580 



AMERICAN FORESTRY 



PROTECTING ELK IN WYOMING 



^w^ H. H. MILLER, of Cody, Wy- 



V I X ^"^"""S' ^ recent visitor in Wash- 

 ^^^ ington, said that Senator \\ arren 

 lias solved a problem which has been 

 uppermost in the minds of the people 

 of \\'yoming for a great many years. 

 Me believes that the Wyoming senator 

 has hit upon a scheme which will pre- 

 vent the death of thousands of wild 

 elk from starvation every winter, and, 

 in addition, prevent these hunger-crazed 

 animals from destroying the ranchers" 

 haystacks and ruining their crops. 



"For many years," said Mr. Miller, 

 "the Jackson Hole region in western 

 \\'yoming has enjoyed the distinction of 

 harboring the largest band of wild elk 

 in the United States. The number has 

 been variously estimated from 30,000 

 to 75,000. Each year has witnessed a 

 diminution of the natural elk range on 

 account of the influx of settlers, who 

 fenced up the lands and planted large 

 areas of crops. Each winter witnessed 

 the elk driven closer to the ranches, 

 and for the last five or six years the 

 starving creatures have crowded 

 through the ranchman's strong fences, 

 laid waste his haystacks, and even de- 

 voured the rotting straw on the tops 

 of his thatch-roofed sheds. Driven 

 from the mountains by the heavy snows 

 of winter, the elk were forced to the 

 valleys to exist on swamp willows. 



"To Senator Warren, of our State, 

 belongs the credit for not only satis- 



factorily solving this problem, but for 

 evolving a plan whereby the elk ranges, 

 long since barren, may soon becofie 

 populated with sufficient numljers of elk 

 to permit the hunter to have his annual 

 fall sport within the confines of his 

 own State. 



"Senator Warren's plan contemplates 

 the setting aside of a sufficient area in 

 western W^'o.ning as an elk refuge 

 where the animals cannot be hunted 

 and where they may be easily fed dur- 

 ing the severe snowstorms of winter. 

 Each year a certain number of elk is to 

 be shipped to ranges in other States until 

 the number in the Jackson Hole region 

 has been reduced to the carrying ca- 

 pacity of the range, after which only 

 the increase will be taken away. 



"Without disclosing the full scope of 

 his scheme, Senator Warren has gone 

 ahead working out its details and prov- 

 ing by actual demonstration the prac- 

 ticability of the plan. He first secured 

 an appropriation of $22,500 last winter, 

 which sum was to be expended in car- 

 ing for the elk and experimenting for 

 permanent relief. As a result of this 

 appropriation, experimental shipments 

 of elk were made from Jackson Hole 

 last winter to the States of Oregon, 

 Colorado, Utah, Montana, and Wash- 

 ington. The shipments were success- 

 ful, and the animals, turned loose on 

 new ranges under i)roper protection, 

 thrived." 



A BOOM IN LUMBERING 



American inaniifacturers of sazcniill unci tvoudworkiiig machinery z^.'ill be interested in 

 the intense activity that prevails in the region directly adjoining the Ural Mountains, Russia, 

 zvhcre promoters have turned their attention tozvard the unexploited riches of the place, and 

 recently a number of compa)iies haz'e decided to zvork the immense timber areas on a 

 share-holding basis. Many of the old firms have become share-holding companies, and 

 others are forming every day. It is intended to develop the timber trade by the employ- 

 ment of up-to-date machinery. There is also a proposition to construct a rail line to conz'ey 

 to the coast the timber from the lands belonging to the Governmoit in the Province of 

 Turinsk. 



