Fauna Series No. 1 Cover Contents Foreword Approach Methods Analysis Conspectus Suggested Policy

Fauna of the National Parks of the United States CONSPECTUS OF WILD-LIFE PROBLEMS OF EACH PARK BRYCE CANYON At Bryce Canyon the situation is such that protection of animal life is a virtual impossibility at present. The park is about 3 miles wide by 20 miles long. Sheep and cattle are grazed all around it. And on these grazing lands the predators are trapped, hunted, and poisoned. Even though the park embodies only a narrow strip of cliffs, it is charged by the stockmen in the vicinity that it is the breeding ground of mountain lion, coyote, wild cat, and other predators, and the extermination of these animals in the park is demanded. The lands recently added to the park still carried the signs posted by field men of the Biological Survey, and on the trail leading up to Bryce Natural Bridge could be seen the remains of a mountain lion trapped on the rim in 1930. Under such circumstances it is impossible to have primitive conditions in the park. The question is not the justice or injustice of the stockmen's point of view; it is merely a presentation of the fact that animal life can not be effectively protected at Bryce under the present circumstances. Overgrazing has long been apparent in the region all around Bryce. Readjustments will come inevitably in the sheep industry in this section because the poverty of the range will check the industry. If the range within the park can be preserved from further destruction, much can still be accomplished toward restoration of animal life in the park. Sheep and cattle must be excluded from the park as soon as possible. Cattle drift into the park along the west-entrance road and along the entire west boundary. Immediately west of the park a long, narrow, grassy valley, through which a branch of the Sevier River flows, parallels the park line. Cattle and horses are grazed in this valley. The park boundary is an artificial line following the section lines zigzag fashion up through the timber just above this valley. Obviously there is nothing to prevent domestic stock from entering the park. An attempt was made to establish a game preserve down to the stream in the center of the valley, but was defeated by local opposition. There seems to be only one other course; that is, to acquire this valley for the park, and move the boundary to the crest just west of this little Sevier Valley. Such a course is the only way to protect both the fauna and the flora of the park. SOUTHWEST PARKS Bryce Canyon | Carlsbad Caverns | Grand Canyon | Mesa Verde | Zion Canyon PARKS Southwest | Rocky Mountain | Pacific Coast | Eastern | Territorial

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