Story of a Forest Ranger, The (1954)

[Applause] and for me highly trained through college study and practical downto Earth experience Alex Nolan is a specialist in Land Management a public servant who is Forester engineer botanist and biologist all rolled into one our story takes place on the tumbling River National Forest although it could be almost any national forest in the east north south or west the time is today or any day in the life of one of Uncle Sam's forest rangers I can't remember for sure just what it was that made made me decide to become a Forester I guess it was a lot of things at first maybe a long time ago it was just love of the outdoors the sound of the wind in the trees the smell of the Pines damp with Morning Dew the wild things in the forest the clear running water in the forest streams the wild flowers in the early summer the color of the hardwoods in Autumn the first fall of snow in winter it was all that and more I came to know that beauty was but one resource of the forest I learned that there are other important resources and they need men to look after them to manage and protect them men who don't mind roughing it and who are willing to accept the challenge of strenuous work I don't remember just when it was but suddenly I knew that I wanted to be a Forester more than anything in the world well I finally made it and now I'm a forest ranger on one of the districts where a horse is still needed to get around in some of the rough roadless sections actually like most Rangers I spend the largest part of my time on foot or in a pickup truck but today I had to use my horse to get into one of those remote sections and now I'm heading home through one of the prettiest parts of the district here at the north end of my district are the Big Falls you you can almost always see a rainbow rising out of the Mist the Indians call this Nona SEO which means rainbow Valley and that's the name of my district Rainbow Valley [Music] the ranger station is my central base of operations and my home I've got a nice layout like all ranger stations it was designed for efficiency the office building serves as headquarters for my Ranger [Music] District there's a garage and warehouse to handle the trucks and our supplies and equipment the barracks is the place where the work Crews bunk in the [Music] summer there's living quarters for the assistant Ranger and his family and a place where I can hang my hat [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] I sure am lucky in a lot of ways lucky to have a family that loves this sort of life as much as I do Dave gets a big kick out of helping take care of the horse he's developing into a real [Music] Buckaroo Judy loves the outof doors too but she lends a willing hand with the chores around the house [Music] and I'm lucky to have a wife like K she's a real partner in all of my [Music] [Applause] [Music] work I know of course and so we give thanks to God for our many blessings [Music] Martin a darn good man he's slated for a promotion soon going to get a district of his own well Bruce will make a good Ranger he's got what it takes the willingness to work hard for long long hours the ability to handle tough situations and not let criticism good or bad get him down the enthusiasm and unselfishness that go with public service to run a ranger district properly you've got to do a lot of planning every job must be carefully analyzed to ensure the most efficient use of Manpower and funds this day Bruce had the final figures on the Big Creek Timber sale like all large Timber sailes on the national forests a combination of planning and field activity was necessary before a single tree was [Music] cut first we had to make a careful examination of the Timber sail area we had to find out which trees should be cut which trees should be left you see the forest always has to be kept in good growing condition to produce future crops then the boundaries for the sale were [Music] posted all the trees to be cut were marked with a paint gun we marked the base too so that we would be able to check even after felling whether the right tree had been cut then we advertised the standing Timber and starting with a fair minimum price sold it to the highest bidder the forest Service never does any logging itself it's all done under Timber sale contract by the purchaser Bruce handled most of this sale and he worked closely with the wood superintendent of the Logging company that had bought the timber Bruce saw to it that the logging roads were located in the proper places and built so that the land wouldn't erode and wash away the actual cutting operations went on for [Music] months through it all we continually made sure that the logging was carried on without unnecessary damage to the remaining trees after the trees were cut into logs of proper length for hauling they were dragged to a central point for loading onto [Music] trucks every log was scaled that is measured for the amount of sound wood it contained eliminating any rotten or defective portions on the basis of the recorded measurement of only the usable wood the purchaser paid the government for the timber he cut and hauled away when we make a Timber sale like this one on Big Creek it's part of our overall program of Timber management it's our job to see that the trees are harvested when they're ready for Harvest and for the forest as a whole we have to keep the amount of timber that's cut in balance with a Timber growth so there'll always be crops of Timber we call this balancing of growth and harvest sustained yield then there's the money that's paid for the trees 1/4 of all the money the forest service takes in not only for Timber but for any commercial use goes back to the states in which the national forests are located that money is turned over to the county for public schools and public roads another 10% is added to the funds that are appropriated to build roads and trails in the forests in terms of human welfare good Timber management Means Jobs and paychecks for men in the woods at the Mill and all along the line to the finished products employment and payrolls help bring stability to the homes of men and to their community [Music] it means a lot to see the logs moving to the mill with the forest left in good condition to supply future crops of trees the water range wildlife and Recreation values [Music] unimpaired a forest stranger has got to keep in mind all of the forest values all of the time because each resource ties in somehow with all the others a big part of national forest use particularly in the west is the grazing of sheep and [Music] cattle the ranchers pay a fee for the livestock they graze on the public Forest land so the animals are counted as they are put on the Range because the number of livestock and the length of time they may Gra are carefully [Music] controlled this is done to ensure that there will be sufficient grass for them year after year with enough left over to protect the land against [Music] erosion I make it a point to ride these range lands with the permit that is the man who owns the livestock working together we can keep the land in good condition not overg grazed and at the same time not underg grazed so that both the land and the Stockman get a fair [Music] deal I've got other jobs all of them important all requiring some degree of planning the idea of course is to make the forest as useful as possible to the public and at the same time easier to protect and manage take our Forest roads for example every road we build is necessary for the management protection and use of the forest once they are built the same goes for the Forest Trails they've got to be kept open for our work Crews as well as for the many folks who like to hike or [Music] ride as in any big business a vital part of our operation is the communication system we have special radio channels and miles of telephone lines constant maintenance is required because in an emergency such as fire or when someone is injured or lost in the forest you've got to get the word out quickly one of our major responsibilities of course is to build up and maintain the forest growth on our range lands we plant grass where needed to protect the land and provide necessary food for animals and where erosion has already cut its evil path we restore the plant cover to bring the land back into useful service then there's the wildlife in the forest I like to think of wildlife as a renewable resource just like grass and trees a resource that can be grown and used like any other crop good Forest management and good Wild Wild Life management go hand [Music] inand I work closely with the state fish and game boys to provide better fishing and hunting under the state laws for the many people who love these outdoor sports hunting and fishing of course are only one part of the whole picture of forest recreation good camping and picnic are areas and the improvements that go with them appeal to everyone and are in great demand and here is one place the public can really cooperate by helping take care of the areas and by keeping them clean as they use them this is one of the toughest jobs on my district trying to accommodate the ever increasing crowds and to keep the recreation areas in good shape just the same I sure like to have people on the forest I don't know of a better way to show them what's going on for example folks are usually surprised to learn that insects and disease kill more trees in the forest every year than fire does when people have an opportunity to learn things like this right out where they're happening they become as anxious as I am to keep their Forest green and growing take those little rascals that bark beetles they can work their way into the tree through the thickest bark where they lay hundreds of eggs these eggs hatch into the larv that eat the inner bark and kill the tree it's my job as Ranger to keep an eye open for sudden outbreaks of insects or disease and to prevent them from running [Music] wild everything we do in Timber range and wildlife management and in Recreation ties into our plans for water in one way or another the water that flows from this Forest is probably its most valuable resource that's why in managing the public range I've got to keep the water values of the land definitely in mind that's why in handling the timber resource I've got to always be sure that the flow of water in the streams will be maintained in good clean Supply and that the land itself will be protected against erosion this is far more than just a pretty stream running through the forest it is the water that helps the trees and other plants to grow it is the water that the wildlife must have to make their Forest Home complete it is the water that the many visitors to the forest need to fully enjoy their outdoor recreation my responsibility in keeping safe the water values of this land extends far beyond the forest boundary this water once it leaves the forest has even greater services to perform it is the water for irrigation for building power and serving the domestic needs of people and communities in managing this public Forest I draw on the experiences of the Rangers who came before me and on the Practical results of the long years of study by the fellow SP stations a ranger soon learns that he can't take things for granted every situation calls for its own kind of action this is especially true when a fire breaks out on the district then all of our regular plans go by the board for the moment and fire plans take over from our Lookout on Eagle Mountain comes a report of a smoke at 210° Bruce immediately plots it on our map the lookout on Echo Bluff radios the position of the smoke as 305° from her Tower Bruce makes his fix it's in the Big Creek area just logged with lots of Slash still on the ground this can be a bad one so I call the fire dispatcher to get every available man on the job our own fire station at the ranger station is already underway [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] the a [Music] don't let anyone tell you there's romance or glamour in fighting a forest fire it's just hard hot tiring gruelling work a lot of it still got to be done by hand you build a line around fire when you can't get water you throw dirt the idea is to keep the fire in as small an area as possible [Music] whenever we can we use machines to help build the line and stop the fires advance [Music] a forest fire can burn for hours for days sometimes even weeks eventually you bring it under control the boys finally get a line around it and then starts the slow so tough job of mopping it up putting it dead out it's a real break when you've got a stream somewhere close and you can pump some water in for the [Music] kill I always keep the dispatcher advised as to progress on the fire and tell him whenever I can what I'm doing and where I'm going when the mopping up begins I usually go around the fire line to check it and look things [Music] [Music] over fire does terrible things to a forest if everybody could just see this if if they could just get the depressing feel of it right out on the ground I'm sure they'd be more careful with their matches their cigarettes and [Music] campfires yes a wildfire does terrible things to a forest it's the little trees that Surfer most they don't have a chance the soil takes a beating [Music] hot water and Ashes make it Mighty tough on the [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] fish sometimes even the animals aren't fast enough well a forest ranger has to learn to take the bitter with the sweet fire is a villain sure but fire isn't the only thing that makes a Ranger's life pretty rough sometimes there are so many conflicting interests in use of the forest that you're often hard put to resolve them in the best interest of everyone most of the forest users the timber operators stockmen Miners and sportsmen are very cooperative and sincerely interested in safeguarding the resources of the forest but unfortunately there are always a few individuals who disregard the rules designed to protect all interests they trespass on the wildlife on the Timber and range and on the forest itself through carelessness and false claims of one kind or another we must face up to this constantly dramatic stuff not at all the real drama for me is in keeping the forest producing on the highest possible level and that's why I'm glad I'm a forest [Music] ranger yes the Rainbow Valley ranger district just as all the others in the whole National Forest system is managed and protected in the interest of every America am for timber for grass for wildlife Recreation and for water not only for today but for all the years to come because he is helping to guard this wonderful Heritage of ours for our children today and their children tomorrow Ranger Nolan is making a mighty important and necessary contribution to the security and strength of our nation there's an old saying that you can find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow well Alex Nolan forest ranger has found his treasure here it's his job of protecting and managing this Forest so that it will always give so much to so many