56

SPECIAL PROJECTS

The Fuel Crisis of World War I

Woodbury was appointed to the Wood Fuel Committee on January 31, 1918, by the Federal Fuel Administration for California, chaired by A. E. Schwabacker, and served until February 28, 1919. This committee was chaired by C. Stowell Smith, a former member of the Forest Service, as was W. B. Pratt also a member of the committee. Other Forest Officers served on county committees or aided their local committees.

The primary effort of the Fuel Administration was to increase the use of fuel wood in homes and reduce the consumption of coal and oil, because coal and oil were the basic fuel needed for the war production of ammunition and supplies and transportation of the ammunition and men. A secondary effort was made to control prices of fuel wood so that people would use wood instead of coal, as coal was in short supply and rationed in some areas.

Schwabacker’s Final Report, dated December 14, 1918, had this to say about the action of the Fuel Wood Committee:

“This Committee has prepared data showing the cost of production for different kind of fuel wood in various sections of the State and costs on marketing and general distribution. These costs fluctuate with changes in the cost of labor. A comprehensive leaflet has been published and distributed throughout the State by the Fuel Wood Committee, stating in which sections wood cannot easily be used as a fuel. This leaflet was a part of the campaign to urge the burning of wood fuel.

“The Wood Fuel Committee has stimulated the utilization of fuel of waste from sawmill operations and from wood left to rot on the ground by tan bark operations. Prices that were unusually high in certain communities have been reduced to fair figures by voluntary agreement between dealers and members of the fuel wood committee. Much wood that was formerly by railroad companies and others has been made available for consumption and has served to displace a small tonnage of coal. Encouragement has been given to all communities adjacent to wooded sections of the State to burn wood, thereby conserving coal.”

In reviewing the files in 1973 concerning the fuel situation in 1917-1919, one cannot help being reminded that the present energy crisis may again place emphasis on the need for wood for fuel to replace, in part, the fossil fuels now so greatly in demand and are in short supply.

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Early Federal Land Cooperation

Prior to when the Forest Service took over management of the Forest Reserves, the Bureau of Forestry was engaged in cooperative forestry work on private lands, military bases, the Indian Service, National Parks, the State of California, and cities and counties. After the District Office was created in San Francisco (1908) the work was handled by the Office of Silviculture.

Most of the cooperative work was for tree planting. The Forest Service usually provided an examination of the planting site, a report of the examination and recommendations, and sometimes planting stock.

The cooperation with military bases resulted in much good work. Eucalyptus and other species still exist on these reservations that resulted from some of this cooperative work. The files contain reports on the work for the following Military Bases.

Name of Base Coop Work Done Dates Species

Fort Rosecranz (San Diego) Planting plans & 1908-1912 Eucalyptus, Jeffrey Planting stock pine, incense-cedar Yerba Buena Island Planted 12 Acres 1900-1919 Deodor cedar, Eucalyptus, Monterey pine, Monterey cypress Mare Island Navy Yard Planting plans & 1910-1912 Eucalyptus, Monterey Planting stock cypress, Deodor cedar, Monterey pine Eucalyptus seed Angel Island Planting advice 1911-1912 Incense-cedar, Jeffrey Some planting pine, Deodar cedar stock in 1917 Fort Barry Planting advice 1912-1917 Jeffrey pine, Incense- Some plating cedar stock in 1917 Alcatraz Island Planting advice 1916 No information

Gigling Military Reservation Timber cruise 1930 No information Presidio of Monterey Timber marking

It is interesting to note that the timber marking on the Monterey Presidio was done by Woodbury and Dunston, the “top brass” of the Division. The cruise was done by Oscar Evans. The marking was done between November 21 and 25, 1930. I am sure that Woodbury found the golf course to his liking as they took a whole week to do the job. Too bad he didn’t take John Berry, who was also a golfer and probably better qualified as a marker. They only marked 4,650 trees from 2” to 12” D.B.H. 4,500 of the trees were 8 inches and under. Surely there must have been some spare time for inspecting the golf course by Woodbury with Dunston as caddy. 58

Early Private Land Cooperation

Name of Company Coop Work Done Dates Species

Casper Lumber Co. Planting hardwood 1909-1910 Eucalyptus, Chestnut experiments Tuliptree, Black walnut, Black locust, Black cherry, White ash, European larch Union Lumber Co. Planting 1909 Eucalyptus

Madera Sugar Pine Co. Cutting methods 1904 Sugar pine, yellow and direct seeding pine Hotel Del Monte Insect and disease 1909-1910 Monterey pine

G. H. Subrin Planting plans 1900-1901 No information and examination City of Los Angeles Planting plans 1910 Various eastern Owens Valley hardwoods Yosemite National Park Planting in the Valley ------Giant sequoia

Arrowhead Hot Springs Planting examination 1905-1906 Eucalyptus, Monterey and plans pine and several other conifer species

Many other cooperative agreements were entered into. The above table indicates the usual kinds of work. One interesting project was the making of working plans and timber cruises for the entire Hoopa Indian Reservation, and a strip one-mile wide on each side of the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean for a distance of 20 miles inland, known as the Klamath Indian Reservation, and the Reservations extensions along the Klamath River from the Hoopa Reservation to the Klamath Reservation. The total area examined was 118,372 acres, and the cost was $21 per square mile.