UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 

 FO REST SERVICE 



v'.Trom the Forest Service, United States Pepartment of Agriculture, 



San Francisco, California) 



LIVESTOCK INCREASES OH 

 TONAL FORESTS 



Figures showing the number ^f livestock for which 

 >1ie Secretary of Agriculture has authorized grazing permits for the 

 ..unges on the 160 national forests during the year 1914 have just be~ j 

 rrade public. Nearly 11,000,000 anmmals can be grazed, including 

 Dearly two million head of cattle and horses, nearly nine million hrad 

 >C sheep and goats, and about 65,000 hogs. This means an increase lor 

 -he current year of about 38,OOC more cattle and horses, and 347,000 

 more sheep and goats, although the gross area of the national forests 

 :-t the beginning of 1914 is almost a million acres less than at the 

 : s ginning of 1913. 



Turing 1913, according to the reports just compiled, nior; 

 chan 27,000 stockmen paid the Government for grazing permits on about 

 ton million head of animals, 



For several years past the carrying capacity of the na- 

 tional forest ranges has been slowly rising, which(forest officers FC^ 

 indicates an improvement in general grazing conditions and a better 

 utilization of the forage resources. They claim that this is due 

 mainly to the enforcement of better methods of distributing and nan i.1 

 stock. 



On the lands recently acquired by the federal government 



137-7 



