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Show 354 Forest Land Legislation Prior to 1891 congressional action respecting the public lands was largely limited to the objective of placing such lands in private ownership.11 To mention a few illustrations, dis- posal was the ultimate goal of the Preemption Act of 1841, the Homestead Act of 1862, the Desert Land Act of 1877, and the Timber and Stone Act of 1878.12 Moreover, while some contemporary legislation was adopted affecting forested public-domain lands, it was largely concerned with timber sup- ply, and without regard for land conservation or the effect of tree cover on watershed protection.13 National Forests.-Against this background, significance attaches to legislation providing for the creation of national forests, now administered by the Secretary of Agriculture.14 In 1891, Congress authorized the President to establish forest reserves out of specified lands in the public domain.15 Legisla- tion adopted in 1897 laid the basis for filling in the details of administration for the national forests thus created.18 The ¦u United States Department of Agriculture Yeab Book, p. 472 (1940); American Conservation, The American Forestry Association, pp. 31-33 (1941). "Act of September 4,1841, 5 Stat. 453; Act of May 20,1862, 12 Stat. 392; Act of March 3,1877,19 Stat. 377, as amended, 43 U. S. C. 321-323; Act of June 3, 1878, 20 Stat. 89, as amended, 43 U. S. C. 311-313. See also Ise, United States Forest Policy, pp. 49-61 (1920). 33 See, e. g., Act of March 3, 1873,17 Stat. 605; Act of March 13, 1874, 18 Stat. 21; Act of June 3, 1878, 20 Stat. 89, as amended, 43 U. S. C. 311-313. 14 Administration of forest reservations, originally vested in the Secretary of the Interior, was transferred to the Secretary of Agriculture in 1905. Act of February 1, 1905, § 1, 33 Stat. 628, 16 U. S. O. 472. Congress had theretofore provided funds for a division of forestry in the Department of Agriculture. Act of June 30,1886, 24 Stat. 100,103. Public management of publicly owned forested lands was not a new idea, however. The State of New York, for example, had made provision in 1885 for State management of forested lands, creating the Adirondack and Catskill Parks. McKinnney's Consolidated Laws of New York, Bk. 10, § 63 and note following. 15 Act of March 3, 1891, § 24, 26 Stat. 1095, 1103, as amended, 16 U. S. C. 471. 19 Act of June 4, 1897, 30 Stat. 11, 34-36, as amended, 16 U. S. C. 473, 475- 482, 551. |