Our national forests

by Richard H. D. Boerker

Timber is often used by the Forest Service itself in the administration of the National Forests. The Forester, District Foresters, and the Supervisors are authorized to sell or dispose of under free use or otherwise, within the amount each one is authorized to sell, any timber upon the National Forests when such removal is actually necessary to protect the Forest from ravages or destruction, or when the use or removal of the timber is necessary in the construction of roads, trails, cabins, and other improvements on the National Forests or in experiments conducted by the Forest Service.

THE RENTAL OF NATIONAL FOREST RANGE LANDS

The forage crop on the National Forests is for the use of the sheep and cattle of the western stockmen and it is procured by means of grazing permits which are issued and charged for upon a per capita basis. The primary objects of the administration of government grazing lands are: the protection and conservative use of all National Forest land adapted to grazing; the permanent good of the live stock industry through the proper care and use of grazing lands; and the protection of the settler and home builder against unfair competition in the use of the range.

Importance of the Live Stock Industry. The grazing business, more than any other feature of National Forest management, is immensely practical, because it is immediately concerned with human interests. This industry furnishes not only meat, but leather, wool, and many by-products.

That the National Forests play a big part in the maintenance of this industry there can be little doubt, for it has been estimated recently that 30 per cent. of the sheep and 20 per cent. of the cattle of the far Western States are grazed in the National Forests. The Forests contain by far the largest part of the summer range lands in the far Western States and hence are of paramount importance. The winter grazing lands in the West are so much greater in area than the summer lands, that for this reason also National Forest range lands are in great demand.

Permits Issued in 1917. During the fiscal year 1917 more than 31,000 permits to graze cattle, hogs, or horses, and over 5,500 permits to graze sheep or goats were issued. These permits provided for 2,054,384 cattle, 7,586,034 sheep, about 100,000 horses, about 50,000 goats, and about 3,000 hogs. The total receipts for 1917 were over $1,500,000. The gross receipts to the owners of the stock probably exceeded $50,000,000 and the capital invested in the stock no doubt amounted to over $200,000,000.

An idea of the growth of the grazing business may be gotten from the Forest Service statistics for the fiscal years 1908 and 1917. The increase in the number of permits and the volume of the business is due primarily to a better administration and better regulation of grazing interests and more specifically to the increase in the carrying capacity of government lands by wise and restricted use. Between these two fiscal years there was no appreciable increase in the total area of the Forests which would account for the increased business. In 1908 there were issued 19,845 permits for 1,382,221 cattle, horses and hogs; in 1917 there were issued 31,136 permits for 2,054,384 animals. In 1908 there were issued 4,282 permits for 7,087,111 sheep and goats; in 1917 5,502 permits were issued for 7,586,034 sheep and goats. The number of cattle and horses grazed has increased therefore by 50 per cent. and the number of sheep and goats by 7 per cent. The total receipts have increased from $962,829.40 in 1908 to $1,549,794.76 in 1917.

Kinds of Range, Grazing Seasons, and Methods of Handling Stock. For the proper understanding of the grazing business on the National Forests it is necessary to know something about the different kinds of range, the length of grazing seasons, and the methods of handling different classes of stock. Sheep and goat range differs materially from cattle and horse range and the proper distribution of stock over a National Forest cannot be effected unless this difference is recognized. Sheep and goat range usually consists of low shrubs or brush and is known collectively as "browse"; cattle and horses subsist mainly upon grass, flowering plants and herbs. Sheep feel more at home on high mountain slopes, while cattle and horses range usually on the lower slopes and in the valleys, and especially in the broad meadows, around lakes and along streams. Sheep are more apt to find feed in the forests, that is under the trees; cattle prefer the open; they usually avoid the forest, preferring to keep out on the open meadows and grassy slopes.

Naturally some ranges have feed at some seasons of the year and other ranges at other seasons. Some of the National Forests in California extend from an elevation of a few hundred feet in the foothills of the great valleys to an elevation of more than 10,000 feet at the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. The lower foothills afford excellent feed soon after the beginning of the fall rains in November and, due to the very mild winter which this region enjoys, there is excellent feed in February and March. This is known as winter range. The medium high slopes of the mountains have a later growing season and the sheep and cattle reach there about June and stay until August or September. Still higher up the forage matures later and the grazing season extends from August until November. At these elevations the snowbanks usually lie until July and the growing season is very short, for the new snow usually buries the vegetation about the first of November. Thus stockmen have what they call "winter range," "summer range," and "fall range," depending upon what seasons of the year the forage crop can be utilized. The National Forests on the whole contain very little winter range, hence stockmen must move their stock in the fall to private lands at lower elevations either where the climate is considerably warmer or where there is very little snowfall. A large part of the western winter grazing lands are in regions of light snowfall, such as at the lower elevations in Utah, Nevada, Wyoming, and Colorado. Here the stock feeds on dry grass. Stockmen who cannot get winter range lands must feed their stock at ranches.