FOREST SERVICE. 395 



GRAZING CAPACITY OF NATIONAL FORESTS. 



Of the 146 National Forests in the United States exclusive of 

 Alaska on June 30, 1910, 6 afford no grazing for domestic animals. 

 The remaining 140 Forests were under grazing administration. Cer- 

 tain of the Forests in northern Washington, northern and central Idaho, 

 and northern Montana are not fully stocked, principally because the 

 unused ranges are more or less inaccessible and are remote from 

 railroad shipping points and from spring, fall, and winter ranges. 

 This condition is, however, a passing one, and the construction of new 

 railroads, the granting of feed-in-transit rates by existing railroads, 

 and the building of necessary trails and sheep driveways by the Forest 

 Service will within a short time bring complete utilization of these 

 ranges. Elsewhere the National Forests are fully stocked, and in 

 many parts of the West the demand for grazing privileges is far 

 beyond the supply. 



The eliminations effective or proposed up to June 30, 1910, mate- 

 rially reduced the grazing area on the Forests, The lands excluded 

 were chiefly lowlands of more than average forage-producing capacity, 

 which were fully stocked, principally by cattle and horses. On 

 eliminations approved by the Forester before the grazing season 

 opened grazing was allowed without charge and without permit 

 pending the issuance of the presidential proclamation. A number of 

 choice lambing grounds upon which permittees had previously 

 depended were eliminated. Inevitably the grazing receipts fell. 



The Crow Creek division of the Cheyenne National Forest was on 

 April 19, 1910, transferred by executive order to the jurisdiction of 

 the War Department, At the request of the Secretary of War the 

 Forest Service continues to exercise supervision over this area pending 

 the time when the War Department is ready to assume full charge 

 of it. 



RANGE CONDITIONS. 



The range conditions in all six districts were markedly similar. In 

 the fall of 1909 frequent and timely rains resulted in an unusually 

 abundant growth of forage upon all of the Forests, The ranges were 

 well seeded, while stock left the Forests in good condition and com- 

 manded good market prices, although the market for wool was not 

 so strong as it had been in previous seasons. 



The winter of 1909-10 was a severe one upon stock growers gener- 

 ally. Many permittees reported it the hardest winter in twenty 

 years. Prolonged periods of extremely cold weather caused suffering 

 among all classes of stock; winter losses were above the average, and 

 the percentage of increase among sheep and cattle was materially 

 reduced. The snowfall was less than usual. 



The spring of 1910 was from a month to six weeks early, and ranges 

 were free from snow and ready for use that much sooner. The warm 

 growing weather and the molting of snow started the forage growth 

 under exceptionally fiivoral)le conditions. The stock entered the 

 Forests in good condition. But there were almost no spring rains. 

 The rapidly maturing forage dried up, and water grew scarce. Upon 

 many Forests the last quarter of the fiscal year was a period of ahnost 

 absolute drought; upon the majority, however, light rains at infre- 

 quent intei-vals brought some rcHof. At the close of the fiscal year 

 stockmen generally were anticipating a prolonged drought. The sit- 



