Forestry and Irrigation. 



VOL. X. 



FEBRUARY, 1904. 



No. 2. 



NEWS AND NOTES. 



Important The conventions of the 



Conventions National Livestock As- 

 of Stockmen, sociation and of the 

 National Woolgrowers' 

 Association were held simultaneously at 

 Portland, Oregon, January n to 15. 



Mr. Gifford Pinchot, Forester, U. S. 

 Department of Agriculture, and Mr. 

 F. H. Newell, Chief Engineer U. S. 

 Reclamation Service, both members of 

 the recently appointed Commission on 

 Public Lands, attended the contentions 

 at the direction of President Roosevelt, 

 in order to attain the closest possible 

 touch with the sentiment and attitude 

 of the grazing interests toward the pro- 

 posed revision of the public-land laws, 

 the forest reserves, and the reclamation 

 projects. 



The Livestock Association had on its 

 program three questions for discussion, 

 one of which was the desirability of for- 

 est reserves. The Woolgrowers' Asso- 

 ciation also had three questions for dis- 

 cussion, one of which was the desirability 

 of change in the land laws. Usually the 

 business was transacted during the morn- 

 ing in separate session, and in the after- 

 noon the two associations met jointly at 

 the invitation of one or the other. 



The general subject of forest reserves 

 in relation to the range-sheep industry 

 was threshed over by a number of brief 

 addresses explaining existing conditions 

 in various states and territories, and fol- 

 lowed by discussion. The attitude of 

 the delegates to the conventions devel- 

 oped as follows : 



First. Strong approval of the forest- 

 reserve policy of the government under 

 the principles laid down, shown in the 

 resolutions in the next note: 



Second. The recognition that the stock 

 industry must be protected against in- 



jurious competition, or the ranges will 

 be destroyed. 



Third. A general desire among the 

 stockmen to have the government take 

 control of the summer range. 



A special meeting of representative 

 delegates to the National Livestock and 

 National Woolgrowers' conventions to 

 discuss the range question was held 

 at the Portland Hotel, Portland, Ore- 

 gon, Wednesday, January 13, for the 

 discussion of public-land questions for 

 the information of the Commission on 

 the Public Lands. Owing to Mr. New- 

 ell's illness, Mr. Pinchot only was pres- 

 ent. The following representatives of 

 the livestock interests were in attend- 

 ance : Arizona E. S. Gosney, C. C. 

 Hutchinson, and F. B. Mason; Califor- 

 nia H. A. Jastro ; Colorado M. K. 

 Parsons and Fred P. Johnson; Idaho 

 L. L. Ormsby, H. J. Hagenbarth, 

 Monte B. Gwinn, F. W. Gooding, J. C. 

 Pierce, and Ed. Payne ; Utah Hon. 

 Jesse M. Smith, J. H. Seeley, W. D. 

 Campbell, and F. J. Jansen; Oregon- 

 Douglas Belts and W. H. Roper; Wash- 

 ington Mr. Benson, John Cleman, and 

 R. K. Nichols; Wyoming B. B. Brooks 

 and Timothy Kinney; New Mexico- 

 Represented by H. A. Jastro. 



Mr. H. A. Jastro, of California, was 

 made chairman and Mr. Fred P. Johnson, 

 of Colorado, secretary of the meeting. 



After a general discussion, upon mo- 

 tion of Mr. B. B. Brooks, of Wyoming, 

 it was the sense of the meeting that the 

 bill now pending in Congress for the 

 transfer of the forest reserves to the 

 Agricultural Department ought to be 

 passed at once. 



It was the sense of the meeting that 

 all local questions affecting the range 

 should be decided upon local grounds. 



