United States. Forest Service

“ The Shoshone Forest is no exception. Most national forests contain sufficient summer range for present game herds and some increases. However, the situation regarding winter range is different. Most of the land at the lower elevations where the game originally wintered is outside the forest. Much of it has been homesteaded and is in livestock ranches and farms. In many sections of the West game, especially deer and elk, are faced with the desperate choice of raiding ranches in the valleys and foothills or starving in the snowdrifts of the high mountains. ”

“ There are over a million acres of arid lands in the plains of the Big Horn and Yellowstone Basins, with favorable soils and potential farm values if 11 water can be made available for irrigation. It is important to conserve the forest and forage cover so that the greatest volume of usable water may be available for agricultural use. The future prosperity and agricultural development of the region is limited to a great extent by the amount of water that can be supplied for irrigation from the streams having their sources within the Shoshone Forest. ”

“ Each forest fire that burns means a loss of forest resources. Timber, forage, wildlife are destroyed; soil erosion follows; everybody loses. Fires are always a menace in the summertime and more than half of them occur because some careless smoker or camper does not take care of his match, cigarette, pipe, or campfire. From 1909 to the close of 1939, 229 fires, which burned over 25,649 acres, have occurred. In recent years the Shoshone National Forest has suffered heavy losses from two large fires and an increasing number of smaller ones. The Crandall fire in 1935 burned over 12,600 acres. ”

“ Grazing Resources.—The raising of livestock is a basic industry in Wyoming. The Shoshone provides summer range for 10,000 cattle and horses, and 75,000 sheep, owned by almost 200 resident owners. The higher ranges are particularly good for the production of lambs and wool, and the lower ones are excellent for beef. Range is also furnished for horse herds of the dude ranchers and for dairy cattle.
Permittees grazing livestock in the national forest are assigned specific grazing allotments, and are required to handle their stock according to approved management practices. ”

“ From the early eighties the herds increased, and more and more cattle 5 came into the Big Horn Basin. Homesteaders and settlers were “squatting” on and taking up large acreages of the best range land, and finally, there was not enough year-long range for the increased number of livestock. The advent of the farmer forced drastic changes in livestock operations. Stockmen were obliged to produce forage crops to carry a part of their herds through the winter. ”

“ This national forest is the largest of 21 in the Central Rocky Mountain Region, including within its boundaries 1,592,428 acres, of which all but 26,104 are Federal land. The forest is about 75,000 acres larger than the State of Delaware. Elevations within the forest range from 4,600 to 13,140 feet, thus providing a wide variation in climate, vegetation, and wildlife. At the lower elevations the summers are warm and the winters mild. The higher mountains enjoy only a brief cool summer and are snowclad most of the year. ”

“ Each forest is under the charge of a forest supervisor. Headquarters of the Shoshone is in Cody, Wyo. Every forest is divided into districts, each of which is under the supervision of a district ranger, who has control of all its activities. His responsibilities include protection of the resources against fire and other enemies, the supervision of timber sales, and the grazing of large numbers of cattle, sheep, and horses; the management of wildlife resources ”

“ Big Game.—The Shoshone is the only forest in Wyoming in which all species of big game native to the State are found, with the exception of the whitetail deer. These include antelope, mule deer, elk, mountain sheep, moose, and black and grizzly bear. What may be even more surprising is that there are open seasons on all species—deer, elk, and bear under the regular license ”

“ Mature timber may be purchased, and when sales are made the cut is so regulated that a perpetual supply of timber will be available without destroying the forest cover. There are more than 20 different timber operations within the forest which provide lumber, posts, poles, and other timber products for the communities and residents of the Big Horn Basin and adjacent territory, and provide a living for approximately 100 families. ”

“ In spite of the fact that all ranges adapted to the grazing of livestock have been fully stocked for many years, sufficient forage is reserved to take care of the 3,500 elk, 6,200 mule deer, 750 antelope, 700 mountain sheep, and 250 moose which inhabit the forest. ”

“ In some instances the Forest Service has been able to provide winter game range by regulating grazing or eliminating livestock entirely from the ranges. Such an example can be found on the Shoshone on the Elk Fork, Sweetwater, Horse Creek, and Grizzly Creek drainages. This area furnishes winter range for the largest elk herd on the forest, and is reserved especially for it. In addition, several hundred deer also use this same range.
SANITATION AND HEALTH
1. Mountain streams will not purify themselves in a few hundred feet. ”

“ Forest officers cooperate with representatives of these agencies in planting fish in forest waters. The forest maintains a specially built tank truck for transportation of fish into the mountain waters. Four rearing ponds have been constructed by the Forest Service in which fry and fingerling trout are kept until they are from 4 to 7 inches in length before being released. The percentage of survival of fish reared in such ponds is many times greater than when they are released in turbulent mountain streams before they are large enough to care for themselves. ”

“ The motor propels a series of steel lugs which kick out dirt and debris and speedily clear a fire trail down to mineral soil. Fire towers, which will make visible a large part of the forest, are in process of construction or are contemplated. In addition to the new tower on Clayton Mountain, another is being erected on Windy Mountain, located about 6 miles south of the Crandall Ranger Station. This will make visible a large portion of this immense country in the North Absaroka wilderness, including the area burned in the Crandall Creek fire of 1935. ”

“ These hardy, restless, rugged individuals, including such men as Lisa, Sublette Brothers, Fraeb, Gervais, and Bridger, were actually the first settlers in what is now the State of Wyoming, notwithstanding the common belief that the first settlements in the Territory were in the eastern and southern parts. These pioneers exploited the country, trapping fur-bearing animals and trading with the Indians for their take in the pelts. ”

“ High above the clouds on Beartooth Plateau.
RECREATIONAL USE AND VALUES
No single activity of the forest has grown so rapidly in recent years as recreation. The forest is ideally adapted to recreational use because of the rough, majestic, and undeveloped character of its wilderness where most travel must be done with a horse and pack outfit. It is truly a forest with a “back country.” ”

“ Eventually it was necessary to increase the production of forage crops on the land under cultivation, and this led to the development of irrigation projects, first by the ranchers, and then by the Federal Government. With water for their lands and constantly improving transportation facilities, farmers were able to produce such cash crops as small grain, truck crops, sugar beets, potatoes, and peas. ”

“ Each man regards the allotment as his, because it is reissued to him year after year as long as he wishes to hold it and obeys the State and Federal laws. This system promotes harvesting the fur crop rather than mining it. ”

“ Few mountainous sections are more rugged or spectacular. Geologically the formations are new, and immense areas of exposed rock are broken by and interspersed with mountain meadows and mantles of unbroken forests. ”

“ Entirely undeveloped, except for horse trails and occasional sanitation facilities at camp sites, primeval conditions are comparable to those encountered when John Colter traveled through this country in the early years of the nineteenth century. No roads will be permitted nor will there be any hotels, resorts, or summer homes. ”

“ Pahaska Tepee.—Pahaska Tepee, situated alongside the Cody-Yellowstone Highway, 51 miles west of Cody, is the original hunting lodge of Colonel Cody, which he built in 1901. Here he entertained such distinguished guests as Albert I, Prince of Monaco, statesmen, and the more famous members of his troup.
Sheepeaters’ Tepees.—Ancient tepees of the “Sheepeaters” made entirely of poles are to be found in different parts of the forest. There is a group of three, well preserved, on Tepee Creek, a tributary of the North Fork of Crandall Creek, where the trail crosses. ”

“ The bark is chalky-white. This tree is found at elevations of from 8,500 to 10,000 feet, or slightly above the limber pine. It is not as important for commercial use as are the other pines.
Lodgepole Pine (Pinus contorta) .—Needles are 11⁄2 to 2 inches long, yellow-green, growing in bundles of two. ”