vast resource. The question that naturally arises is, what more benefits could be derived if the Constitution permitted?

There are many phases of this question, such as the indirect benefits of protection to watershed, regulation of flow of streams, game cover, health resort, recreation grounds, and aesthetic value; the possible commercial returns which are now lost but might be derived; the increased benefits which might accrue through lessened restrictions; the demands of the State upon this area as a source of wood supply; the adoption of a policy which will be beneficial to these regions; the efficient administration and honest enforcement of the forest law; the increase of the preserve and its better protection through funds derived from a wider use. These, and the future management of this territory, are all questions which should be carefully considered.

FOREST MANAGEMENT

The proper use of this great area means more to the people of this State than can be briefly stated. There are honest differences of opinion as to whether any modification should be made in the present Constitution. If we could be assured of honest and efficient administration, then changes could be favorably considered. In order to present facts which are important we will assume for the purpose that whatever is attempted will be done properly and by people who are thoroughly trained for the work.

Reconnaissance.

The first step should be a careful examination of the forested area. The work should be done and data procured similar to that found in Appendix I of this report, entitled "A Forest Survey of a Parcel of State Land." This will give accurate information as to the location of forests, their composition, the stands of timber, the types of growth, and will provide information as a basis for planning operations.

Classification. The second step should be a delineation of the lands into two kinds: First, protective forests on mountain tops

and steep slopes together with areas around certain bodies of water which should not be lumbered. Second, the less abrupt and more remote areas which could be lumbered conservatively.

A classification of this character would probably result in 200,000 acres being retained for protective forests and about 1,000,000 being used for wood production. The revenue from the former would be derived from leasing of camp sites, while from the latter it would come from the sale of mature, dead and down timber and from trees which should be cut in order to permit proper growth of younger trees.

Location. There are, as already noted, 313,277 acres of the preserve which are outside the two parks. This area includes 183,725 acres of land under water, leaving a balance of 129,552 acres of land of varying character. This area of land is contained in 1,166 separate parcels exclusive of the islands in Lake George or lands under water. They do not perform a true function as a "Forest Preserve." The areas vary from a fractional part of an acre to tracts of a thousand acres. A few are so situated that they could be used for forestry purposes, but fully 90 per cent. of the parcels are small, isolated, often difficult to locate accurately, and difficult and expensive to protect. As à matter of policy it would seem more desirable to dispose of these outlying areas and acquire other land within the parks. This will result in consolidating present holdings, reduce administrative expense and have the same investment and area better serve its purpose.

Utilization of Timber. The compilation shows that there was found upon the 1,585,496 acres 8,065,986,000 feet B. M. of merchantable material. This timber is all upon the 1,204,538 acres classified as merchantable forest area. The average acre of such lands, therefore, contains about 6,700 feet B. M. of material.

There are included in this amount both mature and immature trees. There are large areas of virgin forests (estimated 70,000 acres), also extensive areas of lumbered lands (estimated 1,130,000 acres) upon which the greater proportion of timber is mature and is not increasing in volume or value. There are other areas covered with poplar, a tree that reaches maturity in a comparatively short time, which is very valuable for pulp and other pur

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