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Show SUPERVISOR OF SALMON FOREST IN .OGDEN CONFERRING WITH .FORESTER LEAVITT. j .. I Rich Section of Country Covered With; 1 Valuable Growth of Timber to Be Opened. . J. G. Bentz. supervisor of the Salmon j forest In Idaho, was in town jesterday, j conferring with Forester Lcavitt on 1 matters relating to his station. The Salmon forest, being one of the most' Isolated In this district, is little known . outside its vicinity. It was withdrawn in 190C, and comprises about 1,700.000 acres in east central Idaho. - It Is a heavily timbered district, dis-trict, more than three-quarters of that immense area being covered with a valuable growth of yellow and lodge pole 'pine, Douglass fir, and a sprinkling sprink-ling of spruce, white-bark pine and while -flr. Owing to the total nbsenco of railroads ' and shipping facilities of any kiDd, the timber sales or the Salmon Sal-mon forest are necessarily sma-1. There are also very few eheep grazed-within grazed-within Its boundaries, only three or inn- hundred of the latter having becn; grazed there la3t year. Cattle and horses are more numerous., some 10,-(m 10,-(m haJ having been allotted for last season. There is also some mining carried on within the forest and a considerable con-siderable amount of active prospecting. The nearest railroad point to Salmon Sal-mon is Red Rock, Mont., and Mr. Bentz states that that section of the country from Red Rock to Lewlston. Idaho, is greatly excited over the prospects of a railroad contemplated ti cross. the state of Idaho. The plans now are to start from Rod Rock and build to Junction. From there the Salmon river will be followed approximately via Salmon City, to the Junction of the Salmon river with the Snake, thence north to Lewlston. Such a railroad would open up an Immensely rich section of the country fur both "mining and timber, and do much for the settlement of northern and central Idaho. By connecting with the most southern points in the Northern North-ern Pacific and running via a portion of the Oregon Short Line, a new route would be provided to the coast through a section which Is now almost inacces-sable inacces-sable to anything but a boat or a pack horse. A number of trips have been made recently down the Salmon river to the Snake by engineers and other3 interested in the railroad project and there is a possibility of Important decisions de-cisions being made in the near future. . Mr. Bentz states that there is seldom much snow at Salmon, despite Its location. lo-cation. Its altitude being about 4.00Q feet and the mountains surrounding it rising to a height of 8,000 feet, some peaks being as high as 10,000 feet above sea level. |