University of Idaho School of Forestry - Forester Yearbook (Moscow, ID)

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GIFT OF EXPERIMENTAL FOREST F. G. MILLER Dean, School of Forestry, U'nifoers'ity of Idaho BY OUTRIGHT gift the University of Idaho has come into possession of a choice ex- perimental forest for its School of Forestry. The gift was made by the Forest Development Company, a VVeyerhaeuser subsidiary at Lew- iston, Idaho. It consists of 3,646 acres of for- est land, and it was accepted by the State Board of Education October 11, 1932. In conveying this gift to the University of Idaho Mr. C. L. Billings, President of the Forest Development Company, stated it to be the thought of the company that the area shall be used as an experimental forest as long as there is a School of Forestry at the University. Mr. Billings has also furnished the School a full and complete report, with maps, descriptive of the forest cover on these lands, which will serve the School as a basis in formulating its plan of management for the area. LOCATION AND ACCESSIBILITY These lands are suitably and conveniently located for an experimental forest. They are all within the Moscow Mountain Range, 3,046 acres lying on the north slope and 600 acres on the south slope. Their average distance from Moscow is about 18 miles northeast. The lands on the north slope may be reached di- rect over a graveled and dirt road known as the Old Princeton Road, or by way of Pot- latch over a graveled highway to Potlatch, thence over a dirt road the rest of the way. The 600 acres on the south slope are accessible over a dirt and graveled road by way of Troy. It probably will not be many years until the main body of the area, that on the north slope of the mountains, will be accessible all the way over a surfaced road. TOPOGRAPHY AND SOIL The land is all either rolling or mountainous in character, but any of it can be readily logged. It is practically all good timber pro- ducing soil. The forest on the south slope is drained by a beautiful mountain stream which traverses its full length. That on the north slope of the mountains is fairly well watered by streams, the principal one being Hatter Creek. FOREST COVER The principal species found on the area are ponderosa pine, western white pine, tamarack, Douglas fir, white fir, western red cedar, and lodgepole pine. These species grow largely in mixed stands. All age classes of all species of timber common to the northern part of Idaho are found within this forest. Practi- cally all of the merchantable timber has been removed, but the timber was cut in such a way as to leave intact on most of the area the trees below merchantable size. The report of the Forest Development Com- pany shows that 2,180 acres or nearly 60 per cent of the area is now covered with from 14 to 53 trees per acre of pole size, that is to say, trees 8 inches or over in diameter breast high. There are, of course, some younger trees below this size, which were not counted when the cruise was made. This means that there is left standing a suiiicient number of trees to restock the area by natural regeneration. In fact some reproduction has already started. About 500 acres or 14 per cent of the area bears young trees of the sapling stage-trees from 3 to 6 inches in diameter breast high, per cent is partially varying in size from 2 inches in diameter while 180 acres or 5 stocked with seedlings 6 inches in height to breast high. Nearly 14 per cent has been burned over and 7 per cent is classed as open land. Very probably the 79 per cent of the area now bearing poles, saplings, or seedlings will restock itself. The other 21 per cent may have to be planted, though it is possible that some of this will eventually reproduce by natural means. ACQUISITION 0-F ADJACRNT LANDS The gift of this line forest property came at an opportune time as it is opening the way to the acquisition of a larger School Forest as described by Dr. E. A. Sherman in an article under the caption: Planning a Forest for the University of Idaho, on page 17.. Besides serving as a field laboratory for the training of students in forestry and experi- mentation in methods of silvicultural manage- ment, this enlarged School Forest would be highly useful as a game preserve and for recreational uses, not to mention its potential value for the production of timber. It may be added that the School is already realizing some revenue from the gift area from the sale of cordwood and grazing privileges. Due ac- knowledgment is here made to the Forest De- velopment Company for this timely and im- portant donation. It will be known as the Moscow Mountain Experimental Forest. RESPITE STANLEY Foss BARTLETT Let me turn away for a moment From the ways that are blazed to goals, Let me wander gypsy-minded While I rest from my worldly roles. Let me go where there is 'I'LO commerce, Thought-free from my friencl and foe, For Foe peace to make with my soul and God Ancl Pye dreams of my own to lmow.

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PLANNING A FOREST FOR THE UNIVERSITY OE IDAI-IO E. A. SHERMAN United States Forest Service WHEN Dean F. G. Miller, of the School of Forestry of the University of Idaho, turns from his desk and looks out of his ohice window, his eyes rest on the timbered south slopes of a range of hills known as the Moscow Mountains. These constitute a short secondary range running east and west almost at a right angle to and fairly well detached from the main mountain mass occupying the central and northern parts of the State. The most striking feature of the range, Moscow Moun- tain proper, is only 12 miles in an air line from the dean's ofiice. The area is unusually productive, with a fertility carried to it in wind-borne soils from the famous Palouse region. The total area comprises 65,753.62 acres and is divided naturally into two rather distinct units, the Moscow Mountain unit, con- taining 35,410.79 acres, and the Potato Hill unit of 30,342.83 acres. All the principal com- mercial forest types are well represented, with acreages as follows: white pine, 14,0803 pon- derosa pine, 20,0003 larch-fir, 28,7105 Douglas ir, 1,3905 cedar-white fir, 700. It would be hard, the dean believes, to find a more nearly ideal set-up for a university forest. To obtain this area for the Idaho School of Forestry as a field laboratory to be studied, protected, developed, and managed by his stu- dents has long been the dream of Dean Miller. Two steps toward the accomplishment of that ambition have recently been taken. In 1932 the Forest Development Company donated to the University about three thousand, six hun- dred and fifty acres of forest land on Moscow Mountain. This area is already in use by the forest school and forms a nucleus for the projected forest. The second step was taken on January 13, 1933, when Representative Burton L. French, of Idaho, introduced in Congress a bill which, if enacted into law, will enable the State to acquire for its university the entire forest area in question. The plan which passage of the bill will fur- ther is based upon the fact that the State of Idaho owns large acreages of land within the boundaries of the national forests in the State. The bill authorizes the Federal Gov- ernment to acquire privately owned lands within certain described sections in the Mos- cow Mountains region and extending north- eastward of that region to the Palouse division of the St. Joe National Forest and southward to Potato Hill fa landmark of some local prominencej. Boundary lines are to be so drawn as to exclude farm lands and settle- ments and all land having substantial agri- cultural potentialities. The Federal Govern- ment would acquire these lands with the ultimate object of exchanging them for an equal value of the lands owned by the State within the boundaries of national forests. It may take many years to round out the entire project, as a great many small owner- ships are involved. Meanwhile, the State and the Federal Government already own a part of the land. In addition to the tract donated to the University, the State owns 8,029 acres within the boundary limits of the two units, and the Federal Government before long will come into ownership of about 9,000 acres, 200 from the public domain and the balance from pending donations, making combined State and Federal holdings of approximately 20,000 acres. The terms of the final exchange transaction between the State and the Forest Service will be worked out after the Federal Government has completed the work of consolidation and the State authorities have been empowered to make such an exchange.-Forest Worker, March, 1933. Income From Recreational Sources New England's annual income from recre- ational sources amounts to S500,000,000 and, if this is considered as a 6 per cent return on a capital investment, it would place the cur- rent economic value of New England's recre- ational assets at about 8M billion dollars. The value of the recreational property in New England is placed at S550,000,000 and taxes amounting to 315,000,000 are paid on this property. The recreation dollar is spent as follows: Transportation, 20 cents, accommo- dations, 20 cents, retail stores, 25 centsg food, 21 centsg amusements, 8 centsg confections, 6 cents.-Jozwwzal of Forestry, March, 1933. Wood Stood Philip Lord, '33, completed his academic work the first semester this year and returned to his home in South Pasadena, California, just in time for the earthquake. He writes as follows: Practically all the serious damage occurred to brick buildings. I have been over a large part of the damaged area and in no case did I see any major damage to an all-wood struc- ture. Some of the wooden buildings were moved several feet from their foundations by the shock yet they did not fall. The lumber companies are advertising with the phrase, 'Wood Stood? Lumber will have no trouble holding its own as a building material in this section of the country, 17

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BRANDED A BlLER STANLEY Foss BARTLETTS' THERE are some trades and businesses that a man can bluff about, but cooking in a logging camp is not among these gilt-edged careers. In preparing meals on a large scale for a big crew of hard working, hungry woods- men, alibis and hot air should be omitted from the menug for results of the simple old square sort are what the boys expect when a hundred of them face the festal board thrice daily. And once a cook fails to produce nourishment fit for King Spruce he is branded forever, a biler fboilerl, the cussedest culinary term known north of the bright lights. For the reason foregoing, some of the keen- est rivalry in the world exists among woods cooks. From the plentiful, but plain, raw ma- terials which are furnished them, ambitious cooks have succeeded in producing about everything from ice cream to Hungarian goulashg and if one doesn't mind taking it off' tin a mighty good meal is to be had in the cook-room of a Maine woods camp. I know one cook who is famous for his pink- frosted cakes, fthe extract of this delicate hue he squeezes from ordinary beetslg another one carries in his Nwar-bag, as a part of his regular equipment, several fancy shaped cookie cutters, and a plate of his cookies would fitting- ly and properly grace a five-year-old's party table. Then there are tricks of the trade which are guarded secrets such as: a grated raw potato can be successfully used in place of an egg in mixing up doughnuts. So rivalry runs high in the big woods kitchen, and it reached the high-water mark a few years ago when a lemon pie craze swept over the camp cuisine of the northland. Where or how this epidemic started is an unknown and unimportant fact. But reports of luscious lemon pies here and there spread from camp to camp and for a time a cook was rated by the lemon pie he could make. At one camp, where the crew was building a big dam on a Penobscot tributary, the cook- rooni was governed by an old-time cook of irreproachable reputation. Heretofore, lemon pies had not been on his bill of fare, but, not to be outdone, he ordered a pail of lemon-pie filling. In due time a full wooden pie-filling bucket was deposited in the dingle Qpantryj. The cookee removed the cover and the famous cook proceeded to construct a batch of such pies as had never been tasted this side of the Ritz. He was late with his work and the pies were hot out of the oven when the cookee yodelled iEclitor's Note: Mr. Bartlett attended the School of Forestry Ranger Course in 1921-22 and now IS Assistant Editor of thc Lewiston Lhlztinel SUN-JO1II'1lIlI.-XVl'ltll'lQ. feature forestry articles. He has been :ln zrctivc con- tributor to The Imno Fonesrsn and the editorial stan' is prmtcfxil for his assistance. the dinner call. The crew of half-famished men pushed into the cook-room and fell hastily upon the well-prepared bread and meat. Mean- while the cookee placed the hot pies on the long tables at regular intervals within easy reach of all. For the chief of chefs had at last tried his hand at the popular pastry and the men would be anxious to brag about the lemon pie THEIR cook had made. Several of the crew, having partaken their fill of the plain food, reached for the lemon pie, took large wedges of it into their plates and lost no time in conveying generous cuts to their mouth. Woodsmen being undemonstra- tive fellows of impassive expression, no hint as to the reception of the pies caught the cook's beaming paternal eye until Jim Malone, the boss, who had appropriated a half of one pie for himself, closed his teeth on the first mouth- ful. He started to swallow but choked and coughed, his eyes rolled and a series of light effects and grotesque grimaces passed over his leathery face. Then, emitting thick curses of the seven black ganders of China on some one, he turned a mean eye toward the cook-the cook had gone white and the men at the tables w-ere silent. At last the boss's tight lips opened slowly-he spoke- Biler, what is them pies made of? The cook, for lack of a better move, produced the nearly empty pie-filling pail and as he held it his eye noted a blue- penciled inscription, made by the storehouse clerk on the cover, and he read aloud: This pail contains petroleum grease for use on the dam-gate runways. The whiteness of his face turned to a gray pallor-the crew muttered fiercely in chorus-the boss was first to recover and again he spoke loudly and cer- tainly, Feedin' vaseline pies to a man-and built of the gate-grease I been looking for all the mornin'!'i Somebody cussed and someone laughed and the cook, who had been struck motionless said, anxiously in a trembling voice, Do you reckon it'll kill any of yus'? The boss replied for the body, Biler, we don't know that yet, but vaseline pie is a durned poor diet for a mar- ried man with three children and no insur- ance-but nobody here's any nearer death this minute than you be and if I wuz you I'd evacu- ate mighty sudden. The crew arose and sauntered toward the men's camp with mixed emotions as the once- famous cook, now branded for life, packed his Kennebunker and left for parts unknown. A SKIN GAME In looking over a silver fox farm an inquisi- tive lady asked How many times can a fox be skinned for its fur? 19