Treesearch

During the winter of 1945 and 1946, considerable rodent activity was noted in grass plots at the Manitou Experimental Forest established for the purpose of determining seed adaptability. The plots had been planted during October 1945, and the only seed present was that which had not yet germinated.

Where tolerance of forest trees or subordinate vegetation is a factor in management, the forester needs a simple field method of Estimating or forecasting light intensities in forest stands. The following article describes a method developed for estimating light intensity beneath the canopy in western white pine forests which may have application in other types.

The favorable climate and natural beauty of the ponderosa pine zone throughout Colorado led to intensive settlement of most of the 4 million acres which it occupies. Along with settlement came agriculture and cultivation. The better lands were used for the production of potatoes, lettuce, grain and other crops adapted to the climate or needs of the settlers.

To the stockman there is no sight more beautiful than a range producing an abundant growth of good forage on which good livestock is making him a living. The above scene illustrates the luxuriant forage which can and should be obtained on most of our mountain ranges. Forage species vary from place to place, but any range considered excellent is one producing the maximum amount of palatable forage, including both grasses and weeds and perhaps palatable shrubs. Range lands are our heritage and it is our responsibility to maintain them in the best of condition so that they will produce...

Pole blight is a killer. Apparently attacking pole-size western white pine trees of any vigor or crown class, it seems to require from one to ten years to kill a tree. White pine is generally believed to be the only species susceptible, although there is a possibility that grand fir and Douglas-fir also may be attacked. Not enough time has elapsed for us to say how much damage pole blight is capable of doing in white pine stands. We do know, however, that there has been a high percentage of kill in areas of long-standing attack. The remaining white pines in these areas appear unhealthy and...

Man has been a chief factor disturbing the natural forces, which maintain the plant cover of the earth's surface. He has cut down or burned much of the virgin timber and broken the sod of prairies and plains in his struggle for food, clothing, and shelter. Early settlers of the front range of the Colorado Rockies turned to cultivated crops to increase the food supply. Many acres of foothill valley land were cleared and broken out for crop production. Cultivation proved unprofitable after a time and now many areas have been abandoned to the natural forces influencing the region. Nature has...

Pruning for production of clear lumber is being recognized more and more as a desirable silvicultural measure. The author's study on western white pine confirms earlier findings on other species that not more than one-third of the line crown should be removed in any pruning operation.

Cultivation in the ponderosa pine zone of Colorado has, in many instances, been unprofitable because of the uncertainty of crops and eventual loss of soil fertility. Consequently, many areas have been abandoned, and natural revegetation has resulted in the presence of all stages of the secondary succession, from the initial invasion to almost complete return to the original subclimax grassland community.

If a section of your mountain grazing land yielded an income of $316, $592, or $478 in a given year, depending upon the manner in which it was stocked, you would have felt badly, indeed, if you hadn’t secured the maximum return. Yet many stockmen are still taking a limited return each year because they do not realize the importance of good grass management or because they are not aware of the land potentialities.

During a study of range management at the Central Plains Experimental Range in northeastern Colorado, observations were made on the amount of shrink of yearling Hereford range cattle held overnight in a dry lot. As transactions with cattle often must consider shrink under somewhat similar conditions, this information will interest buyers and sellers alike.