OCR Text |
Show Forest Notes Forest Visitors in 1929 During the calendar year 1929. the total number of visitors on the Manti Forest, according to the rangers' reports, was 38,400. The total number of days spent on the Forest was 45,400, or approximately 1 days to each visitor. Thirty-eight Thirty-eight thousand of the above visitors visi-tors came by automobile; 350 on foot, and approximately 10.000 came on horses or by horse drawn vehicles. Owing to the fact thai a number cf the other Utah Forests For-ests contain summer resorts, the Manti Forest is sixth among the Utah Forests in total number of visitors. Snow Measurements Ranger Thursby, accompanied by Elliott Johnson made a trip to the Seely Creek, R. S. on February 4, 5, and 6. The actual precipitation for the month of January, as shown by the Marvin snow gauge, was 5.48 inches, which is a record for the month of January and is close to a record for any month of the year. The greatest precipitation heretofore hereto-fore recorded during any one month, was 5.52 inches during the month of March, 1923. At the Great Basin Experiment Station the snow on the ground on January 31 was 1 inch below the 3 year average for that date, while the water content is 7.94 inches as compared with 8.14 inches of moisture mois-ture content as an average for tho 8 year period. The depth of the snow at the Station was 37 inches. Our records since 1923 shows 3 years, 1924, 1926, and 1928, as having hav-ing less snow and a lower water content than for January 1930. With so much snow covering the valleys on both sides of the Forest, the slight deficiency, amounting to 1-5 of an inch of water below the 8 year average, leaves the farmers with little cause to complain, since the deeficiency in the mountains is more than off-set by the heavier than usual moisture deposit in the valleys. The minimum temperature during dur-ing January in Ephraim was 25 degrees de-grees below zero. The minimum temperature at the G.B.E.S. was 17 degrees below, and at the top of the mountain it recorded 23 degrees de-grees below for the coldest period during the month. Dude Ranch Prospects If present plans materialize a dude ranch will likely be established estab-lished at one of the ranches in Joe's Valley during the coming sc ason. Smnkere' Fires During the calendar year 1929, of a total of 527 fires in the District, 249, or something less than 50 per cent, were man caused fires. Of this number 116 were due to carelessness care-lessness of smokers, 96 to campers: and only 5 to lightning. The total to-tal fires for Idaho was 431, 203 of which were man caused. Totai fires for Nevada was 9, 7 of which were man caused. For Utah the total number was 36 fires, 18 of which were man caused. Wyoming Wyom-ing (2 forests only) reported 36 fires, 20 of which were man caused. The total acreage burned over in Idaho was approximately 40,000 acres. Snow Measurements at Mammoth Ranger Ollerton reports 37 inches inch-es of snow at the Mammoth R. S. on February 1. The water content con-tent was slightly in excess of that reported for the Great Basin Experiment Ex-periment Station by Ranger Thursby. Thurs-by. The Mammoth R. S. is located lo-cated on the Gooseberry watershed, a tributary of the Price river. Timber Trespass Ranger Thursby made a trip up onto the oak range in Ephraim canyon on February 10. He found where men have been cutting cut-ting oak and other green timber without permits. Attention is called call-ed to the public that permits must be secured in every case before any green timber is cut on National Forest lands. The taking of green timber without permit from the National Forests is trespass, and any one caught violating the regulations regu-lations in this respect will be severely se-verely dealt with in the future. It was noted also that people, in cutting cut-ting oak, drove over some of the young willow pine trees. Trees that have been 15 years in getting a start are sometimes ruthlessly destroped in this manner. If more care is not used in this respect wo will refuse to issue permits for oak timber in order to protect our Forest For-est plantings. |