club will hold its annual winter snowshoe outing in that park on New Year's Day. Elsewhere in this report I have mentioned the plans of the Mountaineers to erect near Sluiskin Falls, in the Paradise Valley region, a memorial to the late Gen. Hazard Stevens, who, with P. B. Van Trump, made the first ascent of Mount Rainier, in 1870.

The Sierra Club, of California, again visited Yosemite National Park on its annual outing. Its headquarters at Tuolumne Meadows, however, was used throughout the summer by visiting members. On the regular outing, which was enjoyed by a very large group of members, trips were made to the Devil Postpile, Mount Ritter, the Ten Lakes Basin, and many other high Sierra points. Several members of the Sierra Club joined me on my trip to Yosemite Valley in late December, 1918, some of these climbing in the snow to Glacier Point.

A list of the associated mountaineering clubs and their officers is given in Appendix G.

WILD LIFE CONSERVATION.

No opportunity to improve the condition of the wild life of the national parks has been neglected by the Service during the past year, nor have we relaxed in any degree our vigilant protection of these reservations. All are refuges for wild animals, and some of them are among the finest preserves in the world. However, conditions over which we have not had control have affected our charges more or less adversely. Lack of funds made it impossible for us to assume charge of Mount McKinley National Park, which was established nearly three years ago as a game conservation measure; failure of the Legislature of California to pass a bill, strongly urged upon it, which would have established a game preserve west of Yosemite Park, leaves the deer of the Yosemite in a rather unsatisfactory situation; an epidemic of hemorrhagic septicemia caused the death of 36 animals of the tame herd of buffalo in Yellowstone Park; and the Blackfeet Indians took their regular toll of elk and bighorn sheep belonging to Glacier Park as these animals came down from the mountains to the plains of the Indian Reservation.

In other respects, however, the wild animals of the parks have thrived splendidly. An open winter in nearly all of them made grazing conditions good. On the other hand, the prospect that a long cold period will occur in the winter that is approaching is causing us uneasiness because the drought of the summer dried up the ranges in several parks and some species of animals, particularly the elk of the Yellowstone, are likely to leave these preserves and pass beyond control. In case they do this, there may be heavy losses through unlawful killing of the animals or, in the case of the northern herds, through starvation.

This brings me to a renewal of the statements of previous annual reports of the Service that in several States more attention should be given to the establishment of game preserves adjoining the national parks, particularly in California, where a preserve of reasonable size should be established along the western side of Yosemite National Park; in Oregon, where large refuges around Crater Lake National Park are essential to the preservation of the growing herds

of animals of this reservation; and in Washington, where the wild life of Mount Rainier National Park is in dire need of better protection after it leaves the park boundaries. Of course the problem of protecting the elk of the Yellowstone after these animals leave the park boundaries in winter is still most serious. All of these needs are discussed under the sections of this report relating to our activities in the various parks. In Wind Cave and Sullys Hill National Parks game preserves are maintained under the supervision of the Biological Survey, and recent appropriations for the latter park will make possible its larger development as a game refuge.

Our efforts to reduce the number of predatory animals in the national parks have met with unusual success during the past year, and in several of the bigger parks so many of these animals have been killed that there has already been a noticeable increase in the deer and other species that are usually their victims.

NOTES ON FISH AND FISHING.

Fishing in the national parks was excellent during a large part of the season. In several of the parks the unusually large number of tourists enjoying the sport greatly depleted the streams. Large consignments of fish were planted in practically all of the parks where there are suitable waters, but it is apparent that hereafter this restocking of the lakes and streams must be conducted on a larger scale. Fish hatcheries were operated by the Federal Government in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks, but consignments of fry in other parks were usually given to the Service by the States. In Yosemite National Park a temporary hatchery was maintained by the State preparatory to building a permanent station. Plans for the construction of this station, however, have been temporarily suspended and we are not certain that the type of building that the National Park Service will approve will be authorized by the State government. The State of California also maintained a temporary hatchery on one of the branches of the Kaweah River, near Three Rivers and close to Sequoia Park, and the Fish and Game Commission expects to convert this establishment into a permanent hatchery. Fish for Rocky Mountain National Park were supplied through the cooperative efforts of the Federal hatchery at Leadville and the hatchery maintained by the State in the park itself.

During the season the United States Commissioner of Fisheries, Dr. Hugh M. Smith, spent considerable time in Yellowstone National Park studying the fish supply and making plans for stocking its waters on a larger scale. He also collected data to be used by his bureau in cooperation with the National Park Service in an effort to make Yellowstone one of the greatest fishing resorts of the Nation. The opportunity to make such a resort of this big park is all that can be desired, as there are hundreds of lakes and streams that are suitable for the various species of trout, many of which have not yet been stocked for the first time.

There is no feature of the park improvement that appeals more to me than the maintenance of good fishing waters for the visiting public, and it is my purpose to cooperate in every possible way with the Federal Bureau of Fisheries and the State commissions in intensively

improving the opportunities for the sport of fishing in every national park where this can be done.

TWO NEW NATIONAL PARKS.

For a time, in the early part of the current calendar year, it appeared as if 1919 would become the most important year in the recent legislative history of the national park system. Bills providing for the establishment of the Grand Canyon and Lafayette National Parks were passed by both Houses of Congress, and the inhibition on the appropriation of more than $10,000 annually for Rocky Mountain National Park was repealed. A bill providing for the enlargement of Sequoia National Park and renaming it Roosevelt National Park was passed by the Senate unanimously, and an equally important measure enlarging Yellowstone National Park was approved unanimously by the House of Representatives. These last two measures, however, failed of final enactment in the closing days of the Sixty-fifth Congress. Nevertheless, the measures that were put on the statute books during the year marked a tremendously important step in rounding out the park system. It should be noted also that the legislature of California passed a law ceding jurisdiction over Yosemite, Sequoia, and General Grant National Parks to the Federal Government.

By the establishment of the Grand Canyon and Lafayette National Parks, the number of parks was increased to 18, while the monuments under the National Park Service were reduced to 23, Lafayette Park having been Sieur de Monts National Monument prior to its advancement to the park class. The creation of the Grand Canyon National Park also reduced the number of monuments under the control of the Department of Agriculture to 10.

The total area of the national parks is now 10,739 square miles, or 6,872,960 acres, and the area of the national monuments is 1,931 square miles, or 1,235,840 acres. There is one national park on the Hawaiian Islands, one in Alaska, and 16 in the States. Lafayette Park is the first scenic national park to be established east of the Mississippi River. There are two monuments in Alaska that are under our jurisdiction, but the others are in the States west of the Mississippi.

The first national park to be established was Hot Springs, first set apart in 1832. Yellowstone came second in 1872, and its development by the Government was really undertaken in advance of the former park. The last parks to be created, Lafayette and Grand Canyon, were both established on the same date-February 26, 1919.1 The first monument to be established was Devils Tower National Monument in Wyoming, September 24, 1908, although Casa Grande National Monument was first reserved in 1892 under a special act of Congress relating to that particular group of ruins.

SYSTEM NOT YET COMPLETE.

There are several important steps yet to be taken by Congress before the national-park system is complete. Several new national parks should be added to the group already created, and there should be some important extensions of a number of the existing parks.

1 See texts of the organic laws on p. 301 and p. 304.

These extension projects will be discussed later in this report under the outlines of the needs of the respective parks. They include the enlargement of Sequoia National Park and the changing of its name. to Roosevelt National Park the inclusion of the Teton Mountains and other scenic territory in Yellowstone National Park,2 the addition of the Diamond Lake region to Crater Lake National Park, and the extension of Mount Rainier Park to take in Ohanapecosh Hot Springs. Likewise there is a pressing necessity for adding the Mount Evans region to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is not unlikely that certain changes should be made in Yosemite National Park, some lands being excluded and other lands in the High Sierra being included. Also, it seems essential that the east boundary line of Glacier National Park be extended to the section of the park highway that traverses the Blackfeet Indian Reservation."

PARK STATUS FOR ZION AND BANDELIER MONUMENTS.

Two national monuments should be raised to the dignity of national parks. One of these, Zion National Monument in Utah, is already receiving the consideration of Congress, and a bill providing for its elevation to the park class has been passed by the Senate. It was slightly amended in the House of Representatives and at this writing the amendments are being considered in conference. The other project relates to Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico. Now situated in a national forest, it is under the control of the Department of Agriculture. It contains a vast number of prehistoric ruins, including cliff dwellings entirely different from any in Mesa Verde National Park, enormous pueblos, and several remarkable shrines. Furthermore, these interesting objects of antiquity abound in a beautiful mountainous region accessible by railroad and automobile. When made a national park, this region would splendidly complement Mesa Verde Park.

Two bills providing for giving the Bandelier Monument and its surrounding region a park status are now pending in Congress. One proposes to call the new park the National Park of the Cliff Cities, and the other measure contemplates the establishment of the Pajarito National Park. The latter bill covers a smaller territory than the former, but nevertheless it includes within the boundaries it delineates all of the prehistoric ruins and the finest scenery of the region.

THE PROPOSED REDWOOD NATIONAL PARK.

In my report for last year I mentioned that plans were being formulated for the acquisition of a stand of redwood trees of the species Sequoia sempervirens, which is native to the coast regions of California and southern Oregon. Splendid forests of these trees are fast being cut, and if anything is to be accomplished in

1 See p. 71. Also Congressional Committee reports on p. 310.

2 See p. 47. Also Congressional Committee report on p. 319.

See p. 85.

4 See p. 82.

See p. 90.

6 See p. 60.

See p. 116 for discussion of merits of project and p. 328 for Congressional Committee reports.

the way of preserving a tract of the best of these trees it must be done quickly. This necessity for immediate action prompted the organization of the Save the Redwoods League, of which you are the head. Since the organization of the league was completed much has been accomplished, particularly in bringing to the attention of the people the precarious situation of the redwoods, and in stimulating interest in their preservation.

On July 8, 1919, Congressman Clarence F. Lea, of California, introduced in Congress House resolution 159, which brings the redwood problem definitely before Congress and which, if adopted, will result in the presentation of a comprehensive report on the redwood situation to the national legislature which may secure national aid in preserving these noble trees. The resolution reads as follows:

Resolved, That the Secretary of the Interior be, and is hereby, directed to investigate and report to the House of Representatives as to the suitability, location, cost, if any, and advisability of securing a tract of land in the State of California containing a stand of typical redwood trees of the species Sequoia sempervirens with a view that such land be set apart and dedicated as a national park for the benefit and enjoyment of the people of the United States and for the purpose of preserving such trees from destruction and extinction, and also as to whether or not the whole or any part of such lands or the purchase price thereof would be donated to the United States, and the probable cost of maintaining such lands as a part of the national park system.

On my recent automobile trip over some proposed sections of the park-to-park highway during the past summer, I visited some of the best groves of redwoods in California. I was strongly impressed not only with the importance of preserving one or more big groves of redwoods, but of making the highways which are to be provided by the State through this region an alternative route of the interpark road system.

I was accompanied by Mr. Madison Grant, of the New York Zoological Society, who, acting in the capacity of organizer for the Save the Redwoods League, assisted me greatly in bringing the attention of the local communities to the importance of preserving timber along all of their highways.

In connection with the preservation of groves of the redwood trees three lines of activity have been proposed, as follows:

(1) The acquisition of a large tract of redwood timber as a national park.

(2) The establishment of county parks by Humboldt, Del Norte, and Mendocino Counties, each of which would preserve rather small but exceedingly important stands of redwoods. Such a park has already been established by Sonoma County, which recently acquired the well-known Montgomery grove of 7.000 acres.

(3) The construction by the State of California of a highway through the redwood regions, preserving strips of timber from 300 to 1.000 feet wide as a part of this road project, the highway to run through the center of the safeguarded strip.

If these projects could all be carried out, examples of the finest stands of timber that have ever been known in the history of the earth, according to eminent authorities like Henry Fairfield Osborn, president of the American Museum of Natural History, would be preserved for all time, and if properly brought to the attention of the