SUPERVISORS' MEETINGS AT BOISE, IDAHO, AND 

 OGDEN, UTAH. 



At Boise, Idaho, January 2 to 4, 191 1, was held a meeting of 

 the Supervisors of the National Forests in District 4, situated in 

 Idaho and Wyoming. The object of the meeting was the discus- 

 sion of National Forest problem''. 



The discussion of grazing questions bearing upon National 

 Forest administration occupied the first part of the meeting. The 

 National Forests in District 4 in Idaho and Wyoming are for the 

 most part heavily stocked, particularly with sheep, and the ques- 

 tion of so administering the grazing business as to interfere as 

 little as possible with the principal objects for which the National 

 Forests were created is exceedingly difificult and complicated in 

 view of the large amounts of money invested in the stock business 

 and the general importance of the industry to the country as a 

 whole. The general tendency is toward a reduction in the num- 

 ber of stock allowed to graze on the National Forests and toward 

 closer restrictions with regard to the grazing of stock, particularly 

 sheep, on areas which are in process of reproduction. Great as- 

 sistance in the settlement of range controversies has been rendered 

 by co-operation between the Forest Service officials, on the one 

 hand and advisory boards representing associations of stock own- 

 ers using the National Forests, on the other. 



A discussion of the points to be considered in marking different 

 commercial species for cutting brought out the fact that the sys- 

 tem of cutting theoretically preferable can not always be followed 

 in practice on account of market conditions which make it im- 

 possible for dealers to dispose of all classes of material which 

 would result from such operations. In pure lodgepole pine stands 

 which are sufficiently even aged and where markets are sufficiently 

 intensive, clean cutting in strips is recommended. The strips cut 

 and those left intact should be of equal width, generally 100 feet. 

 Where the danger from windfall is not great the over-mature and 

 defective trees may be removed from the uncut strips. The 

 strips should run in the direction of the prevailing winds where 

 danger from windfall is great. On steep slopes where there is 

 danger of erosion and snow slides the strips should run across 

 the slopes rather than up and down. In pure lodgepole stands 



