TEN MEDFORD (OREGON! MAIL TRIBUNE
Sunday, January IS, 1957
otrest Service Reviews Highlights off
1
s1 ,576,906
For Improvements in
Rogue
The forest service, during 1956. spent $1,576,906 on improve
ments in Rogue River National forest, according to the financial
report for the year.
The investment included construction of roads and trails, re
placement and construction of bridges, roads built by allowance In
timber sale appraisals, sale area betterments which included re
forestation and other improvements.
Operating expenses for the year totaled $996,727, for a total
expense of $2,573,633. the report showed. Income from gates, spe
cial collections from timber sales, congressional appropriation, and
roads built by allowance in timber sale appraisals totaled $4,024,
889, leaving a net income of $1,451,356.
A little less than 100 million board feet of timber sold brought
the largest income, $1,873,944. the report showed. Other sales in
come was from grazing fees, $6,536. and special use fee3, $13,601.
Special collections from timber sales, which includes sale area bet
terment. erosion control, slash disposal and protection, and work
performed for users, totaled $115,027. The congressional appropri
ation was $765,921.
Highlights of activities by the forest service in Rogue River
National forest include:
TIMBER
.nght.
board
allow-
yl!l!
Annuel naivcai iulaicu
ly less than 100 million
feet in 1956. The annual
able cut under sustained
has been set for several years
103 million feet. Earlier this sea
ion the allowable cut was raised
to 117 million feet. The increase
is based on a number of devel
opments. Cruise and scale volumes
maae avauaoie irom widely
spread timber sales in recent
vear wprp used to ariiust older
inventory estimates. Weight was
given tree species not consid
ered merchantable previously.
Better logging equipment and
methods were a factor together
with more efficient utilization
both in the woods and at indus
trial rjlants.
A detailed timber inventory
survey will be started in 1957.
Aerial photography was com-
t . i , rnu
will be used to delineate timber
types for survey crews to use in
the field next summer in locat
ing and measuring around plots
for volume and growth data.
Total Cut Down
Total cut on the forest was
less than anticipated earlier in
t'ne year. Sufficient timber was
sold to reach the newly set al
lowable cut of 117 million.
However, a large volume of
salvage timber necessarily was
put on the market by the Klam
ath national forest as a result of
forest fires In Siskiyou county
in 1955. It is estimated at least
50 million fee of fire damaged
timber came into the Medford,
Ashland and Klamath Falls
areas from -that source during
the summer. Also, a general soft
ening in the market has been
experienced by the lumber in
dustry for several months. These
two factors had noticeable af
fect on local timber harvesting
activity.
About one-fourth of the 1956
cut was salvage harvest of wind
thrown, diseased and insect in
fested timber. A total of 65 sales
were made under competitive
bid. Forty-two sales were in
amounts less than $2,000 each.
REFORESTATION
More than 693.000 trees were
planted on 1,210 acres of cut
over lands in 1956. During the
last five years a total of 4.290
acres have been planted or seed
ed using 2.400.000 seedling trees
and 200 pounds of tree seed.
Flanting by artificial methods
hi confined to areas in which
adequate natural restocking is
not expected.
WATER
Last year the forest service
reported special attention and
study was to be afforded the
Ashland watershed. This 11.000
acre tract is the source of do
mestic water supply to the city
of Ashland. Production of a sus
tained flow of pure, unpolluted
water for domestic consumption
is by far the most important use
of this tract of forest land.
A detailed land use plan for
the watershed is being prepared
this year. The primary objective
will be continued production of
domestic water with intensified
protection against all lossest The
plan will include limited use of
timber and other resources in a
manner strictly compatible with
full protection of soil and water.
Salvage logging is now com
pleted on the city of Medford
watershed, comprising some 3.
000 acres. Over a period of sev
eral years a planned salvage of
scattered over-mature, timber on
the watershed has returned
more than $100,000 to the city.
A stand improvement pro
pram with emphasis on tree
planting has been underway an
nually since 1952 when the for
est service entered into agree
ment with the city to manage
the Medford watershed lands at
cost. Tree planting has been
aimed at restocking old burns
and other areas that failed in
past years to restock naturally.
The projects have shown good
survival in the main and some
Expended
River Forest
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SEEDLING DAMAGED This
little seedling, planted on the
site of a timber sale, has been
stripped of its bark by a porcu
pine, and will die. These rodents,
and other animals and some in
sects, constitute a major hazard
in reforestation programs.
of the earlier plantings o 1952
are now several feet high.
Water Resources
Water production and the wa
ter resource in general are ;of
singular importance on the na
tional forest. Much of the head
waters of both the Rogue and
Applegate rivers lie within its
boundaries. It is vitally impor
tant all forest resource uses be
planned and developed in a
manner to assure sustained, con
trolled flow of unpolluted water
from its mountain source.
Work is progressing cooper
atively with the reclamation bu
reau on the Talent project. Tim
ber "is being cleared and sold
from the tunnel and reservoir
sites currently. Next summer
the forest service will advertise
to sell the right of way timber
along the collection canals, prior
to canal construction.
FIRE CONTROL
The 1956 fire season was less
severe than 1955, but more se
vere than average. Fall rains
were delayed, resulting in criti
cal fire weather throughout
September.
Lightning set an unusually
large number of fires for a total
of 81. Fifty of these were set by
a series .of lightning storms in
mid-August.. Full cooperation of
forest industry and local citizens
helped materially in realizing
prompt control. Total number
of fires from all causes was 93.
with a burned area of only 14
acres.
Suppression action was aided
greatly by use of smokejumpers,
parachuting of supplies to the
ground crews, helicopter and
aerial patrol. j
RECREATION , 1
Use of the forest by recrea-
tionists continues to increase. On
peak weekends last season avail
able facilities at forest camps
and picnic areas were inade
quate to handle the demand. An
estimated 7,000 persons visited
Lake of the Woods on the July
Fourth holiday.
Adidtional funds were made
available by Congress this year
and the allocation is being used
to replace worn out and unserv
iceable campground improve
ments in the most heavily used
areas. In addition, survey and
plans will be marie to determine
additional facilities needed to
accommodate the steadily in
creasing recreation use.
GRAZING. WILDLIFE
Grazing on mountain ranges
by domestic livestock and wild
life is one of the oldest uses of
Rogue River forest resources.
Range forage is an important
resource. Utilization of the for-
age on a sustained basis in sup-
port of a portion of the livestock I
RECREATION FACILITIES NEEDED The
forest service has received increased appro
priations for recreational purposes this year,
and is stretching them to go as far as they
can. The public camp space shown above, on
the east shore of Lake of the Woods, is an
example of how they have deteriorated in the
years since they were first constructed by the
Civilian Conservation Corps. The fireplace
has fallen, or been torn, down to a point
where it is barely usable. The table is one
industry dependent on the forest
for summer range is the objec
tive of management.
During 1956, summer range
was furnished to 7,378 cattle
and 4,100 sheep, representing
100 separate livestock operators.
A field survey of summer
ranges was started last season
and will continue through 1957.
The purpose of the survey will
be to provide current data on
location, extent, condition and
trend of forage areas. The data
will be used in long term man
agement plans for the resource.
Close cooperation is enjoyed
with the state game commission.
The forest service manages wild
life habitat within the national
forests, while the state game
commission manages the wild
life resource itself.
Lake of the Woods was poi
soned for trash fish by the com
mission in 1955 and restocked
with trout in 1956. Both opera
tions are reported successful,
furnishing an important addi
tion to lake sport fishing in the
area.
MINING CLAIMS
Public Law 167 passed . by
84th Congress provides for res
ervation to the government of
rights to timber and other sur
face resources on unpatented
mining claims located after the
law was passed.
Provision also is made for de
termination of surface rights on
unpatented claims located be
for the law was passed by a
process of field examination, no
tification, publication and pub
lic hearing.
Examination for determina
tion of surface rights was start
ed last fall on a 6,000 acre tract
in the upper Applegate. Addi
tional surface right determina
tions are planned.
ENGINEERING
A network of roads, trails and
telephone lines must be main
tained annually to protect and
use the national forest. Mainte
nance this year covered 520
miles of road, 555 miles of trail
and 265 miles of telephone line.
Progress is being made to com
plete a transportation system
adequate to serve protection and
use of the several resources. Lo
cation survey was done on 82
miles of road and construction
completed on 57 miles of new
permanent routes.
Federal access road funds pro
vided for installation of a major
bridge and connecting link
across upper Rogue river. The
route taps a large body of ma
ture timber in the northeast cor
ner of Jackson county.
Through cooperative agree
ment with- a private timber own
er 11.5 miles of permanent road
was completed along the hither
to inaccessible Elliott creek in
upper Applegate.
O It C EXCHANGE
Last year the forest service
reported the passage of the Con
gressional O & C Exchange act
directing the forest service and
the bureau of land management
to exchange intermingled O & C
and national forest lands. The
purpose was to simplify and im
prove administration for both
agencies through elimiation of
intermingled jurisdiction.
The exchange was completed
at the target date last' June. Ap
proximately 67,000 acres of O
& C land was transferred to the
forest service and like amount
of national forest land was ex
changed to the bureau of land
management.
New administrative boundar
ies have been established and
there is every indication the ad
justment is an important, prog-
ressive step forward.
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REFORESTATION UNDER WAY This cut-over area, in the
Dead Indian area, is an example of a carefully conducted tim
ber sale, although to the layman it may look like a "mess" for
the time being. All downed and useless wood (called "slash" by
foresters) has been heaped and burned to get rid of it as a fire
hazard. Remaining logs are left to furnish humus for the soil.
Throughout the area new trees have been hand-planted, and if
all goes well in another five years there will be a healthy stand
of small trees flourishing here. In another 80 to 100 years the
area will be ready for another timber harvest. Two of the seed
ling trees planted are shown in the picture.
Canis Minor Contains Only
Two Stars Easy to Observe
Br FAY BENTLEY
When Orion, the Mighty
Hunter, was given a place in
the sky, Jupiter also found
room in the heavens for his two
favorite hounds, Canis Major
the Big Dog, and Canis Minor
the Little Dog, thus making it
possible for this courageous,
though mythological, young man
to pursue his favorite sport
throughout eternity.
Canis Minor, sometimes call
ed the Lesser Dog, contains only
two stars that are easy to see.
They are yellow-white Procyon
(PRO-see-on) of first magnitude,
known as The Little Dog Star,
with a dimmer star a short dis
tance above it
Faint Companion
However, the telescope re
veals a faint companion of
Procyon invisible to the naked
eye, which is claimed to be the
densest and heaviest of any star
known so far. At the surface of
the earth one cubic inch of ma
terial from this celestial body
that constantly encircles The
Little Dog Star would weigh
200 tons or 400,000 pounds.
Procyon is approaching the
earth at the rate of about 150
miles per minute.
Because the distance between
the earth and this star is approxi
mately 11 light years, or 66
trillion miles, the possibility of
a collision is extremely remote.
Eastern Sky
To locate Canis Minor look
to the eastern sky about 8 p.m.
During the first part of January
which has been restored at one time or an
other. One of the biggest problems is the fact
that the forest camps are totally inadequate
to accommodate the numbers of visitors who
seek to use them. Last July 4 an estimated
8,000 people visited Lake of the Woods, and
every camp site was filled and people were
turned away. The same is true, to a lesser
extent, of virtually every forest service camp
site in the Rogue River National forest.
4 n. 3
"
j it will be well above the horizon
and slightly south of due east
at that hour, but as winter pro
gresses will gradually move
farther to the south and climb
higher in the sky.
Canis Major or the Big Dog
is lower in the sky and to the
right or south of Canis Minor.
Sirius, brightest star in the en
tire celestial sphere forms the
head of Canis Major and pro
vides an easy recognition point
for this star group.
These two dogs seem to have
an unlimited amount of "stick-to-it-ivness"
and patience. Since
the beginning of history they
have been in constant pursuit
of a rabbit or hare, and nightly
continue their celestial hunt al
though they are no nearer the
object of the chase now than
when they started.
Lepus the Har
Lepus the Hare, a group of
rather dim stars which resem
bles a bow of ribbon more than
a rabbit, lies just below Orion.
Its location makes finding it a
simple matter if the night is
clear.
Orion and his two dogs night
ly journey across the heavens;
The Hunter with upraised club
faces Taurus the Bull while his
hounds constantly follow Lepus
the Hare.
A beautiful sky figure known
as the Winter Triangle is com
posed of red Betelgeuse in Ori
on, Procyon in Canis Minor, and
Sirius in Canis Major. These
three giant suns form the points
r
it
Mm.
BLOWDOWN SALVAGE PROBLEM The view above shows
timber in the Dead Indian area which blew down during last
winter's storms. It presents a problem in forest management to
the 'forest service, for such timber is subject to infestation by
disease and insects, which can spread to healthy standing tim
ber. When dry, it also is a major fire hazard. Much of the timber
sales in recent years have been for the "salvage" of such trees,
perfectly good now, but useless if left on the ground for any
period of time.
Number of Visitors
At Crater Lake Show
Increase During '56
A total of 359,840 people,
traveling in 101,861 cars, visited
Crater Lake National park dur
ing 1956, an increase in travel
of 4.65 per cent over 1955, ac
cordion to Tom Williams, park
superintendent.
The total is 2.89 per cent less
than the number traveling in
the park in the peak year of
1954. Williams pointed out, how
ever, that travel records for
1955 and 1956 may not be com
parable to those of preceding
years since there has been no
check on traffic using Highway
62 through the park between
the south and west entrances
snice the fall of 1954.
Figures for the past two years
represent only those people who
actually went to Crater Lake it
self from the Annie Spring junc
tion or from the north entrance
Williams noted.
North Entrance
On the total visitors last year,
132,886. or 36.8 per cent, en
tered through the north en
trance, which was open from
June 17 to Oct, 6. a total of 113
days. The remainder entered the
park through the south and west
entrances, and were logged at
the Annie Spring checking sta
tion.
Bus service through the park,
which was established last year,
accounted for an increase of 42
per cent over the previous year
of visitors arriving by bus. How
ever, visitors entering the park
by bus made up less than 1 per
cent of the total last year.
Visitors came from eery
state, Canada, Alaska, Hawaii
and several foreign countries.
About 40 per cent of the cars
were from ' Oregon, and more
than half of the remaining 60
Livestock Feeding Class
Holds First Meeting
Central Point The grist
livestock feeding course for ad
ult farmers was held at the Cra
ter High school agriculture de
partment Wednesday . evening,
Jan. 9.
Next Class meeting will be
Wednesday evening, Jan. 16.
Farmers interested in learning
basic fundamentals of livestock
feeding may still enroll in the
course at that time, it was an
nounced.
Plane Searched for
Bomb Friday Night
Stockton, Calif. (U.R) A
United Airlines plane carrying
26 passengers was stopped
shortly before takeoff Friday
night after a telephone threat
that there was a bomb aboard.
Authorities labeled the inci
dent a hoax after a four-hour
search proved fruitless.
of an almost equilateral triangle
in the southeastern sky and may
be seen about 8 p.m. on any
clear night during the winter.
M M
1 & A o Z 3
per cent were from California.
Increased Trend
The increase in travel at Cra
ter Lake is in line with a trend
reported from all 29 national
parks and about 150 other areas
which made up the national
park system, Williams said.-
Park service officials have an
ticipated that by 1966, the 50th
anniversary ot the service,
about 600,000 people will visit
Crater Lake.
To meet increased demand.
the park service has launched
its Mission 66 program, a 10
year development program to
bring necessary facilities up to
standard. Work on the program
already is under way at Crater
Lake National park.
Yule Toy Project
Said Biggest to Date
The Medford Lady Lions and
the Medford firemen announced
Saturday that the 1956 Christ
mas project was the largest they
have undertaken to date.
Mrs. Alan Jewelt, chairman of
the project, said 662 children
were given toys at Christmas in
1956, while only 567 were given
toys in 1955. A total of 206
families in Medford and the im
mediate vicinity received Christ
mas help this year. This total is
about 50 more than those re
ceiving assistance last year.
In addition to hundreds of
dolls dressed by the Lady Lions
with the help of individuals and
organizations the firemen repair
ed and painted several hundred
wheel toys. Among the items re
paired and painted were 58 wa
gons. 138 tricycles, 34 pedal cars,
13 wheel barrows, five sidewalk
bikes, 10 doll buggies and 28
rocking chairs and rocking toys.
Firemen washed and steriliz
ed 1,500 cellophane bags of
small toys, which were includ
ed in each box of gifts, Mrs.
Jewett said. This work was done
between Nov. 1 and Dec. 20.
Air Line Firm May Get
Scheduled Flights
Portland U.R) General
Airways, Inc., a non-scheduled
airline based in Portland, said
Saturday it expected Civil Aero
nautics Board authorization
shortly to operate 10 scheduled
flights per month.
The Portland line Friday was
one of 31 non-sKeas recom
mended for limited scheduling
by an examiner for the CAB.
Final authority will become
effective in about 10 days.
General operates a fleet of
DC-3s and ,DC-4s out of Port
land International Airport in
military and international trans
portation. It applied for sched
uled operations four years ago.
About one-sixth of the state
of Delaware's total area is water
surface. .
Prism Cruising Is
Discussed at SAF
Meeting Friday
Prism Cruising has eliminated .
the necessity of importance in
several factors of timber cruis
ing, Gwen Sherrar, of the Ma
son, Bruce and Girard company,
Portland, said Friday night,
Sherrar discussed prism cruis
ing at a meeting of the Siskiyou
chapter of the Society of Amer-
ican Foresters at the Jackson
hotel.
By use of prism cruising, he
said, timber cruisers feel they
can obtain more accurate and
quicker job of determining the
amount of timber in a given
plot.
Under the old type cruising
method, the cruiser had to de
termine the plot size, record the
diameter of the trees with the
best height, the number of
logs in the tree, the breakage,
and the form class of the tim
ber, Sherrar said.
Factors Mentioned
One factor of prism cruising.
he said, is the correct use of the
prism to record the number of
trees, and the number of logs
in each tree recorded. The di
ameter has become unimportant,
although it still is recorded by
the prism method, he said, and
it no longer is necessary to con
sider form class of the tree.
Through prism cruising, more
of the larger trees are recorded
than smaller sizes, he said. The
prism method also can be used
on windfall trees to determine
if they are within the plot.
The prism cruising method
has been developed by the Port
land timber consultant firm
since about 1953, and in the fall
of 1955 the firm went complete
ly to using the method, Sherrar
said. The method was originally
developed in Germany in 1948.
Hossein Khosrovi, chief of
management and wood utiliza
tion of the Iran forestry depart
ment, discussed his mission in
the United States. He has been
in the Rogue valley area for
about 10 days studying methods
of logging, and lumber manu
facture. On his return to Iran,
he will manage one of the larg
est lumber mills in Iran. . .
Minor Accidents
Reported to Police
Three minor accident were
reported to city police Thursday.
Cars driven by Jean Frances
Quackenbush, 2647 Table Rock
rd., and Grady Allen Conner,
724 Victory St., Medford, were
involved in an accident on North -Central
ave. at East Jackson st.
Conner was arrested by city
police and confined to city jail
on charges of driving while
under the influence of intoxi
cating beverages.
Two vehicles operated by
Diane Gay Disberry, 728 West
Eleventh St., and Harold Ditmar
Hornseth, SOI Marshall ave., col
lided at noon Thursday on
Main st. between Central ave.
and Bartlett ave. No citations
were issued. .
City police reported that
car driven by Oliver Ora Mor
ton, 10 West Jackson St., Med
ford, hit a parking meter on
Main st. between Front and Cen
tral ave. Morton was not cited
by police.
Williams Reelected
President of League
C. C. Williams, Ashland, wai
reelected, president of the Jack
son County Milk Producers
league at a meeting last week.
Some 80 persons attended the
meeting, held at the Roxy Ann
Grange hall.
Will R. Hubbard, Eagle Point,
was named vice president, and
Carl Hover, Central Point, sec
retary. New members of the
board of directors elected were
W. C. Higinbotham, Central
Point, Harry Dunn, Central
Point, and Albert Straus, Sams
Valley. Retiring board members
are J. C. Kesler and Mrs. Lewis
Clark, both fo Medford, and
Frank Straus, Gold Hill.
Harold Hodgkins. St. Paul,
Minn., spoke on technical mat
ters pertaining to the bulk han
dling of milk and milk prod
ucts.
Medford Man Elected
To Real Estate Post
McMinnville U.R) C. L."
Knight of McMinnville Friday
night was named new president
of the Oregon State Association
of Real Estate Boards at a meet
ing held here.
Other officers are M. J. Coso
vich of Astoria, Frank J. Kinney
of Eugene and Everett Bartholo
mew of Medford, vice presi
dents; George N. Meyer of Portr -land,
treasurer; and Taylor
Tretca of Portland, secretary.