Show Ashley National Forest highlights during 1974 This was the j year ear of or the fires Cires Th They y started early burned here an and ana there throughout the summer and finally came to a ahalt ahalt ahalt halt when snow hit the high country The Squaw Basin Fire burned 2900 acres It was the largest fire in recent Ashley history and set the pattern for a long hot summer The scorecard for the 1974 season 95 fires CI res acres burned and 35 man man caused aused fires ires Close to 1000 firefighters and fire overhead were involved in the campaign DURING Tim TILE fiscal year ending on June 30 22 timber limber sales and timber permits were issued Over 13 million board feet fret were sold for an aggregate sale price of During the same period 15 9 million board feet reet were cut at al a value of or There were 2877 sales of or nonconvertible nonconvertible nonconvertible non- non convertible timber products during the fiscal year and about Christmas trees were sold during the same period Reforestation and stand improvement work are necessary for a renewable resource such as timber Some acres were planted and acres received some kind of stand lland improvement work such suchs as as s thinning RECREATION use remained surprisingly high in the face of the oil crisis and higher gasoline prices Overall reported use was down on the F Forest est Flaming Gorge reported an eight percent decrease in total use Use was down nine percent in the and three percent outside the Several Districts reported a alight alight alight light increase in back country use family camping and group picnicking Camping visits were down or about the same but groups seemed to be staying longer There was also less use useIn usein usein in undeveloped areas due to the prolonged fire closure More and more educational groups were reported using the High Primitive Area as asan asan asan an outdoor classroom for environmental education Backpacking use continued to increase while horse use remained at a high level Portions of foot trails are being rerouted to avoid difficult river Si 0 t d f j 1 jJ 7 i p rrt aT f t l' l j J F it 1 1 ill J VIII tl I. I I 1 i 4 r WILDFIRE I This was the name of the game during summer 1974 crossings Litter cleanup remained a problem TilE THE PACIFIC Power and Light Company has been awarded a contract for furnishing power to the Firehole Recreation Complex located southwest of Rock Springs Staking Slaking of or the route and acquisition of needed way rights-of-way are now in progress A scale full-scale land use planning effort continued in 1974 The Vernal Land Use Plan and the accompanying environmental impact statement went to the Council on Environmental Quality in April and was formally approved in June This plan provides the management direction for acres located in the southeast corner of the Ashley National Forest The Flaming Gorge Land Use Plan was completed during the early summer and sent to the in October 1974 It is expected that tha t this trus plan willbe will willbe willbe be approved by March 1975 Work is now underway on the l High ligh South Slope Plan A Acore Acore Acore core team consisting of team leader Andrew E. E Godfrey with Alan G. G Baird Neil A. A Deets Roy E E. E Morgan E. E Allen Shippee and William G. G Sims are engaged in collecting field data dala Next summer and fall this trus plan and its environmental statement will be drafted and the public will be given opportunities to comment and make suggestions for their improvement TilE THE BIG lUG news in Forest rangeland management was the allocation this fall of approximately for accelerated range programs on the Ashley Some of the spec specific ic projects are 1000 acres of juniper pinon-juniper eradication and in the Antelope and Brundage Ridge areas and of approximately acres in Sowers and Wire Fence Canyons Water development continues to be an important and complex ingredient in the management of the Ashleys Ashley's acres A thoroughgoing consideration of or alternatives is underway with respect to Central Utah Ulah Project components on or near the Ashley Test drillings have been authorized for the proposed Dry Fork P. P L. L reservoir but all viable alternatives will be looked at and evaluated before a go- go ahead on construction is given A new dam and outlet works at Spirit Lake were installed this fall The Mosby Irrigation Company constructed a reservoir at Julius Park to Improve management of allocated The Long Park Reservoir project is still in the advanced planning stage Collection and evaluation of project data and assessment of environmental impacts are the immediate tasks The range long-range planning calls for a six inch pipeline to the Manila area and arid canal facilities for the distribution of or irrigation water A WATER quality monitoring program is underway along the south slope on the Forest This program is being carried out in conjunction with measurements The Forest engineering organIzation organization organization organ organ- was engaged Innumerous in innumerous innumerous numerous projects during the year The completion of the East Park road has finally opened a sizeable portion of or the Vernal Ranger District to efficient efficient efficient ef ef- development of the timber resource and added recreational opportunities for Forest users Great Lake Timber Company built wilt approximately l eight miles of timber access road In the Sols Lodgepole Canyon-Lodgepole Creek area Under a maintenance contract awarded by the Forest Service D. D E. E Casada Construction Company maintained maintained main main- miles of or Forest roads Including the Taylor Mountain road Red Cloud Loop Twin Ashley-Twin Lakes Ickes Loop Leidy Peak road Mosby Mountain road West Fork of Whiterocks road and Ui th Elkhorn Loop road It was Ui ti first venture of 01 its kind for Ui th Ashley Forest road crews maintained miles e road on the south sl slope e of th Many additional mile were maintained by Flamin Gorge Ranger District crews At the Moon Lak Continued on page 3 1 J J. J t tf 11 rJ a I t r A LAKE one of the many high country lakes lokes on the forest This one Is located at the end of the West Fork White Whiterocks rocks road Forest Service Continued from page 2 campground work has been completed on a new comfort station septic tank and waterlines EXTENSIVE Forest road closures last winter along the south slope helped to prevent excessive resource resource damage reported Forest officials In the road closures and special service road designations planned for this winter full consideration will be given to provide needed access by Forest users such as timber limber operators Consultations with county officials will precede the closures THE FOREST during 1974 extended its equal employment opportunity program The work workforce workforce workforce force normally includes 20 18 women The Roosevelt Ranger District again employed an all all- girl tree planting crew consisting of young women hired from the Roosevelt t a area rea Two Youth Conservation Corps camps each consisting of 48 young people were based on the Ashley last summer One camp at al Dutch John was under Forest Service auspices The director was Forester Michael I L. L Dondero The other camp at Summit Springs station was under the supervision of Bureau of Reclamation personnel Much l needed work was accomplished accomplished ac d on the Forest orest and adjacent public lands and the young people drawn from many localities in northern Utah gained a new appreciation of their forest and range environments FOR FOIl TIlE THE fiscal year ending June 30 1974 a total of was collected and t 4 L 1 ra 4 r t tn n 0 1 rt r Fri r r rn n a aw w III I 5 GEOLOGIST ANDREW GODFREY conducting water quality sampling In Whiterocks 1 1 y d 4 r u t a CREWS painting one of the government owned government owned at Dutch John Summer 1974 deposited to the National Forest Fund in the United States Stales treasury as receipts from the sale of Forest products and resources The classification of collections is as follows sale of timber and timber products grazing land uses other than recreation power and minerals recreation fees undesignated areas minerals 2100 admission and user fees designs designated ted a areas yeas Under the provisions of the Act of May lay 23 1908 25 percent of these receipts are arc returned to the counties with National Forest lands in direct proportion to the thc number of National Forest acres within the till 1 e counties The FY 1974 I payments were as follows Darnell Daggett County Duchesne 2 Summit County 49 Uintah Uinta h County Utah County Wasatch County S Sweetwater County 29 1 J. J II I 6 P I r f. f l t rt id rt 1 S Y WATERSHED FORESTER NEIL DEETS conducting measurement In Ashley Creek |