Category: History Date: 1934-03-24
Hills Forests Ready
HILLS FORESTS ARE READY FOR REFORESTRATION
New Legislation Would Put Several Hundred Men To Work
If the proposed reforestration bill suggested by President Roosevelt becomes a law, the two forests of the - Black Hills, the Harney and the Black Hills, are all ready to go, says T. K. Krueger, supervisor of the Black Hills forest, according to the Black Hills Weekly.
Plans and estimates for thinning of Black Hills forests have been made and enough experimental work done on various plots of the area, that the personnel of the forest office know definitely what can be done, where the work should be done, what it should cost per acre, and the length of time it should take.
Experimental plots at Pine Crest park near Deadwood, in Spearfish Canyon, at Pactola and Nemo, have been made and estimates and plans worked out a year ago which would make a good start possible.
Local men, known to the supervisor and ranger, can be very easily and quickly trained as forestmen. The force is sufficient to take care of several hundred men without any additional forest men to supervise the work. In case the number reaches close to a thousand or more, additional aid would be required.
Next in importance to thinning comes clearing of road sites and camp areas, and the building of roads and trails. These, together with thinning, are added fire protection, and the thinning assures reforestration by allowing the natural growth of the forest to produce large trees where without it, it would mean small, spindly trees that are of little value.
Some thinning has been done on the Harney forest, under supervision of J. 0. Connor, supervisor Funds of the reconstruction finance corporation were allotted to the work and plots near Custer and at Sanator were cleaned up.
"There are many details to be worked out after the bill is passed and we know definitely what to do, but with the submission of estimates and preliminary surveys which we made some time ago, we can start work in a very short time, if necessary," Mr. Krueger said.
According to the Congressional record dated March 24, 1934, the reforestration funding was part of the banking bill of March 9, 1933.
CONGRESSIONAL RECORD-HOUSE
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
SATURDAY, MARCH 24, 1934
Congress has aided practically every group of persons and of business interests in this country during the past year except alone the veterans.
For instance: (1) By the banking bill of March 9, 1933, over $2,000,000,000 of additional currency was placed at the disposal of the banks that are members of the Federal Reserve System, by making eligible for rediscount additional collateral then in their portfolios; (2) $500,000,000 was granted outright for unemployment relief; (3) $3,300,000,000 was granted for public works; (4) $950,000,000 was granted as additional emergency relief funds; (5) the credit of the Government was extended to the extent of $2,200,000,000 in guaranteeing the bonds of the Federal farm mortgage system; (6) the Congress within the next few days will certainly further extend the credit of the Government by an additional $2,200,000,000 to guarantee the bonds of the Home Owners' Loan Corporation; (7) $300,000,000 was appropriated for the reforestration (C.C.C.) camps; (8) $850,000,000 was recently appropriated as additional funds for the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to extend as industrial loans; (9) a great agency of the Government created by act of Congress under the name of Reconstruction Finance Corporation has, within the scope of its power, authority, and duty extended loans up to March 1934 amounting to a total of $4,786,408,947.
New legislation would put several hundred men to work
