UTAH ACADEMY OF SCIENCES y 45 
eo 
SOME PRESENT DAY PROBLEMS IN FORESTRY. 
By E. R. HODSON. . 
Forestry is a very comprehensive term, for it embraces 
both an art and a science or rather several sciences. With 
so broad a field and so varied an application, there have 
arisen many questions connected mostly with its practice. 
The short time in which it has developed in this country 
has only intensified these problems. In Europe forestry 
grew up through a long course of time, was interwoven 
with the development of States and followed the fortunes 
of war and social changes. In this country to a certain 
extent, limited by our conditions both economic and forest, 
we can profit by that experience. For while really a re- 
sponse to the economic conditions of tomorrow, forestry 
has apparently come to us so suddenly as to arouse dis- 
trust in some quarters. Its purpose has been questioned, 
the need of it doubted, and there has been a general ten- 
dency to discredit its claims. Happily this is fast passing 
away. Public spirited people in every walk of life are in- 
terested. Forestry is recognized as a part of the national 
work and its progress and standards are jealously watched. 
The region on which this discussion is principally based 
includes the forest areas adjacent to the Great Basin and 
at the headwaters of the Snake River, in Utah, Nevada and 
southern Idaho. For the purposes of government forest 
administration, it is known as District 4. 
Over this whole region the general climatic conditions 
may be characterized as arid or semi-arid. Sufficient pre- 
cipitation for tree growth is confined to the higher ele- 
vations of the mountains, and, as a rule, the important 
forest areas are still further restricted to northern expos- 
ures. 
Another broad general distinction is the coniferous 
character of the forest. With the exception of aspen and 
a few other minor broadleaf species, this type of forest is 
unrelieved by deciduous species. This uniformity is largely 
the product of climatic conditions, mainly temperature. 
