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About Herald and news. (Klamath Falls, Or.) 1942-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 20, 1963)
1.020 YOUNGSTERS LEARN OF CONSERVATION The story of for ests, of (he soils in which they grow and of the wildlife that seeks shelter and sustenance within their confines was presented to some 1,020 sixth graders of Klamath County in the second annual Conservation School Students WILDLIFE, PLANTS IN DELICATE BALANCE Dan Eastman, Oregon State game biologist, tells Mark Caldwell Heft) and Douglas Grimm, both Fairview School, of the perennial competition among wildlife for the limited supply of forage born anew each year in the forests. Various factors influence the rate of growth of plants and brush used as forage and include the quality of soil, moisture, sunlight and the competi tion of other plants. P FORESTS PROVIDE RECREATION Bob Stockton, supervisor's office of the Winema National Forest, discusses two of various foods that are light in weight but provide more nutrients than irost foods. Such foods are sought by backpackers in order that they may keep their loads light during overnight pack trips in th wilderness country, Stockton tells Cecelia Pisan (left) and Kay Badley, both of Fairview School. I learn About Wonders Of KLAMATH FALLS, OREGON, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 20. 1963 presented Oct. 8 through 10 at Doalc Mountain. Above, pupils of Roose velt, Conger, Pelican and Shasta schools arrive at the site of the one-day course which was repeated for other county sixth graders during the fol lowing two days. Rocks that float, spacemen's suits worn by "smoke jumpers," and a chemically coated seed that produces a stomachache in rodents were several of many exhibits which held some 1,020 sixth graders spellbound during the second annual one-day con servation course held Oct. 8 through 10 at Doak Mountain. The course was sponsored through the cooperative efforts of businesses, non-profit or ganizations, and federal and state agencies which are pri marily concerned with the pres ervation of the nation's natural resources. Instructors came from as far as Crater Lake National Park and Portland to address t h e more than 300 students who were brought to Doak Mountain daily to hear lectures on the subjects of fire control, the for ests as a site for recreation, re forestation, wildlife, harvesting of Christmas trees, timber man agement, tree identification, end conservation of soils. Each group attending the out door school was divided into eight sections and each sec tion, in turn, was assigned to one of eight booths (or exhibits) located at the site. Instructors at each of t h e booths lectured their respective classes for approximately IS minutes, when the sounding of a whistle indicated that t h e classes were to move along to another booth. At the first exhibit, young sters saw the tools used by fire fighters as they combat forest fires. The pupils also learned how to properly extinguish a campfire and observed a "smoke jumper's suit," de signed to protect a fire suppres sion crewman from heat and fire as he parachutes from an aircraft into the vicinity of an isolated forest fire. While those students were learning how to extinguish a campfire, a group at another booth was learning how to start one, in addition to taking note of a variety of paraphernalia, such as tents, pack boards, and sleeping bags used by campers staying overnight in the woods. Foresters stressed that hiking was the No. 1 outdoor activity throughout the country and list FLOATING ROCKS AWE PUPILS Floating volcanic pumice was ona of a number of specimens that draw tha attention of Riverside School students to John Tribe, Fed eral Soil Conservation Servic, who discussed the Importance of soil conservation and how soil is formed from rock. Tribe was assisted by Richard Wylie, also representing the local soil conservation servic office. i Woods ed picnicking and boating as al most as popular. At the next lecture station, pu pils learned that seed eating ro dents are a serious obstacle to the success of reforestation pro grams throughout the country. Such rodents feed on seeds of evergreens planted by foresters in those areas to be reforested. To discourage these depreda tions, foresters now coat the seds with a silver colored chemical called Endrin. The coating induces a king size stomachache within the crea ture that swallows it. Thereaf ter,, that mammal keeps a wide berth between itself and other silver colored seeds so that many of the pods which for merly had been eaten by ro dents now grow into tiny seed lings. Still greater obstacles bar (he way of such plants in their growth into mature timber. Animals foraging on the ten der needles of the young tree may strip off too much of its new growth, killing it. Saplings must also compete for food and sunligltt with other plants, brush and trees within its surround ings. A seedling which competes with a hardy bush for such nu trients is too often the loser. Animals that feed on the for est's plant life were the sub jects of lectures in another part of the outdoor school. Officials of the Oregon State Commission and state game bi ologists pointed out that ani mals, as do trees, compete with one another for food and shelter provided in the forests. The land is capable of pro ducing a limited amount of food which will sustain a limited number of animals. When there is too little food for the num ber of animals living in the for ests, the weakest ones die off. In addition, plants which form the forage for an over-abundant animal population arc frequent ly overbrowsed and those weak, cr specimens also die. In effect, nature is the source of a never ending struggle to maintain a balance between plant end ani mal life. In anotiier section of the school, foresters told of im proved methods of harves.'ng Christmas trees and explained how, with special care, those SPACEMAN'S SUIT AWES TOTS A "spaceman's suit" similar to those worn by smoke jumpers who are para chuted into isolated forests to fight fires is nudged up right by John Grove, dispatcher for the Winema National IS - 1 I 3 ,J;, 1 n V IM rmv ml NOT BY WATER ALONE Youngters learn from George Wardell, supervisor of the Klamath Forest Protective As sociation, that fires are frequently combatted and extin guished without the use of water. Wardell describes the tools, such as the Palaski, shovel and double bitted ax trees would survive better in homes during the yulctide sea son. Nature requires about 20 years to grow an average size Christmas tree from a seed, but such a lice may be cultivated from a mature trunk in about cilit years, foresters said. The multiple use concept of forest resources was the topic of lectures from a team of Weyerhaeuser Timber Com pany employes. The lecturers pointed out that timber, wildlife, range, and soil were among the resources which wore being con served through research and LJL I XLS. JM. proper management of the for ests. The last on the list of re sources was discussed by a two man (cam of Uic local office of the Federal Soil Conservation Office. They said that the con servation of soil was dependent upon the proper cutting of tim ber, maintaining an adequate cover of foilage on the land, turning under of crops, and pre venting Uie leaching away of top soil. The soil conservationists also demonstrated volcanic pum ice that floated on water. The Crater Lake National NOTE PRICKLY PINC CONE Gl.n F. Kaye, Crater Lake National Park Servic, dis-I closes tha name of a giant pine cone to three pupils of Fairview School during a le hire on the identification of trees and shrubs most common to Southern Oregon.; Margie Bretton observes the specimen as her classmates (left to right) Robin Carlson; and Sandra Purkhiser tak notes. 4 $ Forest. Impressed with the outfit that provides Jhe user with protection from fire are Andrea Massey and Darrell DuBois, both pupils of Mills School. that firofighters use to bulid fire lines which halt the progress of a rampant fire. The tank on the toolbox ii a water pump that may be carried on the back of a fire fighter. , , t ', Park was represented by two rangers who identified six spec imens of trees, including Doug las fir, white fir, sugar pine, pondcrosa pine, Incenso cedar, lodgepolc pine and a number of common shrubs. Instructors participating in the three-day course wore John Grove, Winema Notional Forest; George Wardell, Klamath For est Protective Association; Bob Stockton. Winema National For est; John Acgcrtcr, Klamath District, Winema Forest; John Schulzc, forester, U.S. National Bank; Harry Marshall, forester, State Department of Forestry. Austin F. Hamer, Oregon; State Game Commission: Art Gcrlach and Dan Eastman, b ologists for the State Gam4 Commission; Cal Gicsler, huntj cr safety supervisor, Portland Ixjo Morstad, Fir - E - Nuff Farms; Dick Olson, State Board of Forestry. Also: Ken McAndrcws, Jack Zim merman and Lewis Wourk, for slcrs, Weyerhaeuser Timber Company; Glen F. Kaye and Paul Smith, Crater Lake Na tional Park; John Tribe and Richard Wylie, Soil Conservation Service. '
