Elmore County Republican. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1910-1915, 1911-02-25
NEW GOVERN
MENT POSITION
FROM THE UNITED STATES DE-
PARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE,
FOREST SERVICE.

IOVeTuueUI QOSulWu IS UlSCLOoeu Wy
the announcement by the U. S. Civil
Service Commission OF an examna-
ton which will be held February %
and "a to find three grazing examin-
ers for the Forest Service. The po-
sitions will pay salary Of $1,000 a
year at entrance.
The announcemen specified that
the applicants must be men, at least
twenty years old, and possessed of
at least one seasons experience in
handling range stock, together with
at least one year of technical train
ing in specified botanical studies.
The establishment of this position
Is in lime with the objects which the
Department of Agriculture has always
had in view in it's management of
grazing on the National Forests. 1t
ts not merely seeking to prevent cat
tie and sheep from doing damage to
forest growth and watershed condi
tions, as they Craze on the herbage
which is yearly produced i'm the open
rests, parks, and high mountain
meadows Within the National Forests
Range-fed stock are a matter of de-
cided Importance to the American
people in these days of rising prices
for food products and diminishing
supplies, i'm proportion to population,
Of livestock; and therefore Secretary
Wilson intends that every acre of
National Forest range shall be made
to produce as much forage as it is
capable OF doing, consistently with
the carrying out of the other purpos-
es for whichthe National Forests are
maintained.
Ever since the Forest Service took
over the management of the National
Forests, lit has BEEN studying the range
problem along with its regulation of
grazing. In the beginning 1T was con-
fronted with the fact that a very lar
&c part of the range had been badly
bused and depleted Through the COM
petition of rival owners before any
restrictions had been put upon them,
and by overcrowding and bad meth
DDS of handling stock. Its supporting
power had I'm consequence been great
ly reduced, and was steadily declin-
ing. To enable overgrazed areas to
recupemate, and to prevent the ex-
tension Of Overgrazed conditions to
new areas, the amount of stock to
be allowed on the Forests was every
where carefully prescribed. The re-
suits were then observed, and if 1T
appeared that there was still over
use of the range, the number per-
mitted were cut down still further.
On the other hand, where recupera-
don has taken place the allowance
OF stock has been correspondingly i'm
creased.
The proposal to appoint specialists
who are both thoroughly trained bot
anists and men of practical expert
ence in range matters indicates rec
ognition OF the fact that to attain the
highest point Of range productivity
the best scientific knowledge must be
applied to the study Of the problems
OF forage production and utilization.
As stock Craze ON the range, the
effect ON the different kinds Of vege-
tat5on differs both with its palatabil-
ity or unpalatabinty and with its ca
pacty to produce seed, its time of
seeding, Its resistance to trampling,
Its manner of growth, and many 9TH
er elements.
What is aimed at now is nothing
less than to find out all the things
ON which depend the production Of
the largest amount of beet, mutton,
wool, and hides on given area.
This involves learning how both to
restrict and to time the grazing so as
not to interrfere with the reproduct-
ion Of the most valuable elements in
the forage crop, how to prevent UNI
necessary loss to feed through tramp
ling and in other ways, how to exter-
inmate poisonous plants from the
range, how to prevent the loss of for
age which results from the multiph
cation OF prairie dogs and gophers,
whether it is practicable to introduce
new forage plants by direct seeding,
and many ohtre matters. 1t Is to
look into such matters that the gra-
ming examiners are to be appointed.
Besides seeking to bring about the
recuperation Of depleted ranges, the
reduction of waste, and the develop
ment OF all range to what may be
termed an artificial state Of produc-
hveness through control OF reproduc-
tion, accompanied, 1t is hoped, by the