48 FOKEST RESEKVES IN IDAHO. 



will serve greatly to clear up any misunderstandings which may have 

 arisen in the minds of sheep owners as to the views which the for- 

 estry department takes of this great industry dn relation to forest 

 reserves. 



I commend the following to the careful consideration of all those 

 Avho are interested in the sheep industry : 



That the region is especially adapted for grazing is evidenced by the fact that 

 the general altitude is too high to allow of successful farming operations. 

 There are very few level basins or benches where farming could be carried on. 

 if it were possible, and the whole region is rough and abrupt, with slopes and 

 ridges which are covered with an herbaceous and shrubby growth so valuable- 

 for the grazing and browsing of sheep. Water is abundant in springs and 

 streams, and herders can drive their sheep everywhere with the surety of finding 

 plenty of water. The region so 'far has been used only for summer range, the 

 sheep being driven into the low sage brush hills along the Snake or westward 

 along the lower Payette for winter i^asturage. Because of the high altitude 

 with consequent long winter seasons of deep snows, the proposed reserve region 

 will probably never be used for winter range. The sheep are driven into the 

 hills early in May, and snows drive them out again in middle September, so 

 that the real grazing season is a short one. There are no lambing grounds in 

 the region, these all being southward along the Snake River, where, because of 

 much lower elevation, the winters are milder. 



The sheep are owned largely in Boise, though a few bands come in from 

 Mountainhome on the south, Hailey and Ketchum on the east, and Caldwell 

 and other points on the west. Exact figures as to the number of sheep in the 

 region were not attainable, but a well-known sheep man gave an estimate of 

 30,000 head. In Stanley Basin, Bear Valley, and other basins surrounding this 

 reserve there are many times this number. Pratt & Son. of Boise, last year 

 ran about 15,000 sheep in and about the Bear Valley country, largely outside 

 of the proposed reserve. To the northward, in Bear Basin, Cupp & Son, of 

 Caldwell, were running 12,000 sheep. 



On the Boise market the value of sheep per head was given at $1.75 to $2.75. 

 These are fall prices and include best spring lambs. Wool was quoted at 19 

 cents. Counting .$2.25 per head, the sheep industry in this region represents 

 a capital of $67,500. This is probably a low figure, as accurate returns could 

 not be found. 



Many excellent localities for sheep have never been grazed, and some of the 

 "best grazing grounds at present have only been grazed for the past two or 

 three years. Only within three years have sheep been put into Bear Valley, 

 which "is an excellent sheep region, and so far no injurious results could be 

 observed from their grazing there. Being so far from winter pasturage, sheej) 

 can only remain in these higher valleys a comparatively short time. But the 

 hidustry has been so profitable that new owners are putting bands into the hills 

 everywiiere, and unless restricted within a short time the region will be badly 

 ove/grazed. This overgrazing will not only seriously injure the sheep-raising 

 industry in itself by destroying desirable range, but will also greatly injure 

 the reproduction of valuable tree species on the hills and higher divides : 

 destroy the protective covering of the hills, so that the water-conserving power 

 will be lessened, and will so loosen the forest debris and soil ttot every severe 

 rain or spring flood will cut deep into the hills and fill the rivers, and hence 

 the ditches below, with silt and debris. With the exclusion of sheep from a 

 few important ridges and higher slopes, covered at present with young forest 

 growth, and with slight restrictions as to numbers to be grazed and time of 

 entering the region, many more sheep than at present could be grazed without 

 damage to the forest or watersheds. 



As cattle will probably never be ranged to any extent in this proposed reserve 

 the usual dispute as to range areas between cattle and sheep men will not be a 

 factor in the administration of the reserve. So far the matter of range areas 

 has been settled among the sheep men to some extent by the State Wool 

 Growers' Association, but this has been unsatisfactory in many ways, and several 

 large sheep owners have declared themselves in favor of a forest reserve if it 

 would allow of definite allotments of areas and require small sheep owners to 

 respect these allotments. Mr. W. L. Cui>p, of Caldwell, who runs 12,000 to 

 18,000 sheep on the headwaters of the Middle Payette and in Deadwood and 

 Bear basins, says, " I am more and more in favor of this region being made a 



