East Oregonian : E.O. (Pendleton, OR) 1888-current, 1909-02-09
COATS TO WORK
FOR UNCLE SAM
WILL BE USED TO BUILD
FIRE LANES IN FORESTS
Government Officials Contract With
Owner of Band of Angorus Ia Make
Permanent Improvement on Re-
serves-May Solve Chaparral Prob-
lem Also.

Three thousand angora goats herd
ed out on the brush-covered foothills
of California are going to do some
hard work for Uncle Sam during the
coming two years beginning this
spring. The experiment will be
uuioue both as stock raising prop
osition 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 con-
structing 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 merchantahle trees.
Not the least important feature of the
| experiments, which for the first two
years will be confined to the ! assen
| forest, is the fact that the task Will
be performed during the regular graz-
ing bv the goats which will no; even
realize they are doing valuable
work.
! Agreement Drawn Up.
| Plans for carrying on the work are
outlined in n cooperative agreement
drawn up by the forest service and
the owner of a band of angora goats
grazing on the Iassen national forest
Of California. The scheme Is 10 ran
fire lines parallel with the contour of
the slopes by cutting trails about so
rods apart. Those trails are to serve
as guides for the angoras. They viii
Craze I'm each direction from the trails,
killing, it is estimated, a strip OF
brush about 800 yards wide. The
lanes cut out and graZed by the goats
will serve as ideal fire lines in pro-
tecting the forest covered lands lying
! beyond and around the chaparcai
areas, and also make n place for re-
production of merchantable trees.
For the past two years the govern
ment has been carrying on perma-
nent improvements 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 providing
land for good forest trees Is, however
perhaps the most important benefit
expected to come out Of the expert
ment.
May Solve ChaparraI Problem.
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 COM
mercial trees which may get a start
and when dry Is one OF the worst
kind of fire risks. Often a small
blaze which starts in it gains such
headway I'm a few minutes as to trav-
el hundreds of yards and lick Into val
liable 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 its full
share of timber loss through destruc-
tive forest fires, At the same time,
n large amount of chaparral will be
killed out to make room for the
growth OF good trees that produce
II lumber. II 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 a
dangerous fire risk.