6. Water-yield improvement through vege- 

 tative manipulation and structural 

 measures. 



7. Silviculture and management of aspen 

 and associated conifers in relation to 

 forage, water, and other multiple use 

 values. 



8. Forest recreation planning and manage- 

 ment. 



FUTURE PLANS 



The Order Establishing the Great Basin Ex- 

 perimental Range assumes continued research 

 that will have application in land management 

 for many years ahead. The list of projects pro- 

 posed for future study there includes: 



1. Ecology and management of pinyon- 

 juniper, spruce-fir, mountain herb, oak- 

 brush, aspen, and associated plant com- 

 munities and their relation to various 

 environmental factors, particularly soils 

 and weather. 



2. Improvement and management of big 

 game habitat. 



3. Selection and breeding of improved 

 shrubs, evaluation of promising selec- 

 tions, development of efficient seed- 

 production technology, and develop- 

 ment of effective procedures for shrub 

 establishment in forest and range envi- 

 ronments. 



4. Wildlife-livestock relations in multiple 

 use management. 



5. Range-watershed rehabilitation. 



Other plans not mentioned in the Estab- 

 lishment Order include interdisciplinary stud- 

 ies in the functioning of the aspen ecosys- 

 tem. Aspen is an important type in the moun- 

 tains of Utah and surrounding States and fur- 

 nishes valuable cover and forage for game and 

 livestock, important watershed protection, 

 some timber, and is an important part of the 

 mountain scenery. Because of fire protection 

 many aspen sites are now being invaded by 

 conifers. The dynamics and economics of this 

 change need to be determined so the land 

 manager can intelligently either permit or pre- 

 vent the replacement of aspen by conifer. The 

 Great Basin Experimental Range will be an 

 ideal place to conduct aspen ecosystem stud- 

 ies because of the abundance of aspen and 

 because of the long history of vegetation and 

 climatic records in the aspen as well as in 

 other vegetation types. 



Nearly a hundred meter-square quadrats 

 are on or in the vicinity of the Great Basin 

 Experimental Range; many of them were es- 

 tablished by Sampson in 1913 or 1914 and 

 have been sampled at irregular intervals since 

 then. These records of vegetation change, 

 along with corresponding climatic records, 

 form a pool of data that will be invaluable for 

 further study of the ecology of these plant 

 communities and their response to changes in 

 the environment. 



The Intermountain Forest and Range Ex- 

 periment Station is seriously considering pos- 

 sibilities for developing a visiting-scientist pro- 

 gram that would attract outstanding univer- 

 sity scientists to the Intermountain area for 

 the summer months. The Great Basin Experi- 

 mental Range has excellent possibilities for 

 this purpose; it is easily accessible; it has a 

 pleasant summer climate; living quarters are 

 comfortable and attractive; and limited 

 facilities for some kinds of laboratory work 

 are immediately available. 



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