Baiting the area with poison grain and sowing repellent-coated tree seeds have 

 had considerable success. Many poisons and rodenticides have been tested in various 

 parts of the United States with varying effects, but none has worked consistently 

 enough to be universally accepted. In recent years, the most commonly used treatment 

 has been to bait the area with poison grain and then sow seeds coated with a combina- 

 tion of the poison endrin, a fungicide thiram, and a bird repellent aluminum powder 

 in a latex carrier. 



When need for rodent control is anticipated, the advice and cooperation of a 

 professional control organization, such as the Predatory Animal and Rodent Control 

 division of the Fish and Wildlife Service, should be sought. Control officers can 

 advise on methods of estimating the kinds and relative numbers of seed-eating mammals 

 on the area to be treated. When the population survey is completed, they can assist 

 foresters to secure recommended baits and poisons, and can supply instructions on 

 treatment and safety precautions for handling and distributing the poisons. The use 

 of many chemicals has been restricted because of danger to other than target animals. 

 Before any chemical is used, assurance should be secured that it is currently registered 

 and approved for the specific purpose anticipated. 



Planting 



Planting is the most commonly used method of artificial reforestation in both 

 Intermountain and northern Rocky Mountain forests. Nearly 45,000 acres were planted 

 in 1970. Hand planting is the usual method, although machines are used successfully. 

 In recent years an increasing share of the site preparation and planting has been 

 awarded to private contractors who hire the crews and complete the job to written 

 specifications . 



Nursery stock production. — The production of healthy stock from nurseries is 

 essential to reforestation by planting. Stock must be in condition to grow when it 

 is outplanted. Causes of past failures include insufficient site preparation and 

 careless handling and planting of stock. At present, nurseries in the Intermountain 

 Station territory are producing suitable and healthy ponderosa pine stock, as con- 

 firmed by the high survival rates of recent plantings. 



Even though forest nursery tree production techniques are satisfactory, greater 

 efficiency would be achieved through better methods of seed treatment and nursery bed 

 weeding. More precise studies of fertilization and irrigation schedules and seedbed 

 spacing should improve stock production and vigor. In the long run, probably the 

 greatest benefits will come from basic studies of seed and seedling physiology and 

 genetics. Recent studies in California have led to development of methods of deter- 

 mining the root-regenerating potential (RRP) of nursery stock and how it varies with 

 different nurseries and nursery practices (Stone and Schubert 1959a and b; Schubert 

 and Baron 1965; Stone and others 1963) . 



The main requirement for good ponderosa pine nursery stock is a healthy root 

 system 10 to 12 inches long (Curtis and Coonrod 1961) . If such stock is well planted, 

 the roots have a chance to stay ahead of the receding soil moisture level during the 

 dry summer months. The roots should be in balance with a healthy top; a root-top 

 ratio of 1.5:1 or 2:1 is desirable. 



The most common age of planting stock used in these regions in recent years has 

 been 2+0 seedling stock. Most of the earlier plantings used some form of transplant 

 stock ranging from 1+1 to 2+2, but a 1954-58 study showed that 2+0 plants survived 

 nearly as well as 2+1 stock on well-prepared sites (Curtis and Coonrod 1961). Fifth-- 

 year survival of 5 successive years of planting averaged 82 percent with 2+0 stock and 

 94 percent with 2+1 stock on stripped and trenched sites. The lower survival rate of 

 2+0 stock is compensated for by the lower cost of producing and planting seedlings as 



IS 



