Show WHAT IS A eforest FOREST RANGER not merely a patrolman or a forest tiro fighter as aa to Is commonly thought but a ranger ta Is a trained manager of 0 renewable natural resources and tire fire patrol lg in only ono one of ills his responsibilities besides needing a technical knowledge of timber forage watersheds etc ate lie should be able to stand isolation and rough A it T to build cabins and mako make surveys 1 to alioe horses and operate a typo type writer 1 to bake bread and mako make maps to determine tha th 6 carrying capacity of a range and know the main forage and poisonous plants to handle recreation and explain to tourists why they should not bathe in the municipal water supply to distinguish brands and distinguish trees to handle branches bron chos anil and estimate timber to deal courteously with people and understand their while managing his acres of natural resources and trying to correlate the needs of timber grazing watershed wild life and recreation this thought must ever be kept upper uppermost ln mind 1 I am an employee and as such such am fully accountable to my employer the public everyone interested in timber or timber products in range livestock or their products in water for irrigation municipal supply or hydroelectric plants in wild life or in recreation yes a rangers job Is fascinating and the great variety of outdoor activities tivi ties dispels any thought of monotony or dally daily routine dy by average ing all of the activities on till all the ranger districts of this intermountain region one gets a better conception of what this follow fellow does he manages 2 acres of natural resources with 15 miles of exterior not joining other districts boundary to keep posted and to guard against grazing timber and other poaching each year he puts out 4 forest tires fires which burn 64 acres some rangers have 2200 acres of forest tires fires and wishes the follow fellow who sets seta the tire fire had to tight fight it tor for two days and nights steady 49 million board feet of timber are cruised and the rate of growth and tho the amount that can be cut annually for forever Is determined 27 timber sale contracts are issued anToun amounting ting to over a million such trees are marked for cutting as is are detective defective mature or should be removed to stimulate growth on those remaining A trees condition age vigor and growth requirements must be diagnosed cattle and horses and sheep belonging to 90 stockmen stoc kmen are allotted range and tango range Inan management aUment plans worked out to secure proper distribution of the stock to prevent overgrazing to provide tor for part of forage plants re seeding each year before being grazed 6 to see that range on high elevations Is not used too early and to see that no outfits en an broaca croach on the others wild horses often present big problems and must be exterminated this average ranger works with two livestock associations to build up the carrying capa capacity efty of the range without sacrificing any forage and to distribute the grazing privileges justly ile he issues 18 special permits for summer homes stores fences etc 35 miles oc telephone tone line are kept in repair much of this is in timber trees fal f allover rover all over the wire frequently so the main wire Is left tree to tun run t through these split insulators latori and even pulls pulla the Insul insulators from the tree thus the line which Is a grounded circuit Is not broken and will give service even after trees tall fall over it and forces it to the ground 53 miles of fences are maintained many of these are at high elevations where deep snow breaks the wire so tho the wire is let down in the winter and raised in the spring to prevent snow breakage the buildings on 3 administrative sites aie are kept in repair pair in high regions snow shoo trips are made to clear alear off the roots roofs lest the weight of deep snow breaks them miles of at trails irack and roads are cloaked out and graded two important aru closely administered to protect tho the vegetative cover and tho the water supply lastly but often important lie ho acts as a general information bureau tor for settlers sett lors and travelers |