FOREST SERVICE. 



223 



To enable the stockmen to meet the above delinquency they were 

 allowed to submit propositions of settlement and a note payable on 

 or before July 1, 1922, with interest at 6 per cent. The outstanding 

 indebtedness on July 1 was as follows : 



The conditions confronting the industry in 1922 had not suffi- 

 ciently improved to warrant collection of tlie fees at the usual time. 

 The regulations were therefore waived to allow payment to be made 

 in two installments, one half on or before the date of entering the 

 forest, and the other half on or before December 1, 1922. 



GOVERNING PURPOSES OF RANGE ADMINISTRATION. 



Range administration by the Forest Service aims (1) to bring about 

 the largest possible yield of live-stock products, (2) to promote set- 

 tlement, and (3) to stabilize the live-stock industry dependent upon 

 use of national forest ranges, on the basis of most efficient production. 

 Realization of these ends requires regulation of use of the range by 

 the stockmen, range improvements, and application of the best 

 methods of range and live-stock management. 



POLICY UNDERLYING REGULATION OF USE. 



Regulation of use of the range serves all three of the governing pur- 

 poses. It increases the yield of live-stock products by control of the 

 number and classes of stock allowed on the range, their distribution, 

 and the period of use. It promotes settlement by its system of 

 preferences, which enables the new settler to put stock on the forest 

 ranges through reductions from time to time in the larger herds of 

 established range users. Such reductions, however, are made grad- 

 ually and will in no case go beyond the limits required for an efficient 

 live-stock business under the specific local conditions existing. 

 Finally, regulation of use helps stabilize the live-stock industry by 

 lessening its hazards. 



The open range live-stock industry of the West is one of extreme 

 hazard. To secure permanence and stability of the business the 

 ranges must have a sustained forage-producing capacity and stock- 

 men must intrench themselves with ranch property and equipment 

 to carry them over periods of depression or drought. Careful study 

 has been given to the question how best to adjust the regulations to 

 meet these needs. 



