The Republican journal. [volume] (Belfast, Me.) 1829-current, 1909-02-25
ANCoRA COATS.
A Band to Work for the Permanent Inn
provement of National Forests.

A Band to Work for the Permanent Inn
provement of National Forests.
WASHINGTON, D. c., February 18th.
Three thousand angora goats herded out
on the brush-covered foot hills of Cali
fornia are going to do some hard work
for Uncle Sam during the coming two
years, beginning this spring. The expert
ment will be unique, both as stock rails
ing proposition and as an engineering
and tree culture problem.
The little white animals whose long
wool is of such great value are going to
be put to no less task than constructing
mile after mile of fire line through the
bushy chaparral growth in the National
Forests, saving much labor by the United
States Forest Service engineers and
making way for forestation by merchant
/ able trees. Not the least important
feature of the experiment, which for
the first two years will be confined to the
Lassen Forest, is the fact that the task
will be performed during the regular
grazing by the goats, which will not even
realize they are doing valuable work.
Plans for carrying on the work are
outlined in a cooperative agreement
drawn up by the Forest Service and the
owner of band of angora goats grazing
on the Lassen National Forest of Cali
fornia. The scheme is to run fire lines
parallel with the contour of the slopes by
cutting trails about eighty rods apart.
| These trails are to serve as guides for
the angoras. They will Craze in each
direction from the trails, killing, it is es-
timated, strip of brush about 300 yards
wide. The wide lanes cut out and grazed
by the goats will serve as ideal fire lines
in protecting the forest covered lands ~
ing beyond and around the chaparral
areas, and also make place for repro
duction of merchantable trees.
For the past two years the government
has been carrying on permanent i'm
provements in the National Forests on
an extensive scale, and the construction
of fire lanes and trails has been one of
the most important features of the work. .
The task of clearing the ground and pro-
viding land for good forest trees is, how
ever, perhaps the most important bene-
fit expected to come out Of the expert
ment.
The proposed work of the angora goats
may finally solve the chaparral problem
which has been troublesome in the State |
Of California for many years. The bushy
chaparral growth chokes out seedlings of
valuable commercial trees which may
get start, and when dry is one Of tie
worst kinds of fire risks. Often small
blaze which starts in it gains such head
way in few minutes as to travel hun
dreds of yards and lick into valuable
stands of merchantable timber.
The protection to be afforded by the
goat-built fire lanes, therefore, may at
last bring relief to the State, which in
the past has had it's full share of timber
loss through destructive forest fires. At
the same time, large amount of chap
arral will be killed out to make room for
the growth of good trees that produce
lumber. If proven successful at the end
of two years the work will be carried to
National Forests in other sections where
chaparral has choked out good forest
trees and created dangerous fire risk.