"We all have some responsibility in actuality and in metaphor for the preservation of silviculture. It seems highly unlikely that any work capable of sustaining the continuity of silviculture which interests us could go on without substantially more money than Harvard has offered," agreed Trow, head of the Stillman Forest Committee.

"Basically Harvard and the state might quibble over the size, but I am pleased that the principle has been accepted. A trust fund must remain with the forest. It's Harvard's obligation," said John Stillman. "We're not asking that Harvard leave the whole endowment with the forest, but now there is certainly no chance of them taking it all."

But, according to Trow, maintenance of the forest for silviculture requires much more. "The Harvard figure is very low. The endowment stood at $1.2 million in 1950, and now it's only at $2.5 million [while the rest of Harvard's endowment has grown more than 800 percent]. It has not kept pace with the market, and it appears that Harvard has used some of that money for other purposes,' Trow said.

The possibility that Harvard has been siphoning money from the Stillman endowment, Trow said, means that the needs of Black Rock have to be considered from scratch. Trow's committee prepared a 35-page report analyzing the forest's financial needs, and determined that a multi-million-dollar endowment would be necessary to do justice to Ernest Stillman's original wishes.

Calvin Stillman sees the situation differently: "These people, including my brother, want the land there for their own use, but they don't have a strong rational basis for forcing Harvard to maintain it. If my father were alive now, he would sympathize with Harvard," he said, referring to what he called his father's belief Black Rock was useless to the University.

"If they wanted to, there is nothing to keep Harvard from selling the forest outright. They can sell it for lumber if anyone were foolish enough to buy it," Calvin Stillman said.

John Stillman said his brother was never interested in Black Rock, and didn't appreciate how much his father valued the New York forest. He said Calvin Stillman spent more time in Petersham, and is naturally more interested in maintaining that operation.

Although Mann is optimistic that some compromise can be reached, the larger issue of Harvard's responsibility to its donors has caused strains with some alumni and prominent groups in New York.

Steiner said he still believes some deal can be worked out between Harvard and those who oppose the sale. And even John Stillman is confident that Harvard's intention to leave the $400,000 indicates that Harvard could be persuaded to leave more. Still, given the vast difference of opinion, it appears impossible that both sides will walk away happy from the Black Rock Forest battle