FOREST SERVICE. 327 



been unusually large and the herds are increasing. This has oc- 

 curred in the past, and if the history of the elk is repeated there will 

 be a gradual increase in numbers until an unusually hard winter such 

 as occurred in 1910-11 or in 1919-20 takes a heavy toll. This ap- 

 parently is nature's method of taking care of the surplus. 



There is abundant summer range for even larger elk herds, but 

 winter feed is limited. The Government lands lying immediately 

 north of the Yellowstone Park, along the Yellowstone River, have 

 been withdrawn by presidential proclamation pending action by 

 Congress. They could be added either to the Yellowstone National 

 Park or to the adjacent Absaroka National Forest. Unfortunately, 

 local public sentiment is opposed to such action, and the preservation 

 of this comparatively small piece of winter range appears no nearer 

 solution than it was 10 years ago, when first taken up. The area 

 contains 56,000 acres, of which 12,000 acres are unreserved and un- 

 appropriated public domain, 18,000 acres are the property of the 

 Northern Pacific Railroad, 2,000 acres are Montana school lands, 

 and 24,000 acres are private grazing and agricultural lands. Only 

 2,600 acres of the latter are actually used for farming purposes, the 

 rest being pure grazing lands. The Forest Service has already 

 withdrawn about 65,000 acres of the same kind of land adjoining this 

 tract to the east, within the Absaroka National Forest, for the use 

 of the elk in winter. 



That part of the area belonging to the Northern Pacific Railroad 

 is being withheld from sale or lease pending some action by Con- 

 gress, with the probability of an exchange if the rest of the area is 

 set aside for winter elk range. The land which is in the hands of 

 the settlers can not, of course, be secured except through purchase. 

 A great step forward will be made, however, if through congressional 

 action the lands belonging to the Government are added to the 

 national forest or national park. 



As on a number of other protected Federal areas, the buffalo, deer, 

 and elk in the Wichita game preserve in Oklahoma have increased to 

 a point where it will become necessary to dispose of a number of 

 them each year so that the herds can be kept within the grazing 

 capacity of the land available. The matter is now being carefully 

 considered with a view to working out a plan of disposal which 

 will best meet all public requirements. 



Special problems are constantly arising in connection with the 

 recreational and wild-life resources of the national forests. The 

 American people are advancing rapidly in appreciation of the great 

 social value of forest spaces and their wild life. A plea is now 

 made for the reservation of certain national forests, or parts of them, 

 from the commercial use of timber and forage, or even from cus- 

 tomary forms of recreation, like public camp grounds, summer 

 homes, and hotels — indeed, from the very building of roads which 

 would make these areas accessible to considerable numbers of visitors. 

 What these people want is not parks but stretches of untrammeled 

 wilderness, deliberately reserved as such, which only a few of the 

 more hardy and " elect " among the seekers of the out of doors can 

 penetrate, relying upon their unaided skill in woodcraft. This plea has 

 been made particularly with reference to the Kaibab National Forest 

 in Arizona and the Superior National Forest in Minnesota, or parts 

 of them. It expresses an admirable conception of the value of the 

 78007— AGB 1923 i'2 



