41 8 Forestry Quarterly. 



standards of the locality the average carrying capacity before the 

 fire of the range burned over. Express this in terms of the 

 number of acres which it will take to support one animal for one 

 year. 



(3). Divide the total number of acres of range burned by the 

 carrying capacity factor determined under (2). This gives the 

 total number of head which the range area previous to the burn 

 would have carried for one year or its fully carrying capacity. 

 If the period for which the forage is lost is less than one year 

 determine the carrying capacity of the area for the period for 

 which the forage is lost. This is obtained by multiplying the 

 total number of head which the area would ordinarily carry for 



12 



one year by — where x equals the number of months for which 



X 



the forage is lost. 



(4). Based upon the prices paid by stockmen for the use of pri- 

 vate lands and for permits on the Indian Reservations, $1.50 per 

 head per annum for cattle and horses, and 30 cents per head per 

 annum for sheep and goats, is a fair estimate of the actual value 

 of the forage. Where the forage is lost for a period of less than 

 a year, as will generally be the case, it is suggested that the 

 monthly rate be determined under the general rule for fixing the 

 rate for short grazing periods, adopted by the U. S. Forest Ser- 

 vice, which means that where the forage is lost for a period of 

 more than four months and less than one year, the charge will 

 be at the rate of 15 cents per month on cattle and horses or 3 

 cents per month on sheep and goats, with an addition of 20 per 

 cent, for periods of from one to four months. All periods of 

 less than a year should be expressed in terms of whole months. 



(5). Multiply the total number of head which could have 

 grazed on the area during the period for which the forage was 

 lost by the monthly rate per head as determined in accordance 

 with the provision of (4). This gives the total value of the for- 

 age destroyed. 



Example of Valuation of Damage to Cattle Ranges: Area of 

 range burned equals 500 acres ; carrying capacity of area at the 

 rate of 10 acres to i head equals 50 head ; forage is lost for a 

 period of 3 months ; carrying capacity of range for period for 



1 2 



which forage is lost is equivalent to 50X — equals 200 head, i. e., 



3 

 feed for 200 head 3 months has been destroyed. 



