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Show northern lakes or the stately bighorn of the crags and canyon walls. Probably even more important, though less vocal than these special groups of enthusiasts, are the millions of persons who derive lasting enjoyment from just watching and being near wildlife. For them the splash and spreading ripple of a beaver on a twilit pond or the fairy- like chimes of a thrush in the cathedral stillness of a forest, are a source of inspiration complete in itself. Their enjoyment is not to be measured in dollars, any more than sunshine or freedom can be so measured. STATUS OF PLANT AND ANIMAL LIFE Original conditions.- The stories that early explorers brought back from the western wilderness of the incredible lushness and wealth of vegetation and wildlife read like fairy tales to us now, who will never see birds in flocks of millions that darken the earth for hours as they pass, or grass as tall as a man's shoulder, thronged with endless herds of buffalo, extending to the horizon. Civilization has left for present generations so little trace of the overwhelming primeval abundance of the " wild west" that the imagination, even when aided by the early records, now finds it almost impossible to reconstruct the original picture. Because of the arid climate, the lowlands of the Colorado River Basin had a much less luxuriant vegetation than that of other regions in the West, such as the prairies and great plains on the east side of the Rockies. Nevertheless, by contrast with conditions in much of the basin today, the forage and the wildlife that it sustained were almost unbelievably abundant. The vast sage plains of the Upper Green River Valley and the Red Desert in Wyoming were comparatively poorly stocked with game even in the early days 6 because of the scanty rainfall and the absence of water over large areas. Nevertheless, prior to 1850 there appears to have been considerable grass among the sage. Bands of antelope and buffalo roamed those regions where there was water7 and sage hens came to the waterholes at evening by the thousands. 8 Elk in vast numbers 6 Dale, 1918, p. 150. 7 Seton, III, 1929. 8Bendire, 1892, p. 111. wintered in the Red Desert. Now hundreds of thousands of domestic sheep use the region as winter pasture. 9 The buffalo have vanished, as has most of the grass, and the antelope and sage hens are but a small percent of their former numbers. In the somewhat better- watered though still relatively barren sagebrush valleys of the Duchesne, White, and Yampa Rivers in northeastern Utah and adjacent Colorado there was good grass in 1844,10 especially at the higher levels, and this condition lasted until about 1879. Buffalo were present, together with antelope11 which sometimes were sold by the wagonload for meat. There were sage hens12 and mountain plover in uncounted thousands, but, as elsewhere, these vanished at an early date. The upland plover, the existence of which now is threatened almost everywhere, 13 was " rather common" in 1877.14 By 1892 the sharp- tailed grouse, once abundant, was rapidly disappearing as a result of overgrazing and burning. 15 Even some parts of the Canyon Lands of Utah, now notable for the barrenness of their immense sandstone wastes, once were surprisingly fertile. Although cattle were abundant in the area by 1872, the Henry Mountains still stood in a valley of grass. 16 Antelope were seen frequently on the nearby San Rafael Swell17 as late as 1895 by the few persons who penetrated this wild region, although these animals disappeared not long thereafter. Antelope Valley, which is southwest of the San Rafael Swell, undoubtedly got its name from the former presence of this species. The great valley of the Little Colorado River now is covered with a sparse, scrubby vegetation composed principally of semidesert shrubs with bare soil and desert pavement between the scattered plants. Although some areas may always have been barren, in 1857 grama grass on great areas of mesa land grew tall and rank between these shrubs. 18 Elk, deer, and beaver were common in the valley 9 Cary, 1917, p. 21. 10 Fremont, 1845, p. 278. 11 Cary, 1911, p. 58; Powell, 1875, p. 40. 12 Twomey, 1942, p. 387. 13 Beard et al, 1942, p. 259. " Twomey, 1942, p. 391. 15Bendire, 1892, p. 101; Utah State Fish and Game Commission, 1940; p. 24. 16 Thompson, 1939, p. 87. " Barnes, 1927, p. 171. 18 Thornthwaite, et al, 1942, p. 65. 58 |
