The Coconino sun., 1924-11-28
The KAIBAB FOREST
Is In ARIZONA

It is an honorable aspiration for
Arizona to round out its dominions so
that it may more completely repre-
sent an economic unit. So far as
many administrative functions go, the
Kaibab plateau which covers most of
the Arizona strip north of the Grand
Canyon is an Italia Irredenta. 1t is
ours by title but Utah's so far as con-
troll is concerned.
To make Arizona the complete en-
pire it should be, the territory south
of the Mexican, border and west of
Nogales should be secured from Mex
leo and added to the commonwealth.
But it is just as important that the
ownership of the strip should be made
real.
The first need is for communication
between the north and south rims of
the Grand Canyon. That great chasm
now and for the years since Arizona
was created, has been an alien terri
tory, little known to our people, who
not seeing it, took little interest in it.
It was during Tom Campbell's adj
ministration that the. first guberna-
torial visit was paid to the strip. This
visit was for the double purpose of
inspecting the ground that was later
to become the site Of a great many
development projects leading up to
the formation of the Colorado river
compact, and to call attention of the
people of Arizona to the fact that
their state comprised vast territory
that had lain neglected for many
years.
In it's smaller way, that trip of Gov
ernor Campbell was similar to the
visit of President Harding to Alaska.
The turmoil over the Kaibab deer
herds calls still more widespread at
tention to the anomalous situation in
the strip. Authority of the forest
service and of the state of Arizona are
in direct conflict over the methods of
reducing the deer herds.
Many Arizona people do not know
that the Kaibab national forest is adj
ministered from Salt Lake City. 1t
has been found convenient by the for
est service to arrange it so because it
is difficult to get back and forth be-
tween Flagstaff, the nearest Arizona
city, and the Kaibab plateau on ac
count of lack of good roads and cross
ings in the canyon.
The supervisor of the Kaibab, living
in state that would be only too glad
to capture the triangle of territory ly-
ing north of the canyon, can be ex-
pected to have no sympathy for the
aspirations of Arizona He will, of
course, administer the forest accord
ing to the service regulations, but
Arizona may expect no favors from
him. The cattle and sheep that range
that district and for the benefit of
which it is suggested in some quar-
ters the deer herd is to be thinned out,
are largely owned in Utah. Many re-
call the quarrels that have popped
over the taxing of these transient
herds, eaters of Arizona grass and
payers of no tribute to this state.
The whole idea Of promoting good
roads through the area of the Grand
Canyon, has been with the idea even
tually of establishing that firm bond
of communication between the north
and south rims that common interest
in the state of Arizona demands. The
Journal-Miner has strongly advocated
the sale of the Bright Angel trail to
the government because that transac-
tion meant the construction of splen-
did all the year highway between the
main line and the canyon. For time
the supervisors of Coconino county
were in line on this proposition, but
narrow-eyed policies prevailed in the
general election, the people were de
ceived in some way, and the project
was rejected.
The Kaibab district is one to which
all Arizona must look. Any circula-
ton based on the development of its
resources must be far-seeing. We
cannot consider it in the light of tenn
porary adjunct, but must hold it and
look far to the future. Arizona's title
to the right bank of the Colorado be-
tween the Utah line and the Nevada
boundary, constitutes a tremendous
weapon in case we ever get rid of
Huntism and set out to develop the
river.-Prescott Journal-Miner.