The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1914-01-20
BETTER GRAZING
ON FOREST RANGES


er, q. s. Forest service, made an ad.
dress before the National Woolgrow.
ers' association at Salt Lake City
last week and said that the question
of meat supply is involved in the
methods of grazing used on the ma
tional forests. He also made the
statement that over-grazed ranges
can be improved quicker through use
than they could be if they were left
idle.
He pointed out that the forage re-
sources of the national forests repre-
sent valuable asset upon which not
only the welfare of the stockmen de-
pends, but that of a large proportion
of the people. The task of the gov
ernment has been to work out a plan
which would develop this resource and
promote its use to the fullest extent
without harming tree growth.
During tn efrst three years of ad-
ministration, from 1905-7, the prob
lem of the service was to take care of
areas which had been badly over
grazed, and material reduction had
to be made in the number of stock
grazed before the damage could be
stopped. From the very beginning,
the forest service invited the CO.
operation of the stockmen and con-
suited with them regarding the prac-
ticability of the, plans which were to
be adopted. This cooperation was
secured through the various stock
growers associations and it was so
successful that similar associations
have grown up among other users of
the national forests.
Before range control was put into
effect, the feed belonging to the man
who got his stock on the land first,
though there was no way by which
he could hold il except by physical
force. Under such system might
made right, and the only thought was
to get what feed there was while it
lasted This condition led to serious
controversy and out of it grew the
range wars which often resulted in
loss of life and property. Under the
present control, right prevails, and
had nothing else been accomplished,
Mr.. Potter says, the removal of this
one evil alone would have made the
work worth while.
But he goes still further and states
that the systematic use of the ranges
has stopped loss of forage and that
the feed formerly wasted has been
putting the stock in better condition,
with the result that, in many cases,
the stockmen have been able to sell
beef and mutton direct from the
ranges where they were before produc-
ing only animals which had to be fed
and conditioned before they could be
put on the market
He called attention to the expert.
iuents of the government in artifcially
reseeding the grazing areas to cult
waited grasses, and showed that in
some cases the forage crop has been
increased as much as 400 per cent. He
maintained, however, that this meth
cd is both slow and expensive and said
that the great part of the range lands
must be improved by protection and
natural reseeding, for the next 20
years at least. He says, too, that in
vestigations have established beyond
doubt that natural reseeding can be
accomplished best by a rotation sys-
tenn of grazing based upon the simple
principle that grazing aids in scatter
ing and planting the seed after the
seed has been given an opportunitw to
mature Reports show that areas pro-
tected until after seed maturity and
then grazed, as compared with areas
absolutely protected for the whole
year against grazing, are approximate
ly so per cent better, and probably
200 per cent better than range which
has not been protected at ALL This
means that ranges can be improved
faster in use than they can be in idle
mes and the principle is being adopted
on many of the forests
He also spoke of the new open sys-
tenn of handling sheep, which is sim
ply quieter herding during the day
and bedding the sheep where night
overtakes them. He contrasts this
with the old plan of herding sheep
close by the use f dogs and returning
them each night to fixed bed
ground. The old plan, of course, rem
dered certain areas absolutely bare
and the going from and returning to
the bed grounds trampled a great deal
of forage. He estimated that an in.
crease of 10 to 25 per cent has been
added to the carrying capacity of the
ranges and that five pounds weight
has been added per lamb, because they
have not been harassed by herding or
forced to trail long distances to and
from bed grounds. On 5000, 900
lambs this means 25,000,000 pounds
added to the sheepman' s salable pro
duct, and to the country's meat sup
ply.
He gave an amusing instance of II
government experiment in which it
was attempted to try out the old
alongside of the new system, but it
was found impossible to secure a
sheep owner who would return to the
old method, except through a bonus.
The change in handling has been in a
large part responsible for the building
up of the Madison forest, which there
enabled an increase in the number of
sheep grazed from 10000 to 107,0 900
with promies of further increases of
several thousand.
One objection To the new method