Postcard from the Past: Medicine Bow Forest Heads Timber List

Information only recently available shows the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest, with headquarters at Laramie, to be cutting more timber than any other national forest in District Two – comprising Wyoming, Colorado, South Dakota, Minnesota and Michigan. During the years 1919-21, 14,846,000; 13,744,000 and 13,194,000 feet of board measure, respectively, were cut, consisting of saw logs, cordwood, mine props and railroad ties.

The nearest competition in Wyoming was the Washakie Wilderness, with headquarters at Lander, which cut 6,429,000 feet in 1921. The nearest competitor in the district is the Black Hills National Forest, with headquarters at Deadwood, S.D., which cut 12,989,000; 12,379,000 and 10,959,000 feet of board measure, respectively, in 1919-21.

In the handling of timber sales, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS) marks all mature and damaged trees for removal, always leaving a stand on the ground to develop into larger material and to serve for watershed protection.

Twenty-five percent of the value of all timber sold is returned directly to the county in which the timber is cut and is used for road and school purposes. An additional 10 percent is returned directly to USFS for use in maintaining roads and trails within the national forests.

Thus reads an article from the March 20, 1922 issue of the Laramie Republican.

Additionally, a news item in the Feb. 22, 1900 issue of the Saratoga Sun noted:

Saved his right hand

Otis Mowry came down from the sawmill Tuesday to have the fingers on his right hand dressed. 

At noon on Monday, he put his hand on the saw while it was running to see if it was getting hot. His fingers stuck to the saw, dragging his hand into contact with the swiftly moving saw teeth, cutting the end of his middle finger off at the first joint – smooth and clean – and lacerating the thumb, index finger and the one next to the little finger. 

He is carrying his hand in a sling at present and says he intends to feel the saw with some other man’s hand the next time.