Regeneration by Douglas Fir 303 



growth to serve as seed-trees to restock the remaining portion. 

 Lodgepole pine usually comes in so readily after a fire that even 

 many areas originally Douglas fir are now covered with the 

 former species. With the exception of a few small scattered 

 Yellow pine sites on the east face of the mountains, which are 

 not regenerating, practically all of the present denuded areas are 

 found on the western slope and in the Douglas fir zone. These 

 areas occur within an altitudinal belt ranging from 7,000 to 9,000 

 feet, located on the watersheds of Brokenback Creek, South, 

 Middle and Main Forks of Paintrock Creek, and their tributaries. 

 The soil is similar in composition over practically the entire 

 region, being a lime or marly soil resulting from a limestone base. 



However, the burns may properly be separated into two classes, 

 differing somewhat as regards ground conditions, according to 

 the time they were burned over, namely, "Old Burns" or those 

 dating back more than 100 years, and "Recent Burns" or those 

 originating since 1879. 



Old Burns. — These old burns now consist of grassy "parks," 

 containing more or less sagebrush, with here and there old charred 

 stumps, the only remnants of the former forests. In parts of this 

 old bum pieces of well-preserved charred wood have been found 

 buried from 6 to 13 inches in the ground. In all probability, 

 as is indicated by fire scars on one old solitary Douglas fir, which 

 is still living, the absence of forest cover is due to two large fires, 

 occurring 210 and 110 years ago, respectively. The former killed 

 the virgin stand, while the latter destroyed the second growth 

 which followed and consumed most of the dead material remain- 

 ing- from the first fire. What little dead timber was not burned 

 has since decayed, wnth the exception of the few pieces still to 

 be found, and in the interval a fairly thick cover of sod and sage- 

 brush has become established, leaving the areas in their present 

 treeless condition. On the higher and more exposed ridges the 

 soil is shallow, more or less rocky, and occasionally interrupted 

 by outcrops of limestone. 



Owing to the thick ground cover, found generally over the 

 areas, natural reproduction is very slow, but nevertheless it is 

 gradually encroaching on the open parkland wherever small 

 stands of timber or individual trees are within seeding range. 

 These patches of advance growth occur scattered over the burns 

 and, given protection from fire, large portions of these once tim- 



