Shoshone National Forest

TIMBER—WATER—FORAGE

TIMBER RESOURCES.—The actual forested areas within the Shoshone extend in altitudinal range from about 6,000 to 10,000 feet above sea level. Below the lower limits of the typical forest areas is a scattering tree growth of aspen and cottonwoods, restricted principally to the stream courses.

It is estimated that approximately 48 percent of the net area of the forest is covered with timber, and supports a stand of some 2-1/4 billion board feet. Lodgepole pine, Douglas fir, and Engelmann spruce are the principal timber species; alpine fir, Rocky Mountain red cedar, and several minor broadleaved species also occur.

Mature timber may be purchased, and when sales are made the cut is so regulated that a perpetual supply of timber will be available without destroying the forest cover. There are more than 20 different timber operations within the forest which provide lumber, posts, poles, and other timber products for the communities and residents of the Big Horn Basin and adjacent territory, and provide a living for approximately 100 families. These operations also supply such special products as railroad ties and mine timbers and props. Hundreds of ranchers and farmers obtain directly such material as corral poles, fence posts, and fuel from the forest.

WATER RESOURCES.—The vast coniferous forests of the Shoshone are important as a ground cover in regulating the flow of streams having their headwaters inside its boundaries. By retarding the run-off from melting snows and rains, the forests help to prevent erosion and floods in the spring and conserve the flow of water through the summer when it can be used for irrigation. The development of agriculture and, in fact, the future growth of Wyoming and other Western States are absolutely dependent upon irrigation water. Two large irrigation projects, the Shoshone and Sunshine, are dependent upon the forest watersheds, as are many cooperative and individual users. Without doubt the greatest social and economic contribution of the forest to those living within and adjacent to it, and the State at large, is water for irrigation and domestic use.

High above the clouds on Beartooth Plateau. F—385820

The Shoshone project waters 73,000 acres, on which agricultural crops having a value of approximately $2,000,000 are raised annually. With the completion of the Hart Mountain Division of this project, the area under water will be increased by approximately 41,000 acres. Local enterprise in the form of cooperative and individual projects has brought under irrigation more than 60,000 acres additional. The Sunshine project provides supplemental water for a part of the land included in the last figure given. If the Shoshone project is developed to capacity, it is estimated that approximately 163,000 acres of land will be under water.

There are over a million acres of arid lands in the plains of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Basins, with favorable soils and potential farm values if water can be made available for irrigation. It is important to conserve the forest and forage cover so that the greatest volume of usable water may be available for agricultural use. The future prosperity and agricultural development of the region is limited to a great extent by the amount of water that can be supplied for irrigation from the streams having their sources within the Shoshone Forest.

GRAZING RESOURCES.—The raising of livestock is a basic industry in Wyoming. The Shoshone provides summer range for 10,000 cattle and horses, and 75,000 sheep, owned by almost 200 resident owners. The higher ranges are particularly good for the production of lambs and wool, and the lower ones are excellent for beef. Range is also furnished for horse herds of the dude ranchers and for dairy cattle.

Permittees grazing livestock in the national forest are assigned specific grazing allotments, and are required to handle their stock according to approved management practices. Local officers endeavor to stock all ranges conservatively for the purpose of preventing range deterioration which reduces the volume of forage produced and starts erosion.

Grazing permittees are selected on the basis of ownership of improved ranch property which is dependent upon forest range to make it an economic unit. This policy favors the established tax-paying citizen and eliminates the tramp stockman who has no base of operations but exploits the country through which he passes.

In spite of the fact that all ranges adapted to the grazing of livestock have been fully stocked for many years, sufficient forage is reserved to take care of the 3,500 elk, 6,200 mule deer, 750 antelope, 700 mountain sheep, and 250 moose which inhabit the forest.

Mixed virgin stand of Engelmann spruce and Douglas fir. F—385837