species adaptability, methods and season of 

 planting, and reduction of competing vegeta- 

 tion. Substantial progress during this period 

 developed suitable procedures for many large- 

 scale projects in range revegetation and also the 

 background for important later research. Con- 

 tributions by A. Perry Plummer and Neil C. 

 Frischknecht were especially important. 



Reorganization within the U. S. Depart- 

 ment of Agriculture resulted in transfer of 

 certain range research projects and employees 

 from the Forest Service to the Agricultural Re- 

 search Service in January 1954. Research on 

 range seeding for domestic livestock was con- 

 tinued at Great Basin Station by William J. 

 McGinnies. Emphasis was on fertilizing and 

 methods of planting to increase stand establish- 

 ment. This work has been continued at Great 

 Basin Station by A. T. Bleak since 1956, 

 primarily in studies of germination of grasses 

 and forbs under winter snow, and on winter 

 mortality and longevity of seeded species. 



Following the 1954 reorganization, the For- 

 est Service retained research projects in range 

 seeding that were related to protection of 

 watersheds and improvement of big-game 

 ranges. Research by the Forest Service prior to 

 1954, and that of both the Forest Service and 

 the Agricultural Research Service after that 

 date, formed the basis for up-to-date proce- 

 dures for restoration of depleted ranges in the 

 Western States (Plummer 1943; Bleak and 

 Plummer 1954; Plummer and others 1955, 

 1959, 1968; McGinnies 1959; Bleak 1968; and 

 many others). As a result of these investigations 

 more than one hundred species, both exotic 

 and native and about equally divided among 

 grasses, forbs, and shrubs, are being success- 

 fully planted today on western ranges. 



Of special importance, researchers found 

 that merely broadcasting seeds of adapted spe- 

 cies in depleted aspen, Gambel oak, or choke- 

 cherry stands at leaf fall resulted in productive 

 stands of herbaceous plants. In many areas, es- 

 pecially on mountain ranges, association of 

 shrubs with herbs or aspen trees resulted in as 

 great, and often greater, production of herba- 

 ceous plants as where the shrubs and trees had 

 been eliminated or where they did not natur- 

 ally occur. This is somewhat paradoxical be- 

 cause on many ranges covered by more com- 

 petitive plants it is necessary to reduce their 



competition considerably by brushland plow- 

 ing, anchor chaining, or some similar tech- 

 nique. However, seeding these ranges to 

 adapted species by airplane or drills in the fall 

 or winter results in good stands. These pro- 

 cedures are now widely used throughout the 

 West. 



Further development and improvement of 

 western ranges by artificial planting continues 

 as an important part of the research program at 

 Great Basin Station. 



GAME RANGE RESTORATION RESEARCH 



Much of the research at the Great Basin Sta- 

 tion since 1955 has been in the game range 

 restoration project sponsored cooperatively by 

 the Utah Division of Fish and Game and the 

 Intermountain Forest and Range Experiment 

 Station. 6 This research has been necessarily 

 directed toward a variety of related problems: 

 What range areas were in critical condition? 

 What kinds of game range could be improved? 

 What species of grasses, forbs, and shrubs were 

 adapted for use in restoration and improve- 

 ment treatments? What techniques of land 

 treatment and planting were effective and feasi- 

 ble? And a host of others. Research was direc- 

 ted chiefly toward restoration of winter game 

 range, but summer range at higher elevations 

 was also considered. The winter ranges are 

 critical because large numbers of mule deer and 

 elk depend on them for winter forage. 



The complexity of the necessary research is 

 suggested by the varied character of the envi- 

 ronment. Some areas of winter range in the salt- 

 desert shrub type receive less than 8 inches of 

 rainfall annually, whereas precipitation on 

 some summer ranges varies from 30 inches at 

 lower altitudes to 60 or more inches near 

 mountaintops. Likewise, length of the growing 

 season varies from an average of 120 days in the 

 oakbrush type to only 70 days in the spruce-fir 



6 For a comprehensive account of the problems, 

 procedures, and results of the first 13 years' work on 

 this project, see Plummer and others (1968). For 

 yearly reports on separate phases of this work, see the 

 series titled "Job Completion Reports for the Game 

 Forage Revegetation Project" issued by the Utah Di- 

 vision of Fish and Game (now Utah Division of Wild- 

 life Resources) since 1956. 



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