230 



THE FORESTER. 



October, 



Sheep Grazing in Arizona. 



A Paper on the Statement that the Forest Reserves are Injured by Grazing. 



[The Forester assumes no responsibility for views expressed in signed communications. 

 The opposite view on this question will be published in the November issue. Ed.] . 



The object of the American Forestry diate floods," etc. After the statement 



Association and of the Department of in most positive terms of the necessity 



Forestry of the United States Govern- of excluding sheep from the forests of 



merit is to be attained, if at all, by both California and Arizona, the writer 



candid, conservative and careful investi- adds, in justification of his position : 

 gation of all the conditions of each local- "As a specific instance in illustration 



ity and the establishment, for each local- of the destructive effect of grazing, the 



ity, of such conservative regulations as forest reserve in Central Arizona may be 



the conditions, after such study, are 

 found to require. There have been in 

 the past many statements of a general 

 nature, some of them coming from ap- 

 parently high authority, that were based 

 upon facts and conditions found in lim- 



cited. Many of the streams which flow 

 into the Salt River have their sources in 

 these reservations. Whenever sheep 

 have been driven there in large numbers, 

 the farmers of the Salt River valley have 

 suffered material injury from the canals 



ited localities and applicable only to and laterals filling with sand and silt." 



such localities. Such statements are Then follows a paragraph on the same 



extremely unfortunate, not only because subject which is probably quite practical 



they are unjust to local interests, but and true for the precipitous mountains of 



that they break the confidence of the Southern California, but, if intended to 



settler of these localities in the Depart- apply to the forest reserves of Central 



ment of Forestry and bring into ridicule Arizona, it is worthy the pen of a Cer- 



the whole plan of forest reservation vantes. 



among the settlers, on whom, in Ari- 

 zona, at least, the preservation of the 

 young forest most depends. 



In the July Forester appeared an 

 article on "Natural Reforestation in the 

 Southwest," in which the author dis- 

 cussed sheep grazing in the forest re- 

 serves of "Central Arizona" from the 

 standpoint, evidently, of facts and con- 

 ditions found in California, and falls 



There are three forest reserves in Ari- 

 zona : the "Black Mesa," the "Grand 

 Canon, "and the "San Francisco Moun- 

 tain " Forest Reserve. The former lies 

 on the east border of the Territory. The 

 writer is personally familiar with very 

 little of it, but understands the soil and 

 conditions there are very similar to those 

 of the other two reserves. As the waters 

 of the "Grand Canon" reserve all flow, 



into the grievous errors above referred when they flow at all, into the Colorado 

 to. I do not wish to criticize the author, River, that reserve could not be referred 

 who, we feel, was the victim of misplaced to or affect this question.- In fact, only 

 confidence, with, possibly, too much the- a small per cent of the other two re- 

 ory on the science of Forestry, but jus- serves lie on the southern slope. After 

 tice to the high aims of the Department a residence of eleven years at the foot of 

 of Forestry, as well as to local interests, the San Francisco Mountains, and con- 

 demand that the facts be known and that stant familiarity with all parts of the lat- 

 these errors be corrected before injustice ter reserve, and with the grazing of both 

 be done. I quote from the article re- cattle and sheep thereon, we are forced 

 ferred to : to the conclusion that the author of the 

 "The topography of Southern Cali- article referred to has been imposed 

 fornia and Arizona is such that, at best, upon by the parties from whom he de- 

 much of the rainfall flows off in imme- rived his information. 





