![\"\"](\"http:\/\/www.forestcamping.com\/dow\/suzi\/wp-content\/uploads\/2009\/11\/gall15-1.jpg\")
<\/a>Earthquake Lake in Gallatin NF<\/p><\/div>\n
The need for national forests, known in the beginning as Reserves, was recognized as the industrial age destroyed our land and watershed. \u00a0It may be hard for us today to envision the area now known as George Washington-Thomas Jefferson National Forests as bare and treeless and dotted with unproductive farms but this was the case at the turn of the 20th-Century. \u00a0The trees had been clear-cut for the railroad industry (just how destructive the practice was can still be seen in the area around the Dolly Sod area of the Monogahela National Forest.\u00a0 Farming techniques contributed to pollution and deterioration of watershed. \u00a0The run-off from the distance Applicalican Mountains actually threatening the water supply in Washington, D.C. \u00a0 Although land west of the Mississippi River did not suffer the same levels of destruction enough faresighted people recognized the potential problem. \u00a0With that early designation of Reserve, harvesting the forest\u2019s bounty was more or less controlled. \u00a0Along with the lands designed Reserve, other lands were acquired after some the shady dealings of less than honest people. \u00a0(Portions of the Manistee National Forest are, I think, an example of this.) \u00a0Today, lands are still being brought under the Forest Service\u2019s umbrella of care via purchase and donation. \u00a0And the mandate remains the same: conservation of the land.<\/p>\n
Today\u2019s Forest Service is being pulled in many directions. \u00a0The term \u201cmulti-use\u201d is often heard. \u00a0Stop forest fires is another often heard phrase. \u00a0And opposition to timber harvesting is frequently expressed. \u00a0Not so often mentioned but still of critical importance is the preservation of watershed. \u00a0These are all responsibilities of the Forest Service. \u00a0But which should be given priority?<\/p>\n
The efforts of groups like the Sierra Club to local grassroots organizations are not just a recent occurrence. \u00a0In a large part, groups like these, with the same or very similar goals, made the national forests what they are today. \u00a0They are also contribute to whatever form it may have in the future. There are many battles raging concerning the fate of national forest lands. \u00a0Most of these battles deal with balancing your rights with mine with industry with wildlife and with a long list of other concerns. \u00a0 \u00a0We are campers and hikers. \u00a0We enjoy the quiet and solitude of national forest campgrounds and the challenge and sense of discovery of a new trail.<\/p>\n
We don\u2019t ride an ATV, mountain bikes, or horses. \u00a0We don\u2019t climb rocks, jet ski, or hand-glide. We don\u2019t harvest wild mushrooms, shoot game, fishing in lake or stream, or soak in hot springs. \u00a0We do not find the sight of a clear cut or prescribed burn attractive. \u00a0In general, we don\u2019t particularily appreciate any of these activities. \u00a0However, all these activities can and are be part of a national forest experience.\u00a0 They make our national forests what they are today.<\/p>\n