FOREST SERVICE. 321 



pose of this change is to allow permittees more opportunity to sell 

 at favorable terms and to facilitate the purchase of livestock grazed 

 under permit by persons wishing to engage in the business. 



These and many other changes were first drafted by a committee 

 of forest officers expert in grazing matters, working with a com- 

 mittee of practical stockmen representative of the entire range coun- 

 try. Later on, after review by me, they were again submitted to 

 the committee of stockmen for further discussion and such recom- 

 mendations as in their judgment seemed advisable. It is believed 

 that the new regulations will be satisfactory to the permittees and 

 will prove of decided value to the livestock interests, while safe- 

 guarding all the interests of the Government and the public and 

 promoting the conservation and fullest use of the forage resource. 



RANGE APPBAISAL. 



The range-appraisal work, which has been conducted for nearly 

 ■two years, is practically closed, and the review of the reports, har- 

 monizing of various recommendations, and final adjustment of the 

 grazing fees in accordance with the figures shown by the appraisal 

 are now in progress. No figures are yet available upon which to 

 forecast what the new grazing fees will be. Before final action is 

 taken on the proposed charges they will be placed before representa- 

 tives of the various livestock associations for a full, friendly discus- 

 sion, and such changes will be made as seem justified by the facts 

 presented. When the figures are correlated and properly tabulated 

 the Forest Service will for the first time have comprehensive and 

 dependable data on (1) the commercial value of comparable private 

 lands used in reasonably large bodies for the grazing of livestock 

 under conditions similar to those found on the national forests; (2) 

 the value of the individual grazing allotments or districts in the 

 national forests, considering their accessibility and their forage and 

 water resources; (3) the estimates presented by stockmen as to the 

 cost of compliance with the national forest grazing regulations, 

 which many permittees honestly believe are frequently a burden to 

 the industry; and (4) the actual grazing needs of the stockmen and 

 farmers in the immediate vicinity of each national forest. 



The new grazing fees will be fair and reasonable valuations of the 

 respective ranges, based upon the commercial value of comparable 

 private lands, but with full consideration of the cost of complying 

 with the grazing regulations on national forests and of the public 

 and community benefits sought under public range administration. 

 These include the correlation of range use with local ranch lands and 

 water developments and the promotion of agricultural settlement. 

 The new fees will go into effect with the grazing season of 1925. 



COOPERATION WITH PERMITTEES. 



Cooperation with permittees has been an underlying principle in 

 national forest range management almost from the beginning. The 

 range users, through selected advisory boards, are given a wide share 

 of responsibility in the administration of grazing. This includes 

 such matters as the opening up of stock trails, the improvement of 



