642 



A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 



too small to give the areas proper protection from fire. Whereas 

 $65,000 was appropriated for the purpose in 1932, adequate protection 

 as represented by that given to comparable areas on the national 

 forests would call for an annual expenditure of about $725,000. 

 This figure covers the protection needs of brush and woodland 

 watershed types as well as of the remaining timberlands. 



TABLE 2. Expenditures by the General Land 



domain 



ice for fire control on the public 



The Government maintains no organization for the control of fire 

 on the public domain. The activities which it finances to protect 

 public-domain lands from fire are restricted to areas intermingled with 

 or adjacent to private lands the owners of which have organized 

 fire-protective associations. Such associations have been formed in 

 heavily timbered parts of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and 

 Montana. They are authorized by State laws and participate in 

 Federal aid through provisions of the Clarke-McNary law. They 

 employ fire-control forces and use them much as does the national- 

 forest administrative organization, prorating the costs to the various 

 timberland owners on an acreage basis. Where there is public domain 

 timberland within the association districts the Federal Government 

 cooperates on the same basis as any other owner, except that its 

 appropriations are insufficient to meet its obligation in full and that 

 it takes no active part in the affairs of the organization. Federal 

 funds made available for this use are assigned at the discretion of 

 Land Office officials. This arrangement is as logical and business- 

 like as need be so long as the appropriations are too small to provide 

 the needed degree of protection to all public-domain lands or even to 

 those for which payment for protection is made in part. The maxi- 

 mum returns in protection are thus being obtained from the money 

 available. It is a regrettable fact that the Federal Government does 

 not afford protection to the greater part of the public domain. 



RANGE MANAGEMENT 



In most of the public-land States livestock raising is one of the 

 largest business enterprises. The extent to which the range resource 

 contributes to local welfare and the degree to which the carrying 

 capacity of the range is maintained are vital to the stock grower. 

 In spite of pressure for regulation and control, the use of this immense 

 range pasture resource remains unregulated. Public-domain range is 

 a free grazing commons, subject to all the abuse that such a condition 

 encourages. No attempt is made to restrict the number of stock 

 grazed to that which the range can support without deterioration. 



