334 



feet) and Three Fingered Jack (7,848 

 feet) as a backdrop, the high part of 

 the forest along the summit of the Gas- 

 cade Range possesses a scenic grandeur 

 all its own. Hundreds of mountain 

 lakes, many of which furnish excellent 

 fishing, dot the alpine-meadow coun- 

 try. The Oregon Skyline Trail, a mecca 

 for beauty seekers, follows the Cascade 

 summit along the eastern boundary 

 and traverses much of the more beau- 

 tiful portion of the forest. The trail 

 crosses through the Mount Jefferson 

 Wild Area past the Eight Lakes Basin, 

 skirts Three Fingered Jack and Mount 

 Washington, wanders across the Three 

 Sisters Wilderness Area, and heads 

 south past Diamond Lake toward 

 Grater Lake National Park. 



FISH AND WILDLIFE are another of 

 the multiple values of the Willamette. 

 Patch cutting helps protect the game, 

 because the patches are quickly cov- 

 ered with tree seedlings and palatable 

 browse and for 15 years or so the 

 patches provide excellent feed for deer, 

 elk, and small game. For this reason, 

 the system of patch cutting should 

 materially benefit the wildlife resources 

 of the forest. The game census of 1947 

 estimated 540 elk, 860 bear, 7,400 deer, 

 100 cougar, and 1,100 beaver. 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



GRAZING is another forest use, al- 

 though it is carried on to a limited ex- 

 tent only. The 22 grazing units are 

 located mainly along the summit of the 

 Cascade Range and in the most part 

 consist of alpine-type meadows and old 

 burns. As these areas are protected 

 from fire, encroachment of conifer tree 

 growth is gradually taking place and 

 the net usable grazing area is con- 

 stantly decreasing. It seems that graz- 

 ing is destined never to be more than 

 a minor use on the Douglas-fir forests 

 west of the Cascades. 



JOHN R. BRUCKART, now supervisor 

 of the Willamette National Forest, en- 

 tered the Forest Service as a forest 

 guard on the Snoqualmie National For- 

 est in 1909. He has served since as dis- 

 trict ranger, assistant forest supervisor, 

 regional forest inspector, and forest 

 supervisor in the Pacific Northwest. 

 He has been associated with Douglas- 

 fir management since early in his ca- 

 reer, having done timber cruising, sale 

 administration, and timber-appraisal 

 work. He pioneered in the develop- 

 ment of slash-disposal, fire-protection, 

 and utilization techniques and the im- 

 provement of cutting practices. He re- 

 ceived the Superior Service Award of 

 the Department of Agriculture in 1947. 



NEW SECURITY FOR FOREST COMMUNITIES 



DAHL J. KIRKPATRICK 



The Sustained-Yield Unit Act was 

 designed to permit the Federal forest- 

 management agencies to combine pub- 

 lic and privately owned forest lands for 

 joint sustained-yield operation. It also 

 authorized the designation of depend- 

 ent forest communities as the manu- 

 facturing points for Federal timber. 



The need for such legislation as a 

 measure to assure community stability 

 was recognized on the Pacific coast a 

 generation ago when the ultimate 

 result of excessively rapid private tim- 

 ber liquidation became apparent. The 



measure was enacted by the Seventy- 

 eighth Congress on March 29, 1944, as 

 Public Law 273 (58 Stat. 132; 16 U. S. 

 C. 583-583i). 



The law promises to be of consider- 

 able help to communities that depend 

 on the forest industries for their eco- 

 nomic support. It can assure sustained- 

 yield management on large areas of 

 the private forest lands that otherwise 

 might be subjected to liquidation with 

 the inevitable aftermath of community 

 deterioration and ruin. 



An example of how the legislation 



