The Coconino sun., 1920-02-20
WOOL GROWERS MUCH WROUGHT UP OVER CUTS
 AND INCREASED FEES

For sometime there has been con- siderable anxiety felt by the wool growers over the reported reductions to be made on the summer ranges in the Coconino and other National for ests, though no definite orders were issued until lately.
 During recent setting of the con- gressional committee it appeared from the testimony of Assistant Forester Potter that a larger appropriation was needed to handle grazing on the forests, and as a result, instead of fa- voring the additional appropriation, the committee advised doubling of the grazing fees on the forests. Wool growers are making vigorous protests against this as they claim that the forests could be more economically handled and that the fees now paid, together with the uncertainty of their privileges, are amply sufficient for benefits received. No definite action has been heard of along this line since the matter first came up.
 Definite orders have been issued for cut of 12,000 head of sheep on the Coconino and about 11,000 head on the Tusayan National forests this year. It is understood that instead of enforcing this order at this late date for this year, the sheep belonging to A. J. LeBaron will be taken from their range and moved to another part of the reserve and that the same ar- engagement for this year will be made with sheep belonging to Yaeger & Bly, at Bellemont. Next year the ranges which have been occupied by sheep for the past twenty-five br thirty years, will be excluded areas where sheep will not be allowed to graze for a per- idd of twenty or twenty-five years.
 This recommendation was made by the sylviculture division of the forest service, who claim that the production on these areas is now about go of the young trees which come up; that to test out these areas will take from twenty to twenty-five years.
 In going over the matter E. H. Duff field makes the following rough esti- mate of the loss that it would entail if these areas are closed to sheep for twenty years. He, says: "If 12,000 head of sheep are excluded from the forest for twenty years it will mean the economic loss of 5000, 900 pounds of lambs, or enough meat to feed one twentieth lof. the people of the United States one day; it will mean the loss of 240,00O pairs of ladies shoes, and the loss of 880,000 suits of clothes. The benefits to be derived from this loss in tree growth will be problem atical; it is understood from figures given that this same area while being grazed by sheep will grow 3,600,0 ,000 seedlings. What additional tree growth would come up during the twenty years sheep are to be kept off no one knows, though from areas sim liar where there has been no grazing, there is no indication that it would be of any preceptable value in compari- son to the loss. On the same area for one year the loss, roughly esti- mated would be 375,000 pounds of lamb; 1350,000 pounds of wool; 30,000 pounds of leather, or enough food for 375,000 people one day, or all the peo- pie in Arizona for day and a half; 33,750 woolen suits of clothes and 15,O00 pairs of ladies' shoes. It does not seem a profitable thing to test out at the cost it will entail. It is merely the testing of theory which in any event would take hundred years to prove and before trees would be of any use. B
 The meeting of the advisory board of the Wool Growers association held at Phoenix on February 14th, a post ponement was taken until the 2Oth when they will meet with district for est officers at Phoenix. A resolution was presented at this meeting asking that all grazing matters of the Forest service be turned over to the state land office for administration. The resolution was referred to the advis-