25 

 GRAZING. 



Mr. A. F. Potter, Inspector of Grazing, has attended stockmen's meetings at Butte 

 and Helena, Mont., and Albuquerque, N. Mex., in the effort to make clear the policy 

 of the Forest Service relative to grazing in the reserves and to correct misunderstand- 

 ing regarding it, A resolution was adopted at Butte, Mont., in which the stockmen 

 expressed satisfaction with the information given. 



For the season of 1906 there were 14,093 cattle and horse grazing permits issued, 

 covering 1,015,148 head, of which 849,703 head were for the summer season and 

 165,445 for the year-long season. There were also issued 2,500 sheep-grazing per- 

 mits, covering 5,763,100 head of sheep, two lambs counting as one grown sheep. 



A more strict compliance with the salting regulation will be insisted upon in 19.07. 



The grazing application, Form 657, has been changed with important additions, 

 and renumbered No. 879. 



Winter grazing will be allowed when not detrimental to any interest. 



f n 1907 only the sheep six months old and over at the time 01 entering a reserve 

 will be counted and paid for, but the fees will be increased sufficiently to compen- 

 sate for the young stock. 



RESERVE ORGANIZATION. 



Meetings of the supervisors and various Chiefs of Office have recently been held 

 in Glenwood Springs, Colo., Provo, Utah, Flagstaff, Ariz., Portland, Oreg., Northfork, 

 Cal., and Boise, Idaho. Every detail of field and office work was touched on, and 

 the regulations and instructions of The Use Book were thoroly discust. Many 

 valuable suggestions for changes and additions were made and submitted to the 

 Forester. Among the important results of these meetings is the opportunity they 

 < give the field men and the members of the general force to become acquainted. 



Reserve Boundaries. 



A great many more applications for agricultural land under the act of June 11, 

 1906, are being received than were expected; and Mr. Kent, who is in charge of the 

 field examination of the lands applied for, has asked for four more men to assist him 

 in the work. Already two reserves the Priest River in Idaho and the Bitterroot in 

 Montana have been covered. In the former reserve all but a very few claims were 

 approved and recommended for listing, but in the latter the applications were found 

 to cover heavy timberland and were purely of a speculative character. If cleared, 

 they would, with irrigation, produce good crops, but no water for irrigation was 

 available, as evidenced by the thousands of acres of cut-over lands outside the reserve, 

 which are not and can not be placed under cultivation. 



Forest officers in cnarge seem to be in doubt regarding items which should be 

 included under Form 99, especially in regard to communication, shelter, and 

 equipment. Nails and fence staples should be charged to shelter and not to equip- 

 ment. Paint used in painting signboards should be charged to communication and 

 not to shelter. Stoves and stovepipes are shelter items and not equipment. 



