In 1899 some of the recommendations of the Colville study were implemented. Upon the recommendation of the General Land Office the Secretary of the Interior approved permits to graze a limited number of sheep within restricted areas of the Cascade Range Forest Reserve. [38]
While the sheepherding controversy continued in the reserve Crater Lake received increasing attention in national periodicals. The thrust of these articles was for greater protection of the reserve and national park designation for Crater Lake. One such article appeared in the February 17, 1898, issue of Nature. The author described the scenic beauty and relative inaccessibility of the lake:
Crater Lake is situated nearly in 43° N. and 122° W. It may be reached from several stations on the railway between Portland, Oregon, and San Francisco, by roads, usually bad, and as yet there is no house of any kind near its shore. Leaving the Southern Pacific Railway at Medford, one may reach it by 85 miles of road up the Rogue River valley. From Ashland a road of 95 miles must be traversed; but the best road–one which is practicable for bicycles–is from Ager, Cal., past the deserted Fort Klamath, a distance of 116 miles. The whole country is covered with dense coniferous forest. In approaching the lake, there is a steep climb for about three miles; then the forest-clad mountain slope gives place to a nearly level plateau, carpeted in autumn with flowers, across which one walks a few hundred yards with nothing to see, until suddenly a precipice of 900 feet yawns at one’s very feet, and deep below the dazzling blue water of Crater Lake spreads far and wide. The weird grandeur of the scene accounts to the full for the superstitious awe with which the Indians of the district regard the lake. [39]
In the aftermath of the Forest Management Act, which made provision for the survey of the forest reserves, the U.S. Senate passed a resolution on February 28, 1898, “calling on the Secretary of the Interior for a report on the survey of the forest reserves’ by the U.S. Geological Survey. The summary section of the report, which was devoted to a description of the resources and activities in the Cascade Range Forest Reserve stated that it consisted of 4,492,800 acres, of which 461,920 were railroad land. Some 95 percent of the reserve was forested with 75 percent “marked by fire” and 90 percent “badly burned.” Accordingly, a force of two rangers, five forest guards, and thirty fire watchers was recommended for the reserve. Furthermore the report contained the following data on the reserve:
A rugged mountainous region, densely timbered on the western slope, with much open land cleared by fire, and suitable for grazing.
Fire has done, and is still doing, very serious injury.
Irrigation is but little practiced on either slope.
Mining has little present or prospective importance.
Agriculture can attain little development within the reserve.
The grazing of sheep should be permitted tentatively and under careful restrictions.
The commercial development of this reserve is not demanded for the present. [40]
During 1900-01 various boundary changes were made to the Cascade Range Forest Reserve. On October 9, 1899, citizens of Wasco County submitted the following petition to the General Land Office:
We ask that you extend the reserve, and include within its borders the line of townships adjoining it on the east, or, in other words, we pray you that the east line of the Cascade Forest Reserve be moved 6 miles farther east than at present, between the East Fork of Hood River on the north and White River on the south, and that all of township 1 north of range 11 east of the Willamette meridian also be included in said forest reserve, and that all herded stock be excluded therefrom.
After several studies of the question were conducted by Forest Superintendent S.B. Ormsby a presidential proclamation was issued on July 1, 1901, adding 142,080 acres to the reserve. This addition included most of the land requested by the Wasco County citizens, but excluded “township 1 north, range 11 east, and the north 1/2 of township 1 south” because there were many permanent settlers on those lands. At the recommendation of Ormsby the proclamation included the addition of “township 5 south, ranges 9 and 10 east, and the strip of land lying directly south thereof and extending to the north line of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation.”
On June 29, 1900, two townships comprising 46,080 acres were eliminated from the reserve by executive order. Townships 22 and 23 south, range 9 east on the eastern border of the reserve were eliminated on behalf of ranchers and sheep owners who prior to the creation of the reserve had established homes and made improvements on their lands. The townships were deemed nonessential to forest usage and water conservation purposes, their primary value being derived from agricultural utilization. As they were on the border of the reserve, it was determined that they could be eliminated without affecting the integrity or obstructing the control of the reservation. [41]
Proclamation No. 6
(No. 6)
By the President of the United States of America
A PROCLAMATION
| September 28, 1893
Preamble |
Whereas, it is provided by section twenty-four of the Act of Congress, approved March third, eighteen hundred and ninety-one, entitled, “An act to repeal timber-culture laws, and for other purposes,” “That the President of the United States may, from time to time, set apart and reserve, in any State or Territory having public land bearing forests, in any part of the public lands wholly or in part covered with timber or undergrowth, whether of commercial value or not, as public reservations, and the President shall, by public proclamation, declare the establishment of such reservations and the limits thereof;” And Whereas, the public lands in the State of Oregon, within the limits hereinafter described, are in part covered with timber, and it appears that the public good would be promoted by setting apart and reserving said lands as a public reservation. |
| Forest reservation Oregon |
Now, Therefore, I, Grover Cleveland, President of the United States, by virtue of the power in me vested by section twenty-four of the aforesaid Act of Congress, do hereby make known and proclaim that there is hereby reserved from entry or settlement and set apart as a Public Reservation, all those certain tracts, pieces or parcels of land lying and being situate in the State of Oregon, and particularly described as follows: to wit: |
| Boundaries |
Beginning at the meander corner at the intersection of the range line between Ranges six (6) and seven (7) East, Township two (2) North, Willamette Meridian, Oregon, with the mean high-water-mark on the south bank of the Columbia River in said State; thence north-easterly along said mean high-water-mark to its intersection with the township line between townships two (2) and three (3) North; thence easterly along said township line to the north-east corner of Township Two (2) North, Range eight (8) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges eight (8) and nine (9) East, to the south-west corner of Township two (2) North, Range nine (9) East, thence westerly along the township line between Townships one (1) and two (2) North, to the north-west corner of Township one (1) North, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges eight (8) and nine (9) East; to the southwest corner of Township one (1) North, Range nine (9) East; thence easterly along the Base Line to the northeast corner of Township one (1) South, Range ten (10) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges ten (10) and eleven (11) East, to the southeast corner of Township four (4) South, Range ten (10) East; thence westerly along the Township line between Townships four (4) and five (5) South, to the south-west corner of Township four (4) South, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the west boundary of Township five (5) South; Range nine (9) East, to its intersection with the west boundary of the Warm Springs Indian Reservation; thence south-westerly along said Indian reservation boundary to the south-west corner of said reservation; thence south-easterly along the south boundary of said Indian reservation to a point on the north line of Section three (3) township twelve (12) South, Range nine (9) East, where said boundary crosses the township line between Townships eleven (11) and twelve (12) South, Range nine (9) East; thence easterly to the northeast corner of Township twelve (12) South, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges nine (9) and ten (10) east, to the south-east corner of Township thirteen (13) South, Range nine (9) East; thence westerly along the Third (3rd) Standard Parallel South, to the northeast corner of Township fourteen (14) South, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges nine (9) and ten (10) East, to the south-east corner of Township fifteen (15) South, Range nine (9) East; thence easterly along the Third (3rd) Standard Parallel South, to the north-east corner of Township sixteen (16) South, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges nine (9) and ten (10) East, to the south-east corner of Township twenty (20) South, Range nine (9) East; thence easterly along the Fourth (4th) Standard Parallel South, to the north-east corner of Township twenty one (21) South, Range nine (9) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges nine (9) and ten (10) East, to the south-east corner of Township Twenty-three South, Range nine (9) East; thence westerly along the township line between Townships twenty-three (23) and twenty-four (24) South, to the southeast corner of Township twenty-three (23) South, Range six (6) East; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges six (6) and seven (7) East to the southwest corner of Township twenty-five (25) South, Range seven (7) East; thence westerly along the Fifth (5th) Standard Parallel South, to the point for the north-west corner of Township twenty six (26) South, Range seven East; thence southerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed west boundaries of Townships twenty six (26) twenty seven (27), twenty-eight (28) twenty-nine (29) and thirty (30) South, to the southwest corner of Township thirty (30) South, Range seven (7) East; thence westerly along the unsurveyed Sixth (6th) Standard Parallel South, to the point for the north-west corner of Township thirty-one (31) South, Range seven and one half (7-1/2) East; thence southerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed west boundaries of ownerships thirty one (31) thirty-two (32) and thirty three (33) South, Range seven and one half (7-1/2) East, to the south-west corner of Township thirty three (33) South, Range seven and one half (7-1/2) East; thence easterly along the township line between Townships thirty-three (33) and thirty-four (34) South to the north-east corner of Township thirty-four (34) South, Range six (6) East; thence southerly along the east boundaries of Townships thirty four (34) and thirty-five (35) South, Range six (6) East, to the point of intersection of the east boundary of Township thirty-five (35) South, Range six (6) East, with the west shore of Upper Klamath Lake; thence along said shore of said lake to its intersecion with the range line between Ranges (6) and seven (7) East, in Township thirty-six (36) South; thence southerly along the range line between Ranges six (6) and seven (7) East, to the southeast corner of Township thirty-seven (37) and thirty eight (38) South to the south-west corner of Township thirty-seven (37) South, Range four (4) East; thence northerly along the range line between Ranges three (3) and four (4) East, to the north-west corner of Township thirty six (36) South, Range four (4) East; thence easterly along the Eighth (8th) Standard Parallel South, to the south-west corner of Township thirty five (35) South, Range four (4) East; thence northerly along the range line between Range 3 & Range four (4) East; to the southwest corner of Township thirty-one (31) South, Range four (4); thence westerly along the township line between Townships thirty-one (31) and thirty-two (32) South, to the southwest corner of Township thirty one (31) South, Range one (1) East; thence northerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed Willamette Meridian to the northwest corner of Township twenty (20) South, Range one (1) East; thence easterly along the township line between Townships nineteen (19) and twenty (20) South, Range (1) East; thence northerly along the range line between Ranges one (1) and two (2) East, to the northwest corner of Township eighteen (18) South, Range two (2) East; thence easterly along the township line between Townships seventeen (17) and eighteen (18) South, to the south-east corner of Township seventeen (17) South, Range two (2) East; thence northerly along the range line between Ranges two (2) and three (3) East, to the south-west corner of Township seventeen (17) South, Range three (3) East; thence easterly along the surveyed and unsurveyed township line between Townships seventeen (17) and eighteen (18) South, to the point for the southeast corner of Township seventeen (17) South, Range four (4) East; thence northerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed range line between Ranges four (4) and five (5) East, subject to the proper easterly or westerly offsets on the Third (3rd), Second (2nd) and First (1st) Standard Parallels South, to the northwest corner of Township five (5) South, Range Five (5) East; thence easterly along the township line between Townships four (4) and five (5) South, to the southeast corner of Township four (4) South, Range six (6) East; thence northerly along the range line between Ranges six and seven (7) East to the north-west corner of Township four (4) South, Range seven (7) East; thence easterly along the township line between Townships three (3) and (4) South, to the southwest corner of Section thirty-four (34), Township three (3) South, Range seven (7) East; thence northerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed section line between Sections thirty-three (33), twenty-one (21) and twenty two (22), fifteen (15) and sixteen (16), nine (9) and ten (10) and three (3) and four (4), to the northwest corner of Section three (3) of said Township and Range; thence easterly along the surveyed and unsurveyed township line between Townships two (2) and three (3) South, to the point for the southeast corner of Township two (2) South, Range eight (8) East; thence northerly along the unsurveyed range line between Ranges eight (8) and nine (9) East, to the southeast corner of Township one (1) South, Range eight (8) East; thence westerly along the township line between Townships one (1) and two (2) South, to the southeast corner of Section thirty-four, Township one (1) South, Range eight (8) East; thence northerly along the section line between Sections thirty-four (34) and thirty five (35) twenty-six (26) and twenty-seven (27) and twenty two (22) and twenty three (23) to the north-east corner of Section twenty-two (22) thence westerly along the section line between Sections fifteen (15) and twenty-two (22) to the south-east corner of Section sixteen (16); thence northerly on the section line between Sections fifteen (15) and sixteen (16) to the point for the northeast corner of Section sixteen (16); thence westerly along the section line between Sections nine (9) and sixteen (16) to the southeast corner of Section eight (8); thence northerly along the section line between Sections eight (8) and nine (9) and four (4) and five (5) to the northwest corner of Section four (4); Township one (1) South, Range eight (8) East; thence along the unsurveyed section lines northerly to the point for the northeast corner of Section thirty-three (33) westerly to the point for the north-east corner of Section thirty-two (32), northerly to the point for the northeast corner of Section eight (8), westerly to the point for the south-west corner of Section six (6); thence northerly along the unsurveyed range line between Ranges seven (7) and eight (8) East, to the point for the northwest corner of Township one (1) North, Range eight (8) East; thence westerly along the unsurveyed township line between Townships one (1) and two (2) North, to the north-west corner of Township one (1) North Range seven (7) East; thence northerly along the surveyed and unsurveyed range line between Ranges six (6) and seven (7) East, to the meander corner at its intersection with the mean high water mark on the south bank of the Columbia River, the place of beginning. Excepting from the force and effect of this proclamation all lands which may have been, prior to the date hereof, embraced in any legal entry or covered by any lawful filing duly of record in the proper United States Land Office, or upon which any valid settlement has been made pursuant to law, and the statutory period within which to make entry or filing of record has not expired; and all mining claims duly located and held according to the laws of the United States and rules and regulations not in conflict therewith; Provided that this exception shall not continue to apply to any particular tract of land unless the entryman, settler or claimant continues to comply with the law under which the entry, filing, settlement or location was made. Warning is hereby expressly given to all persons not to enter or make settlement upon the tract of land reserved by this proclamation. In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed. Done at the City of Washington, this twenty-eighth day of September, in the year of our Lord, one thousand eight hundred and ninety three, and of the Independence of the United States, the one hundred and eighteenth. Grover Cleveland |
Steel Scrapbooks, Forest Reserves, No. 24, Vol. I, Museum Collection, Crater Lake National Park.
