70 



parties. lu Colorado, altlioiigli the ^^reater portiou of the timber hiuds 

 have been yurv eyed, coi!ii)aratively a small part have become subject to 

 private ownership). The lands selected from time to time by the State, 

 under various grants from the United States, have usually been farm- 

 ing lands, including but little timber. The school sections, and a few 

 other tracts owned by the State, embrace some timber land. It is diffi- 

 cult to determine the ownership of the forest lands in this State, to de- 

 cide which belong respectively to the General Government, to the State, 

 and to individuals. Although public surveys have been made, the field- 

 notes and official plats give very limited information respecting the 

 timber or forest growth ; and since the surveys were made forest fires 

 and oiDerations incidental to lumbering, mioing, and charcoal burning 

 have effected very material changes in the timbered region. 



In Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho, in all of which large forests exist, 

 hardly any of the timber lands have been surveyed. It is gratifying to 

 know that the present policy of the General Land Office is to discourage 

 or forbid the making of such surveys. The precedent is a good one, as 

 tending to prevent encroachment upon the forests. 



FOREST CONDITIONS. 



The Eocky Mountain region embraces a wide expanse of wooded 

 ranges, foot-hills, valleys, parks, and plateaus. Naked and often snow- 

 clad crests and peaks, rocky slopes, barren surfaces, deep defiles, and 

 swift-rushing streams still further diversify a landscape wonderful in 

 the extent and variety of its natural features. 



Upon the mountain ranges are irregular masses of coniferous forest, 

 separated by wide spaces — the latter treeless, or sometimes clothed with 

 a growth of As.pen. Bordering the streams are Cottonwood, Willow, 

 Alder, and other deciduous growths of minor importance. The "parks" 

 (by which are meant mountain valleys bare of timber or nearly so) 

 are usually covered with wild grasses or sage-brush. Scrub-oak and 

 Cedar, Sage brush, and other shrubs — in rare cases a scattering growth 

 of timber — are found in the foot-hills, mesas, and plateaus. 



This region, though nearly surrounded by arid or semi-arid plains 

 and plateaus, and subject, more or less, to conditions of aridity, heat 

 and cold inimical to forest growth, receives in many parts a compara- 

 tively large i:)recipitation of moisture, and is favored through large por- 

 tions of the year with abundant sunshine? To these last-named causes 

 may be ascribed the existence here of relatively extensive forests. It 

 is believed that but for the scourge of fire, these forests would be at 

 least one-third greater in extent. 



Upon the western slope of the main range the annual rain and snow- 

 fall are greater than upon the eastern side; hence the larger and more 

 important forests are found there. Furthermore, the forests of that 

 portion have suffered less from fire and depredation than those in other 

 sections. In all parts of the mountain region, northern slopes are the 



