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. '