The 1941 Gopher Peavey Annual Publication of the Forestry Club, University of Minnesota T(f//y Sheet PRELIMINARY CRUISE State Forests - 8 , Just Another Smokechaser - 12 THE ROTATION Mature Timber 14 Reproduction 18 Poles 19 Standards 20 Cover Types - 21 Overstory 24 Mixed Stand - 25 SURVEY RECORDS Freshman Corporation - 26 Bull of the Woods - 29 Junior Corporation 30 Foresters' Day 34 Pack Essay - 38 MANAGEMENT PLANS Forestry in Minnesota - 44 The Fit Forester 50 Home-Grown Foresters and the Minnesota Lumber Industry - 54 Some Northeastern Minnesota Farm and Forest Facts 59 The Forester - 62 FOREST INVENTORY Alumni Letters 64 Alumni Directory - 72 Illustrations On pages 5, 13 and 92 are used through courtesy of American Forests Magazine. Those on pages 11~ 43, 63 and 90 are used through courtesy of the Minnesota Conservation Department [4) fOl(EWOl(D From an imbroglio of sweat, toil, and turmoil has developed the 1941 Gopher Peavey. Its theme may be categorized as "Minnesota Forestry" with an interspersion of humor, gaiety, and friendship-all con­ comitant qualities in student life. With a hope and a prayer and a shout, we present to you this 1941 Peavey. May it serve as a bond of fellowship between students, alumni, and OUR school. The 1941 PEA VEY STAFF DEDICATED to the M1NNEA.POLIS _)A,, ~ ...D a..J I':::! 0 CID IJ::Q, dissociation ef Commerce MINN EA.POLIS, MINNESOTA This volume is dedicated to the Conservation Committee of the Junior Association of Commerce of the City of Minneapolis because of the valiant work they have already accomplished in behalf of conservation and more especially because they have been one of the few lay organizations to ignore the temptation to fritter away their energies on petty local demonstrations, and have devoted themselves wholeheartedly to the solution of the basic problems of conservation • STATE FORESTS By H. G. WEBER State Forests have been in existence for many years. This is a well known fact. But it is only recently that they harve been put under rather sound forestry principles of operation. In the future, no doubt, these forestry practices shall approach the intensity of operation and management that is needed. In this paper, H. G. Weber, present State Forester of Minnesota, ·discusses the establishment, the present-day management, and the future of State Forests in Minnesota. In 1897 certain lands near the shore was the fact that many of our northern of Gull Lake were donated to the state counties found themselves in a state of of Minnesota by the Pillsbury interests, practical bankruptcy because of lands and in 1917 all of the state lands with­ forfeiting for non-payment of taxes. in the Superior and Chippewa National This situation led to the passage of Forests were set aside as state forests. legislation which provided some methods Thus, state forests were started in Min­ of organizing land use. First, an act was nesota. Since then, by legislative action, passed enabling the counties to classify additional forests have been established the land within the county on the basis until Minnesota now has 31 state forests of conservation or non-conservation uses aggregating a gross of 5,338,238 acres, and to adopt a zoning ordinance. Then, of which 1,335,170 acres are state own­ following the constitutional amendment, ed. enabling legislation was passed which The boundaries of most of the more provided for the exchange of lands be­ recently established state forests were de­ tween the state and the federal govern­ termined by two factors, the first being ment or the state and private individuals a concentration of state ownership in an for the purpose of consolidating con­ area, and the second being the presence servation lands in units which would lend in large quantities of lands within the themselves to better administration. area which were tax-delinquent to such Under the provisions of the zoning a degree that forfeiture to the state act three counties h~ve already classified would result. With land use in the nor­ their lands and have passed zoning or­ thern part of the state in a chaotic con­ dinances, namely Koochiching, Lake of dition, these factors were perhaps as the Woods, and Carlton; and five other good a guide as could have been used at counties have requested the aid of the the time. Since then great strides have Bureau of Agricultural Economics in been made in the cut-over region of Min­ making a preliminary survey for such nesota in the direction of planned land classification and the subsequent zoning. use. Since the method of zoning• involves The basic reason for the consideration meeting with the settlers, the township of the land use in an intelligent manner officers, and not less than two public (8] hearings held by the county officers, Some of the accomplishments of the great interest has been developed CCC have been the construction of throughout Minnesota in planned land 1,269 miles of fire truck trails, ranging use. Many communities, especially those from single lane low service to double · .on the Iron Range, are very interested in lane high service; 1,964 miles of tele­ establishing community forests. Several phone line; the construction of 54 look­ counties are also interested in establish­ out towers and 222 headquarters, ware­ ing county forests. houses and other buildings; the planting State forests as established in Minne­ of 16,993 acres and the improvement sota were located by use of the best in­ of stand on 34,082 acres. Where fire formation available at the time of their hazards were greatest, fire hazard re­ establishment, but a definite pattern set duction work was carried on on 21,419 up by the people of northern Minnesota acres. has established the fact that while the Certain measures are before the legis­ state forests are in general well located, lative body now in session, most of them some of the boundaries should be chang­ in the form of amendments to existing ed. This should be done in order to con­ laws, which will greatly aid in the use of form with the land use zoning programs these laws for the development of con­ developed after intensive study by the servation areas set aside on a long-term people and officials of the northern basis for conservation uses. counties. As a concrete example of the applica­ The statement has been made, and tion of the laws for the purpose of con­ justly so, that the state forests are "paper solidation of areas, let us consider two forests". It is true that the boundaries examples of the areas set aside as state of the forests were arbitrarily established forests. The George Washington Forest and that the gross area was out of pro- boundaries ;is established encompass 20rtion to the land actually state owned. 341,440· acres. At the present time 28 This does not mean, however, that noth­ percent of this is state-owned, and 30 ing has been done within the boundaries percent is tax-delinquent to a point where established by the legislature to improve forfeiture will occur upon publication of the state lands along forestry principles. the proper notice by the county. Thus The fact is that by the use of labor made we would have 58 percent of the area available through federal relief agencies, state-owned and classified on a long-term such as CCC and WPA, state owned basis as conservation land. The federal lands within the established forest boun­ government has expressed :J. willingness daries have been developed to a point to purchase privately owned lands in where it is safe to say that forestry prac­ state forests to exchange with the state tices and accomplishments within state for state owned lands located within the forests are approximately 15 years ahead boundaries of national forests. Since of where they would have been had not there are 400,000 acres of state owned these federal agencies been available. lands within the boundaries of the Sup- [9] erior and Chippewa National F9rests, ions of the state government that the it may well be assumed that the federal lands were set aside for conservation government could purchase such private purposes. lands within the George Washington One of the things it is important to State Forest which were more suited for avoid in the discussion of state forests is conservation purposes than for agricul­ the promise of great financial income ture and, by exchanging these purchases from the forest. A great percentage of for state owned lands within the national the area which will eventually be set ' forests, raise the holdings of the state aside for conservation purposes will con­ within the George Washington Forest sist of cut-over lands which have been to at least 80 percent of the total area. denuded to various degrees by logging Another example is the Pine Island and fire. It will take many years to bring State Forest. Here we find that 69 per­ the poorer classes of this land back into cent of the area, or 287,854 acres out forest production and to develop them to of the gross of 384,142 acres, is already a point where income from forest pro­ state owned and forfeiture through tax­ ducts will be produced. delinquency within that area will within The picture, however, is not wholly the next two years bring the state owner­ dark even on a financial income basis; ship well above the 80 percent mark. for we believe that by proper manage­ It is obvious, therefore, that the state ment timber sales cah be continued at lands within the areas designated as state the present volume without diminishing forests in Minnesota can be consolidated the available stand of timber.