APPEARANCE OF VEGETATION AROUND ANACONDA. 37 



APPEARANCE OF VEGETATION SURROUNDING SMELTER. 



Following is a description of the appearance of the forests situated 

 in various directions from the smelter: 



NORTH OF THE SMELTER. 



A trip was made from Anaconda to Lost Creek, following the 

 valley of this creek for about 5 miles from the Deer Lodge-Anaconda 

 road. A trip was then made to the top of the bluff running along 

 the north side of Lost Creek and following the bluff toward the head 

 of the creek for about a mile. From this commanding position 

 observations of the forests farther up the creek were also made. 

 The lodgepole pines were badly injured at the lower end of the valley 

 proper. The damage gradually grew less and at the 5-mile point, 

 previously mentioned, there was a considerable growth of these 

 pines, some of which were injured while others apparently were not. 

 At this place in the valley the old red firs were practically annihilated, 

 large numbers of the younger red firs showed a destruction of the 

 1908 growth, and on the slopes of the hills on each side of the valley 

 the red firs were practically all killed or badly injured. On the bluff 

 running north of Lost Creek, previously mentioned, all of the old 

 red firs were dead and the young ones were badly injured. 'Many 

 of the lodgepole pines showed a marked discoloration of the needles 

 and a considerable number had been killed. There were no sio:ns 

 of recent fires on this bluff to account for this condition. Observa- 

 tions made from high points on this bluff indicated that the injury 

 to lodgepole pines ceased about a mile beyond the farthest point 

 reached on the trip, while the injury to red firs continued as far as 

 one could see. 



Another trip was made from Anaconda to Antelope Gulch. The 

 basin of this gulch was followed approximately to sec. 3, T. 5 N., R. 

 11 W., which is about 7 miles from the smelter, and the mountains 

 at the end of the gulch approximately in sec. 34, T. 6 N., K. 11 W., 

 and about 7J miles from the smelter, were climbed. At the entrance 

 to Antelope Gulch the trembling aspens had their leaves badly 

 spotted and withered; a few red firs were living, but farther up in 

 the valley the red firs on the mountain sides were practically all 

 killed, indicating that these few live red firs were either protected 

 by the hills in some way or were very resistant individuals. In 

 sec. 3, T. 5 N., R. 11 W., the young red firs in the basin were nearly 

 all injured severely and the large firs on the ridges, at the sides of the 

 gulch, were all killed or dying. Here, too, the needles of the lodge- 

 pole pines, both in the basin and on the slopes at its sides, were 

 badly discolored. In sec. 34, T. 6 N., R. 11 W., all of the old red 

 firs were dead and the young ones were badly injured. A careful 



