236 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



May 



ever, it forms the watershed of various 

 tributaries to Ashland Creek, it is im- 

 portant to insure proper protection to 

 its forest cover and to prevent the 

 streams from being- contaminated in 

 any way. This will now be carefully 

 attended to by the forest officer in 

 charge of the reserve. 



The Vernon Reserve, containing 

 68,000 acres, lies in the extreme south- 

 eastern corner of Toole county, Utah, 

 embracing the southern end of the 

 Onaqui Range, which rises in places 

 to a height of about 9,500 feet, and 

 forms the two divides between Rush, 

 East Rush, and Skull valleys. 



The streams flowing from this tract 

 are essential to the settlers at the heads 

 of these valleys, who depend upon 

 them at present for the irrigation of 

 about 3,000 acres of land. Formerly, 

 the water supply was much more 

 abundant. In the days of the early 

 settlement of this locality, the streams 

 are said to have been three times their 

 present size, and to have been used all 

 the way down the valleys. In* Rush 

 Valley water made its way in the 

 spring as far north as Stockton Lake, 

 and the south end of the valley sup- 

 ported a population of 300 people, 

 while now there are not more than 100 

 people there. Stockton Lake, at that 

 time, covered an expanse of two by 

 five miles, fed mostly bv streams flow- 

 ing from the hills which have been in- 

 cluded in this reserve ; and there were 

 also 200 or 300 acres of wild hay 

 meadows. Now, both the lake and 

 meadows have dried up; and as the 

 result, the ranches south of the lake 

 have gradually been abandoned, until 

 the population is now less than one- 

 third its former size. 



An official examination of this re- 

 gion to determine the cause of this les- 

 sening of the waterflow, has resulted 

 in showing that the change in condi- 

 tions during the past twenty-five years 

 has been caused by overgrazing on this 

 watershed, and that protection to the 

 headwaters of the streams is essential 

 if settlement is to continue in these 

 valleys. 



Beasts of Prey Wolves and mountain 



on Reserve lions are giving the 



stockmen a good deal of 



trouble on the ranges in several of the 



National forest reserves. Vigorous 

 complaints have been made to the 

 Forest Service of the loss of cattle and 

 sheep, particularly cattle, from this 

 cause. Protection is sought by the 

 stockmen, and the Forest Service, 

 which collects a fee for the grazing 

 permits, has promptly assumed the 

 task of finding and putting into effect 

 practical measures to aid the cattle 

 owners in exterminating the destruc- 

 tive animals. 



The chief difficulty has been on the 

 Wind River Division of the Yellow- 

 stone reserve, in Wyoming. Some of 

 the livestock companies in the region 

 assert that the wolves are increasing 

 so rapidly that the future welfare of 

 the cattle industry is in serious danger. 

 Among the proposals which these con- 

 ditions have called forth are that a 

 bounty be offered for the animals' de- 

 struction. The stockmen along the 

 northern boundary of the Gila reserve, 

 in New Mexico, and in the Wichita, 

 in Oklahoma, have suffered almost as 

 severely. 



Last spring the government appoint- 

 ed John Goff, the skillful hunter who 

 acted as guide to the President during 

 his hunting trip a year ago, as Forest 

 Ranger, and set him to hunting "lions" 

 in the Shoshone Division of the Yel- 

 lowstone reserve, in Montana. Now 

 that the appeal from the stockmen on 

 other reserves is so vigorous, espe- 

 cially for the extermination of the 

 wolves, the Service has just sent an 

 expert into the field to study the wolf 

 problem. The man selected for this 

 work is a recognized authority on the 

 game and other wild animals of the 

 country, Mr. Vernon Bailey, Chief 

 Field Naturalist of the Biological Sur- 

 vey, from which he has been tempora- 

 rily transferred in order to secure his 

 services for this important project. 



The animals which are causing so 

 much trouble to stockmen are common 

 in their native habitat, but are little 

 known to Easterners who have not 

 hunted them. The wolf is known in 

 the West as the "timber" wolf. Though 

 not large, it is powerful and quick. Not 

 only does it kill calves and yearlings 

 with ease, but it attacks and overcomes 

 full-grown cattle. When after this 

 larger prey it does not go for the 



