Forest Reserves as Game Preserves 



At the head of Black River, between 8,000 and 

 9,000 feet, there are many nearly level or gently 

 sloping areas, sometimes of considerable extent. 

 These are covered with open yellow pine forests, 

 with many white-barked aspens scattered here and 

 there, and an abundance of grasses and low bushes. 

 This was once a favorite summer country for elk, and 

 I have seen there many bushes and small saplings 

 which had been twisted and barked by bull elk while 

 rubbing the velvet from their horns. 



Immediately south and east of Black River lies the 

 Prieto Plateau, a well wooded mountain mass rising 

 steeply from Black River Canon to a broad summit 

 about 9,000 feet in altitude. The northerly slopes of 

 this plateau, facing the river, are heavily forested 

 with pines, firs, aspens and brushy undergrowth, and 

 are good elk country. The summit is cold and damp, 

 with areas of spruce thickets and attractive wet 

 meadows scattered here and there. Beyond the sum- 

 mit of the plateau, to the south and east, the country 

 descends abruptly several thousand feet, in a series 

 of rocky declivities and sharp spur-like ridges, to the 

 canon of Blue River, a tributary of the San Fran- 

 cisco River. This slope, near the summit, is over- 

 grown with firs, aspens and pines, which give way 

 as the descent is made, to pinons, cedar and scrubby 

 oak trees and a more or less abundant growth of 

 chaparral. Small streams and springs are found in 

 the larger canons on this slope, while far below, at 

 an altitude of about 5,000 feet, lies Blue River. 



The country at the extreme head of Blue River 

 forms a great mountain amphitheater, with one side 



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