Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-04-18
MANY QUESTIONS
VEX DEPARTMENT
----------------------
Grazing and Farming Interests
Concerned in Solutions
Now Proposed.
CORRESPONDENCE GIVEN OUT.
Secretary Wilson Advises the Public
Along the Line of the Proposed
Administrative Policy.
Especial to the "News.")

Washington, April 1s.-Correspond-
on both grazing and irrigation interests
In the west has been made public by
Secretary James Wilson, of the de-
partmert OF agriculture. Questions
relating to the proposed prohibition OF
grazing on streams supplying water
FOR irrigA ton have occupied the atten-
tion of the departments of agricul-
ture and the interior for some weeks
and cooperative investigation has
been agreed upon with the hope that
the problem may be settled to the salts
faction of all interests concerned. In
giving out the two letters bearing ON
the Investigation. Secretary Wilson
said
"a recent addition to the southern
division of the Tonic National Forest in
Arizona made at the request of the
United States reclamation service to
protect the watersheds of the Verde
ind Salt rivers and subsequent order
10 close the area to sheep and goat
grazing after April l. 1909. have
brought up questions which have a
most important bearing on two great
industries of the west. stock-raising
and farming on irrigated lands
REQUESTS fran riigators and Off
Gals of the rec lamation service that
efforts be made to restrict grazing
by sheep on the watersheds of streams
used for irrigation. on one hand and
protests to the forest service by the
stockmcn on the other, have given
rise to situation which can only be
settled by very careful investigation,
which has been agreed upon by the
secretary of the interior and myself.
The Investigations will be made with
the one end in view. that the use of
every resource must be for the greatest
good to the greatest number.
THE investigation of the land to
consider whether 1t is necessary to re-
strict the grazing OF sheep and goats
on the watersheds viii be made by the
officers of the reclamation service and
the forest service in cooperation, who
will meet the stockmeu on the ground
during the coming summer and thrash
out the whole problem. If Ii Is found
that limited number of sheep ana
goats can be allowed to Craze on any
of the ranges on the watersheds of
the steraJns In question. the order pro-
hibiting grazing will be modified so as
TO protect the interests of the sheep
men and at the same time check any
tendency there may be to oyergraze
the forest or damage water supply
used for irrigation Because OF the
important bearing of the problem on
grazing matters in the west, / deem
IL wise to make the correspondence
public at this time in order that there
will DO no chance of mlsInderstand-
Ing on the part of any interest.
THE protection OF the watersheds
and streams supplying irrigation re-
servoirs depends primarily upon the
possibility of giving full protection
TO all areas where grazing is allowed.
The fewer forest officers there are
to attend to the grazing business on
the national forests the more land will
have to be closed to grazing. 1t must
be remembered therefore, that any
reduction in the force of the forest
service would necessarily be an at
tack on the entire grazing industry of
the west. Past experience has proven
that stock can be allowed TO Craze.
under proper regulation, on areas from
which it would be necessary to eX-
clude 1t II the range could not be
properly patroled. The same situa-
ton is true regarding the permanent
improvements. The more water that
is developed, the more division fences
that are constructed, the more roads
trails and bridges that are built, the