144 A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



average man through shorter hours and less days of work will add 

 tremendously to those who seek the " out-of-doors' 7 form of recrea- 

 tion. Hunting and fishing will attract large numbers of these folk. 

 Wild life in general affords enjoyment, the opportunity for building 

 health and character, and for increasing scientific knowledge. In the 

 report of the Special Committee of the United States Senate on Con- 

 servation of Wild Life Resources, it is conservatively estimated that 

 there is a 400 percent increase during the decade ending with 1930 

 in the number of people who enjoyed the pastimes of hunting and 

 fishing. 



Most, if not all, of the forest land of the United States is susceptible 

 to the production of one or more species of wild life having social or 

 economic values. 



THE KANGE RESOURCE OF FOREST LANDS 



The forage produced by herbaceous and shrubby plants under the 

 trees and in openings in the forest is one of the major resources of 

 forest lands. More than half the forest land of the country is grazed 

 by domestic livestock. Feed furnished, for periods of 3 months in the 

 higher mountains or the full year on some low elevation forest ranges, 

 amounts to about 12 percent of all pasturage of the United States. 

 Grazing furnishes a current return to many timberland owners, it 

 aids in fire protection, and helps to make forests accessible with roads 

 and trails. This forest land use is of two general types: The range 

 type, which predominates in the West and South and to some extent 

 in the Appalachians, and the woodland pasture type typical of the 

 central farm belt. 



The extensive forest lands of the West, largely occupying the 

 mountain areas, furnish a considerable percentage of the summer 

 feed for the beef cattle and sheep of the Rocky Mountain and Pacific 

 Coast States. The nutritious forage, cool climate, and shade of 

 forest lands all combine to facilitate growth of calves, lambs, and wool. 



Within or near almost every western forest-range area there are 

 agricultural communities whose prosperity is mainly dependent upon 

 the production of livestock. Many of the farms within these com- 

 munities are small and far from markets. Without the aid of com- 

 plementary forest land range, however, most of such farms could not 

 long exist. These forest ranges, with their ability to produce high 

 quality beef and mutton at a nominal cost for forage, are indispen- 

 sable in offsetting the more expensive production and feeding of 

 cultivated crops. More than 4K million acres of improved farm land 

 and 22 million acres of private or leased grazing land, for example, 

 are used in connection with the 83 million acres of national-forest 

 land now grazed. Without forest ranges a large proportion of asso- 

 ciated farm lands and the community life dependent upon them 

 would never have been developed so satisfactorily. 



In the South there are already over 100 million acres of cut-over 

 pine lands alone. After logging operations, grass and other herbs 

 and shrubs become abundant and often form a nearly complete cover. 

 These native ranges, ordinarily unfenced, furnish good grazing from 

 early spring until July or August, and for that period grazing capacity 

 is relatively high. After October, the native grasses are coarse and 

 wiry and the forage for grazing inferior. 



