MEDFORD MAIL TRIBUNE, MEDFORD, Offl.
SUNDAY. JUNE 19. 1969
60 Acres of Hilts Burn of 1925 Is
Bulldozed Clear for New Planting
0
PLANTED IN 1933 Adjoining the recently planted area of
the old Hilts burn In Mill creek i a grove of Jeffery pine
planted In 1933 by men of the Civil Conservation Corps.
Several thousand acres were burned In the 192S fire. The
trees, planted 27 years ago, as seen today are about SO feet
tall and 10 inches In diameter. Last year, Boy Scout troops
of Yreka helped to prune this area.
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YOUNG THEE One of the 38,400 ponderosa pine trees
planted on SO acres of the old Hilt burn In Mill creek on the
Klamath National forest is dwarfed by a workman's helmet,
planted on 60 acres of the old Hilts burn in Mill creek on the
down two feet of roots during the first year. The area had
to be scraped clean of all brush and grass because small trees
can't compete with the other vegetation for moisture during
Its first year.
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iSjay" CREMATORY
605 HIGHLAND
One of the most drastic
methods of reforestation used
by the forest service is visible
from Highway 99 at Siskiyou
summit.
A brush cleared area visible
from the highway, Klamath
National forest officials said,
is part of the 1923 Mill creek
fire which burned several
thousand acres.
About 60 acres of the old
burn (also called the Hilts
burn), were planted with pon
derosa pine during March and
April after the area was
cleared of the thick brush last
October.
According to Charles Yates,
supervisor of the Klamath for
est in Yreka, this type of re
forestation la the most drastic
used by the forest service. The
Mill creek burn is one of the
first areaB in the Klamath for
est where It has been tried..
Cleared By Bulldoser
Before planting, the area
had to be cleared of the thick
brush by bulldozer, scraping
down to mineral soil. It was
explained that the young tree
does not need top soil in
which to grow. The brush,
piled into wind-rows, contains
enough dirt so it will not be
a fire hazard and aids in the
prevention of erosion.
All vegetation in the site
was removed, including the
grass, since young trees can
not compete for moisture dur
ing the first year. An excep
tion are any trees growing in
the area. These are kept. Af
ter the first year, when the
trees have put down about
two feet of roots, they are in a
better condition to compete
with other plants, it was ex
plained. The forest service selected
this particular area to replant
for several reasons, Frank
Tucker, forest ranger of Yre
ka district, said. It was flat
enough so the area could be
cleared, it was not producing
anything but brush, and tim
ber had once grown there, he
said. Some $6,000 was avail
able this year for the project.
Nursery Stock
The trees, when planted,
were two-year-old nursery
stock. They were placed in
rows eight feet apart. The
60 acres includes some 36,400
trees. After the first and third
years, they are counted to de
termine the percentage of sur
vival. It was reported that al
though this method of refores
tation is the most expensive,
the survival rate is about 85
per cent. If any rain falls in
the area shortly after plant
ing, officials reported that
they can be sure of a good
Survival rate.
Nothing steeper than a 40
per cent grade is cleared in
this fashion, Tucker said.
Steeper sections In the area
recently replanted were ter
raced. Although, he added,
some other method will have
to be found for the much
steeper slopes.
Spray Steeper Slope
In the burn, the forest serv
ice has also tried spraying
some of the steeper slopes
with a brush killing chemical
by air, Tucker said. This has
proved effective, he added,
and does keep erosion at a
minimum. In such incidents
the grass has grown back
quite heavily.
One problem faced by the
forest service after planting
young trees is the squirrels.
The tender young trees are
temptation to the rodents
which bite off the topr.
"Just plain orneriness,"
Lyle Hadsel, timber stand im
provement foreman for the
district, commented. ."The
squirrels don't even eat the
tops after they bite them off!"
Poison grain has been used
to some extent in the area to
control the rodents, it was re
ported. The grain, furnished
by the fish and wildlife serv
ice, is treated so it will not
be eaten by birds.
Contrast To Planting
In sharp contrast to the new
planting is a grove of Jeffery
pine planted In 1933 by men
of the Civil Conservation
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23
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REPLANTED AREA Visible from High-
way 99 at the Siskiyou summit Is a cleared
area across Cottonwood creek in Mill creek.
Clearing of some 60 acres of the old Hilts
burn was completed last fall by bulldozer,
and 38,400 smail ponderosa pine trees were
planted during March and April. This
method of reforestation, the most drastic
used by the U. S. forest service, Is quite
expensive, but the tree survival rate is
among the highest, about 85 per cent, offi
cials report. The brush was pushed into
windrows with sufficient dirt so as not to
be a fire hazard. They also aid in the pre
vention of erosion. Forest service officials
added that any trees in the cleared area are
retained.
PI
Small Worlds
Around Us
By Lynn M. Watkins
Their Nett G6t a
Little Water Logged
Of all the ridiculous places
they could have selected to
build their nest they chose
the very worst. Maybe It was
their first nest. Anyway, they
goofed. They had built the
nest In an empty tin can
placed on top of a stump at
the edge of a woodland.
They were active, excitable
little birds with stubby up-
tilted tails. They were mem
bers of the beloved family of
birds known as the wrens
and recognized as the friend
liest, as well as the most
vivacious, of birdloom. Slight
ly larger than the common
house wren, these, the winter
wrens. Inhabited woodlots
where they ran through brush
heaps and chased and ate bugs
and worms.
All for It
The other side of this little
family, the little male, was
all for it when his wife se
lected the tin can. Perhaps
he thought the can was ideal,
or maybe he didn't have good
sense cither, or maybe he was
being tolerant of his wife. He
selected the finest small sticks
and grass stems he could find,
carrying them to the old tin
can and singing while his
spouse arranged the furnish
ings. He knocked himself nearly
out, hunting the softest feath
ers for the lining of the nest.
And all the time he violently
Jerked his stubby tall and
sang Incessantly. What he
lacked in good Judgment, he
made up for in enthusiasm.
There was tangible evi
dence that some boys during
the late winter, had placed
the tin can on the stump and
shot at it with a .22 rifle.
They had hit the can once;
there were two holes through
the sides, about two inches
from the bottom. The boys
had left It there on the old
stump.
Our little friends filled the
can nearly full with material
for their nest, and In the cozy
feather-lined cavity, Mrs.
Wren lain) .four tiny eggs.
Papa Wren flitted his
stubby tail and scrambled
back and forth through the
brush piles. He sang almost
constantly, putting his entire
weight in every note.
Long before the eggs hatch
ed, rains came, sweeping
across the woodlands and
drenching the thickets. The
water filled the bottom of the
nest-can. Mrs. Wren must
have wondered why the flood
never ran off; neither did she
know why it never reached
flood stage. She didn't know
the bullet holes kept the wa
ter at a safe level, and she
didn't know why the seller of
her home was water-logged.
However, in spite of the
dampness, the eggs hatched.
The babies, with wet feet
right from the start, develop
ed normally. They had a
moist beginning, but with the
hardiness of youth they sur
vived. But Mr. and Mrs. Wren
must have learned a lesson,
for when it was time to build
a nest and raise another fam
ily, they used their heads and
built in the hollow end of
a dead tree-limb. It must have
been comforting to Mrs. Wren
when the rain poured down
that no water flooded the
basement.
(Released by the Register and
Tribune Syndicate, 1960)
1
A Tribute
i To Our Graduates!
Bach Spring when Nature bedecks her flowers
In their gayest end loveliest raiment, she gives
us still another wondrous crop: youth that is
blossoming into young - man - and womanhood.
These are our graduates, those sturdy and irre
pressible boys and girls to whom all the great
world is just unfolding. With diplomas In their
hands and high hopes in their hearts, they step
up or out of their educational environment and
become a little maturer toward the old yet ever
young process of living. Ah, Alma Mater, how
we shall miss your cloistered Halls, our patient
teachers and our host of friends! Greet life with
your head high and a song In your soul, dear
Graduates. You have done well in your class
rooms. You will do well on whatever roadway o
life you choose to travel. This Is our prayer.
You are the hope of America! God bless every
one of youl
Medford Pharmacy
101 North Central, Corner 6th Ph. SP 2-6253
Open Week Days: 8:30 A.M. to 10:30 P.M.
I
i
Sundays and Holidays: 10 A.M. to 9:30 P.M.
t
I
, We Salute Our Town!
Corps. The trees in this older
plantation are now about 50
feet tall and 10 Inches in di
ameter. Last year the Boy
Scout troops of Yreka helped
to prune this area.
The Yreka district com
pleted its spring planting pro
gram recently. Other areas
planted were 655 acres of the
1955 Haystack burn; 53 acres
seeded in the Sterling moun
tain burn of 1955, and 38 burn. Since the fire 7,559
acres planted in the Sulphur acres have been planted and
Ranch fire of last year. 1,071 acres seeded.
Forest service officials re- The Sulphur Ranch burn
ported that 401,291 small trees was planted with 25,505 small
were planted on the Haystack trees.
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