688 COORDISATING GROUSE PRODI CTIO\ WITH OTHER PRIMARY LAM) USES 



in forest practices, and a state forest practice board to review district forest practice standards 

 and promote the welfare of these forest districts. The chairman of each soil conservation 

 district within the forest district is autoinaticallv an ex-oflficio member of the forest prac- 

 tice board to assure integration of the soil conscr\ati()n district program with the forest prac- 

 tice standards developed for the area. 



The State has been divided into 15 forest districts. Each has its own board consisting of 

 three members from each county included who are appointed by the chairmen of the re- 

 spective county boards of supervisors. Only one of these three may be chosen from the county 

 board of supervisors. At least two must be resident woodland owners. The state board is 

 made up of the chairmen of the 15 district boards plus ex-officio members, without vote, from 

 several state agencies. 



These district boards determine the forest practice standards necessary for their districts. 

 After adoption, these standards are promoted h\ the district on a voluntarv basis. However, 

 woodland owners who desire the technical forestry services furnished by the district must 

 agree to abide by these standards as a condition to the furnishing of the aid. 



It is anticipated that these standards will be fairly simi)lc and will have as their basis the 

 control of fire and grazing and the marking of harvest trees by a forester prior to lumber- 

 ing. This would assure adequate protection of these woodlands and the use of a cutting plan 

 that would assure future productivity of wood products. These sorts of standards fit well 

 into the needs of grouse management. It is conceivable that the practice standards might go 

 even further in areas of good grouse range and include more detailed cutting practices that 

 would be definitely aimed at improving grouse cover. But that is still in the future. We must 

 wait and sec how it develops. 



The significance of the soil conservatinn and forest district developments lies in the fact 

 that they are symbols of a new conservation era. They are tools of societv. de\eloped to 

 make conservation of these resources a realit) through a democratic svsteni. They repre- 

 sent substantial progress toward genuine working cooperatimi b('lw<'(ii tlic \arious interests 

 concerned. They facilitate the inclusion of grouse management to an\ desired degree. 



By the same token in other situations also it will be only through sincere, mutually coop- 

 erative elfort. both in planning and in action, that effective coordination can be achieved. 

 Lack of such team work will result either in ineffectiveness or wasteful (lii|ili(;ilion. "Ding" 

 Darling once said that ten thousand wild horses free on the range conldn t pull a rubber- 

 tired baby carriage. But harness those to pull together and they can move '"mountains"'. 



SoLKCKs OF Technical Aid 



The need for technical assistance in coordinating grouse nuinagement with other land uses 

 has been noted. In New ^ mk the district game managers of ihc Conservation Department 

 represent the primary source of such aid. Advice on special problems is available from wild- 

 life research |)ersonnel. district foresters and forest technicians of the same Deparlnicnt. and 

 from the Kxicnsion Scr\ ice of the State College of Agriculture. In connection willi soil con- 

 servalion (listricls in pailic uiar the U. S. Soil Conservation Service is importanl. \ ahiable 

 infornuttion can also In' obtained from the U. S. Fish and \\ ildlife Service. The fact that 

 such assistance is available, however, will result in no benefit to grouse or other wildlife 

 unless it is actual!\ jiul to use on the land. 



