OCR Text |
Show DIXIE FOREST NOTES During the season of 1928, 70,415 sheep, 1100 goats, and 11,213 cattle and horses grazed on the Dixie national forest. These animals belonged to 175 sheep permittees and 426 cattle owners. own-ers. In addition 369 cattle and horses belonging to ranchers and stockmen grazed free. The stock left the forest in fair condition but because of the extreme drouth throughout the growing grow-ing season, the forage production was apporximately 25 per cent below normal, nor-mal, and weights of livestock at the close of the season were lighter than usual. Lambs on the Sevier division averaged 64 pounds and on the Dixie division they averaged 71 pounds. Next season will find three more herds of sheep on the Dixie division than heretofore, due to exchanges from cattle to sheep on the Pine Valley and Pinto allotments. Deer hunting on the forest was exceptionally ex-ceptionally good and it is estimated that 1325 bucks were taken by hunters hunt-ers during the open season. By far the greater number were removed from that part of the Dixie game preserve opened to hunting in 1927. The rangers rang-ers estimate that there are 10,500 deer within the forest, which is an increase in-crease over preceding years. Stockmen Stock-men generally and all farmers whose crops are being damaged by game, believe be-lieve there are too many deer, especially espe-cially on the Dixie and Paragoonah game preserves and agitate opening these areas to hunting. |