The Saint Paul Globe

GIFT TO THE STATE
EX-GOVERNOR JOHN S. PILLSBURY PROMISES IT SOME VIRGIN FOREST AREAS IF IT WILL PRESERVE THEM.

CONFERREES YESTERDAY PREPARED A BILL FOR SUBMISSION TO LEGISLATURE.

FORESTRY ASSOCIATION, TOO, Will Meet Soon to Take Action Upon the Bill as Agreed Upon by Others.

"Minnesota, I think, will soon have fine forest reserves," said Gen. C. C. Andrews, state fire warden, yesterday afternoon. Ex-Gov. John S. Pillsbury has given me assurances that as soon as the legislature passes a bill looking to the proper care of such forest areas, he will donate to the state some tracts of fine timber in the Northern part of the state."

A joint committee, representing the various organizations in the state interested in forest preservation, met yesterday to consider a bill drafted by Capt. J. N. Cross for presentation at the approaching session of the legislature. Capt. Cross was requested to prepare such a bill at the summer meeting of the horticultural association, and in addition to the consideration which it received by the general committee, will be further considered by a committee of the forestry association. There were present at the meeting D. R. McGinnis, S. M. Owen, A. W. Latham, Wyman Elliott, Capt. Cross, Minneapolis; J. O. Barrett, of Brown's Valley, and Prof. S. B. Green, of the agricultural college.

The bill, a lengthy one, was accepted by the committee after a few minor revisions.

The bill provides for a forest reserve area to be owned and controlled by the state, this area to be created from lands set apart for the purpose by the state, or given to it by persons, corporations or the United States government for that purpose. All such lands are to be exempt from taxation except that any part of the incomes from them which go to private persons shall be taxed.

To look after this forest reserve area there is created a state forestry board, which shall consist of nine members, as follows: The fire warden, the professor of horticulture in the agricultural college of the university, three persons to be named for terms of four years by the regents of the university for their expert knowledge, respectively, of forest creation and preservation in the prairie regions, in the forest regions, and the third for his knowledge of the sources of supply of the various streams of the states; four persons to be elected by the following named bodies for terms of two years; the state forestry association, the lumbermen's association, the horticultural society and the fish and game commission.

The board shall appoint a secretary, but no member of the board shall be paid for his services. The state treasurer is to act as treasurer of the board. The bill prescribes the duties of the board at length and authorizes it to appoint an executive committee with executive authority. The boards of town supervisors and county commissioners are constituted town and county forestry boards.

The specifications of the manner in which private persons may deed forest or barren lands to the state for the creation or preservation of forests, reserving the use of the lands to themselves for all purposes, such as mining, which do not interfere with the forests, are lengthy and detailed.

The income of such lands so deeded to the state are to be divided into three equal parts once in every five years, and these three parts shall be given to the state, the educational institution or system which the donor of the lands may designate (or the public school system and university in general, if there are no specifications by the donor), and the third part shall be given to the donor of the lands or his heirs until the expiration of a period of seventy-five years following the date of the deed.

This provision is a very important and unusual one, and it is believed that it will be a great stimulus to private owners to deed their unused lands to the state should they be of a nature suitable for forestry purposes.

The state is further authorized to lease for any purpose low meadow tracts or other tracts for pasture where doing so will not interfere with the growth of forest trees, to sell dead and fallen timber and to deed parts of such tracts where public improvements demand alienation of them by the state.