112 ABSAEOKA DIVISION OF YELLOWSTONE i'OEEST EE8EEVE. 



meadow intervening. On the slopes of Buffalo Plateau, in the western part of the 

 township, the forest at the upper elevations consists of 75 per cent white-bark pine 

 and 25 per cent Engelmann- spruce, much of the white-bark pine forming trees 20 to 

 30 inches basal diameter and 20 to 35 feet clear trunk. At middle elevations the 

 forest is chiefly made up of close-set stands of Engelmann spruce, the trees being 



2 to 4 feet in diameter and 80 to 50 feet clear trunk, while the lowest terraces bear 

 uneven-aged stands of lodgepole pine, from 50 to 150 years old, thinly set or in 

 more closely stocked, scattered stands separated by old fire glades. All 'of the 

 timber in the township is diflScult of access for logging operations. 



Cutting. — None. 



Burns. — Recent burns amount to only 360 acres. Burns sixty to eighty years 

 ago laid waste 4,000 acres, now partly reforesting. 



Heproduction. — The reproductive capacity of .the subalpine forest on the 

 summit of Buffalo Plateau is low. The wide grassy tracts which occur here are 

 wholly due to past fires, and as no portion of the plateau is above timber line 

 the forest will slowly advance and eventually reoccupj^ the ground, provided fires 

 are prevented. Elsewhere in the township young growth is sufficient to maintain 

 the present stocking of the stands, and where abnormally thin, old growths prevail 

 abundantly enough to insure more close-set stands in the future. 



Undergrowth. — Undergrowth is scanty at high elevations and in the close-set 

 lodgepole-pine stands throughout, as well as in the old, heavy, spruce growths on 

 the middle terraces of the western slopes of Buffalo Plateau. It is thick and abun- 

 dant in the young lodgepole-pine stands on the lower western slopes of the plateau, 

 consisting chieflj^ of Sheph&rdia., with small percentages of willows. 



Litt&r. — Light, except in the spruce growths on the western slopes of the plateau, 

 where vast quantities of uprooted trees block the forest in all directions. 



Humus. — In the spruce growths above mentioned the humus layer varies from 



3 to 6 inches in depth; elsewhere in the township it is light or altogether lacking. 



' Classification^ of lands in T. 9 8., R. 11 E. 



Acres. 



■Forested ■- 10,360 



Nonforested - 5, 000 



Badly burned " 350 



Logged None. 



Agricultural '. None. 



Grazing^ _ 3,800 



Bare rooks 100 



Lakes, ponds, and streams 750 



