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On March 3, 1891, Congress establishes the first forest reserves, which will become a system of National Forests. The law preserves water resources until forested lands can be opened for settlement and exploitation, but is part of a growing conservation movement to preserve natural resources for future generations.

By the 1890s, an increasingly urbanized nation began to appreciate the importance of preserving natural resources. Congress established a number of national parks including Yellowstone in Wyoming, and Yosemite and Sequoia in California. At the same time, Congress realized that the Timber Culture Act of 1873 (allowing title to land to anyone planting trees) had resulted in fraud. Scientists and the American Forestry Association advocated better management of the nation's forest reserves. The Forest Reserve Act of 1891 had mixed purposes -- to protect watersheds from erosion and flooding, and to preserve the nation's timber supply from over exploitation.

Despite a......

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Approximate Word Count: 350
Approximate Pages: 2 (250 words per double-spaced page)

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