I found this old book in the archive section of the Moab library called "Ranger Trails" by John Riis. John was one of the first Rangers on what used to be called the La Sal National Forest, now called the Manti- La Sal. It is a very simply written book, but is was interesting to hear about the lives of the early Rangers. John was not Mormon and was one of the first to try and implement restrictions on forest uses. Good times in Southern Utah! He recieived a few death threats from some of the local ward members, but all said and done I think both sides ended up respecting each other. Up until the Forest Service was formed in 1907 it was pretty much a free for all on the forest. You could graze, mine and cut timber unrestricted and it was not an easy job to explain to locals why restrictions were needed. The job has definatley changed since the early 1900's, at least I have not received any death threats, yet.
The map above is from the inside cover of the book.
2 comments:
Ranger Trails has just been re-published. I believe you can get a copy here:
Les Joslin, P. O. Box 5822, Bend, Oregon 97708
btw - I'm one of John Riis's great grandsons. I used to spend lots of time knocking around that part of Utah and was quite surprised to discover that my ancestors had beat me there by almost a hundred years.
Another good book on the area is "A History of Grand County." I think you can find this one on Amazon.
The 2008 reprint of John Riis's 1937 book Ranger Trails, with a prologue and extensive epilogue by his first daughter Martha Riis Moore and Forest Service historian Les Joslin, is available for $15.00postpaid from:
Wilderness Associates
P.O. Box 5822
Bend, Oregon 97708
You may also order it for the same price and other U.S. Forest Service heritage books via the Wilderness Associates website at:
www.wildernessheritage.com
Wilderness Associates is a private partner in the preservation and interpretation of America's rich National Forest System heritage.
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