, 1922-01-22

Tor many more acres In adjoining
states. 1t prevents erosion. retards
floods and plays an important part In
the economic development Of the state.
A country lives as long as its forests
lasts. A State is not quite in that
position since II may call upon the tim
ber reource Of other states. but this
ADDS to the cost 70 enough timber
must always DO availabie for use.
Wyoming stI a many thousands OF
acres OF timber and tho yearly cut Is
not yet at the peak During thu 1922
fiscal year 25.4ss.ooo board feet or
forests. This timber consisted mainly
Of railroad ties. lumber and coal props.
Many thousands OF ties and millions OF
linear feet OF coal props were cut.
largely from the washalde and Modi-
cine Bow national forsstz. They were
used in the coal mines OF the state
n for railroads passing through the
state. Timber Il also used in an APP
preciable quantity by local. settlers
ana homesteaders for firewood. posts
s1d other farm uses.
Great Losses In Past.
In years past, long before there was
any thought Of protecting these .or.
ested areas. fires ragged and swept
clean thousands OF acres oc our noun.
tain land leaving death and destruo-
ton in their wake, because there was
no n who cared or had the power to
act. Since h setting aside OF the
regions as national forests. fires have
materially decreased and the forest of
1cers assisted by the settlers have kept
tho danger by them down TO tho mini.
num-. This protection work has been
carried on so vigilantly that the IS
fires OF the past eason within the
forests. not including tho Black Hills
Forest which is largely In South Da-
kota. burned ever 1927 acres and
law enforcement was effected in 80
acres. These fires. including those
set by railroads. resulted almost en-
tireiy from human carelcssness. JLor-
raine Lindsley, a University OF wyo-
ming girl. played an important part In
The discovery Of these fires. particular
~ along the c. & w. s. F.. railroad
From the lookout on Medicine Bow
peak. she spotted a number OF fires
and accurately located them. getting
the report to rangers in time SO they
were quickly controlled. Forest off,
GERS arc few in number and but for
the cooperation of the settlers. could
do little toward suppressing fires.
Stock Afforded Rich Pasture.
Cattle and sheep Craze on the for
age of the forests and-during the 1921
fiscal year there were $1,000 cattle
and horses and 395, 1872 sheep and goats
running on these five forests Grazing
besides turning grasB and vegetation
into beef and mutton. keeps down
the inflammable growth and thus
-f-.-- - .~A~a-t r..-t L. flr. -x.s-
ventio1. Much of our mountain land
has little value. sven for grazing. 1t
Is of inestimable value for watershed
protection. for were the mountain sides
barren. Wyoming would be a veritable
desert.
Recreation Values Realized.
The timber-clad hills. -snow-cappedl
peaks, rushing mountain streams and
beautiful lakes have another value
which Is Just beginning to be realized.
During this past year. the five for
ests-Big Horn. Hayden. Medicine
Bow. Shoshons and Washakie-enter-
tanned se.341 visitors. They came to
the state by train and auto. largely the
latter, and spent a total OF ISL .524
days in these forests. They came from
svery state and territory in the union
and some foreign countries In search
Of recreation. rest and recuperation.
These great out of doors Fairgrounds
build up and r~ejuvenate the tired bust
ness and professional man and furnish
rest for the worn out farmer and
housewife. but too. they offer fishing
and hunting of the Arrest kind. No
where in the United States are there
more and gamer trout OF better places
to find the big game animals Wyo-
ming is the last stand of the great
elk herds and IT is here where you
may see theri browsing in peace and
quiet in the game sanctuaries or may
hunt them during the open season
IN the unprotected areas
Road Building Makes Access Easy.
The United States forest service. In
conjunction with the ureau OF public
roads last year. built 41.52 miles OF
roads in and near these forests Be-
sides. there were constructed 24.25
miles of trail. These roads n trails
are opening up these isolated regions
to the visitor and in a few years there
will be thousands visiting these rare
beauty spots where now there are
only hundreds.
Our mountain lands Of little econon-