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Homesteader Acts, such as the Timber Culture Act of 1873 and the Timber and Stone Culture Act of 1878 promoted the sale of land in the West. Much of this land ended up into the hands of timber companies trying to fulfill lumber needs. Congress established the Timber and Stone Culture Act of 1878 on June 3rd. The law was part of a large-scale effort to help populate the West. The TSCA promoted the sale of land in the four states or territories of California, Oregon, Nevada, and in Washington.
CHAPTER X:The Federal Government in Southwestern ColoradoIn 1890, over sixty percent of the land, or overforty-four million acres, in Colorado was owned by the federalgovernment, a sizeable portion of which lay in southwestern Colorado.This fact becomes interesting when one takes into account that for closeto thirty years prior to this date, the government's role in determiningthe use of the public domain was oriented exclusively toward the sale ofthe public lands to westward migrating Americans. The Homestead Act of1862, the Timber Culture Act of 1873, the Desert Land Act of 1877, andthe Timber and Stone Act of 1878 were, in varying degrees, attempts topromote the settlement of the western areas of the country. Theavailability of open lands at a low price, and the interest in miningand agriculture resulted in large-scale migrations to the west. Yet, inthe government's eyes, the early settlement and economic development ofsouthwestern Colorado, as in other western states and territories duringthe years from 1880 to 1890, resulted in the overuse and exploitation oftimber, grassland, and water supplies.
As a consequence, by 1890 thegovernment had expanded its policies for the administration of thepublic lands to include the conservation of the country's naturalresources. The creation of the White River and Battlement Mesa ForestReserves, in 1891 and 1892 respectively, illustrated this trend.
Theestablishment of the Gunnison, Cochetopa, San Juan, Montezuma andUncompahgre Forest Reserves in 1905, while further extendingconservation as a federal land policy tool to over four million acres ofsouthwestern Colorado forests, gave rise to unfavorable public reactionas well. Southwestern Colorado stockmen, were in most cases adamantlyopposed to the conservation of and forced grazing restrictions on forestreserves. They advocated a return to the pre-conservation policies ofunrestricted development. Groups in favor of conservation, notably theregion's irrigation farmers, maintained that forest reserve policyprotected important watersheds, and thereby ensured successful waterdevelopment.
In attempting to respond to both sides of the conservationargument, federal land policy during the twentieth century wasformulated to encompass the important issues of reservation, as well aspublic land sales and development.By advocating the establishment and efficientmanagement of forest reserves, the Theodore Roosevelt administration(1901-1909) sought to protect certain timber and watershed areas of thepublic domain from misuse by preventing private homestead entry.Roosevelt did not retreat from the policy of homesteading the vacantpublic lands however. Despite the fact that between 1880 and 1890,thousands of acres on the western slope were opened to cultivation byirrigation and settlement took place in boom-like fashion, by 1900 thedemand for remaining public domain decreased. The problem was a lack ofwater.
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