Evening Republican, Volume 15, Number 87, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 April 1911 — BIG LOSSES AVERTED [ARTICLE]

BIG LOSSES AVERTED

Modification of Forest Reserve Order Is Boon. Sh««p M«* of Utah. Threatened With Ruin, Given Permission to Grass Animals As" Formerly—Seek Another Hearing. . Salt Lake City, Utah.—Besides saving the tJt&h sheepmen losses that would amount to hundreds ol thousands of dollars, the modification of the order governing grazing on the national forest reserves In Utah, by Chief Forester Henry 8. Graves, following a conference with a committee appointed at the Utah Wool Growers’ State convention, gives the Utah sheepmen foundation for hope that they will be granted another opportunity of presenting their views to the forestry service, according to Secre* tary C. B. Stewart of the Utah Wool Growers’ association. "Utah sheepmen," he said, "have not as yet presented the forestry people with a fair View of the situation. The modification of the orders means more time in which to seek another hearing. It means that the sheepmen will be awakened as to the seriousness of the situation, which will result In their working together to fight for their rights. This means that a thorough investigation will be made hy the sheepmen, and if another hearing is granted, new light will be shed on the proposition, which will probably result In a permanent modification of the orders governing the number of sheep to graze on a forest reserve. “Besides giving the wool growers an opportunity to present their case more fully, the modification, giving them an additional year In which to adjust their flocks, averts a direct loss of many thousands of dollars.” The reduction of 27,000 head of sheep on the Mantl reserve, Mrr Stewart said, would have meant that the Sanpete county sheepmen would have been deprived of at least 20,000 lambs by having to sell their stock In the spring, which alone would have caused a loss of $60,000. The loss on wool would have been even greater than this. SIOO,OOO being a conservative estimate. "If the order had gone Into' effect,” Mr. Stewart said, “the entire sheep industry In Sanpete county would have been ruined, according to the claims of the sheepmen from that section of the state. The last order, they say, was the breaking straw. “When they appeared before the state convention, December 31, many

of the Sanpete wool growers said If the order went into effect they would have to go out of business, assertions being made by many that they had already been compelled to reduce their flocks from 700 to 200. A still further reduction of 17 per cent., they said, meant disaster. Sheep men on the Karlbab and St. George reserves also complained ttiat they were being forced to the wall. Some of the sheepmen from that part of the state claimed that their flocks have been reduced from 150,000 to 5,000, with Btill further reductions in sight.” On the showing made to the con-

vention by these sheepmen, a committee composed of E. H. Callister, president of the Utah Wool Growers' association; W. D. Candland, chairman of the board of land commissioners, and L. R. Anderson, chairman of the state board of sheep commissioners, was appointed to confer with Chief Forester Graves. After the subject was thoroughly considered, agreement was reached by Which the chief forester agreed to suspend the order for one year, which means that the Utah sheepmen will be allowed to graze the same number of sheep as formerly on the forest reserves.