THE NATIONAL FORESTS OF IDAHO 



33 



dairying are important industries, so that the Caribou Forest is of 

 great value for the summer grazing of the large flocks of sheep and 

 herds of cattle owned in the vicinity. It is generally accessible and 

 has a number of wagon roads and woods roads, as well as two auto- 

 mobile roads which connect Star Valley on its east edge with railroad 

 points on its west side. Tributaries of the Bear and Snake Rivers 

 rise upon this forest, and nearly every small creek is used for local 

 irrigation. The forest, therefore, is of outstanding public value to 

 the citizens of the locality. 



CACHE NATIONAL FOREST 



The Cache National Forest is located mainly upon the Bear 

 River drainage, extending southward from Idaho into Utah, with 

 smaller divisions of the forest on near-by minor mountain ranges. 



Fig. li 



-Cattle grazing on the extensive open lands that mark the national 

 forests of southeastern Idaho 



These minor ranges are poorly forested, and the Bear River Range 

 itself supports heavy stands of timber only in a few favored locali- 

 ties. Near by are thickly populated agricultural valleys and a large 

 number of towns. The oldest settlements in southern Idaho are in 

 this vicinity, and the timberlands, which have always been rather 

 scanty, were drawn upon very heavily in the early days for the up- 

 building of these communities. Fires also have materially reduced 

 timber resources. In general, however, second-growth forests are 

 coming in, and the forests are gradually recuperating from the 

 heavy cutting of the early days. Owing to the large livestock hold- 

 ings in the adjacent valleys, there is a heavy demand for grazing 

 on the large areas of excellent grazing land. In 1924 about 25,000 

 cattle and 93,000 sheep grazed on the ranges of the Cache. 



As every stream is utilized for irrigation, watershed protection is 

 of paramount importance. Woods roads run up nearly every can- 

 yon, but some of them are scarcely usable as roads. The forest is 



