A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 643 



No control is exercised to prevent use of the range during the early 

 period of forage growth when cropping by livestock is disastrous to 

 the vitality of the plants and when maximum damage results from 

 trampling. No distinction is made as to the kind of stock for which 

 the forage produced on a given area is suitable. Finally, absolutely 

 no consideration is given to the interdependence of range land and 

 valley ranches, a factor vitally influencing the stability of the livestock 

 industry in the West. The relation of the public domain to watershed 

 protection and its relation to crop agriculture in the irrigated valleys 

 are ignored. 



Under present conditions, portions of public-domain range the use 

 of which is necessary for the maintenance of the financial security 

 of established nearby ranches are often used by transient herdsmen 

 at a time of year when maximum damage to the forage results and 

 for grazing classes of stock not suited to the available forage. Improper 

 use has depleted the cover to an alarming degree. 



On many areas the more desirable forage species have been weak- 

 ened or have been entirely killed out, often to be replaced by unpala- 

 table weeds or even poisonous plants. Accelerated soil erosion, which 

 inevitably follows such abuse, has reduced the productivity of the 

 soil to such a degree that in many instances a long period of time will 

 be required to rebuild it. On the area draining into the Rio Grande 

 between the Elephant Butte Dam and the Texas State line, for 

 example, according to recent estimates the vegetative cover has been 

 depleted as much as 75 or 90 percent. 



Practically the whole 23 million acres of forested land and also the 

 50 million acres of watershed brush lands in the public domain are 

 used as range for livestock. Owing to the low timber values involved, 

 in most instances greater returns can be expected from the use of the 

 forage than from the use of the timber as a commodity. It must be 

 kept in mind, however, that timber and range use can be practiced 

 simultaneously on the same area. Such range use as is now being 

 made of the public domain ignores the permanent value not only of 

 the forage but of the timber and watershed resources as well. It is 

 urgent that the proper steps be taken to correct this condition. 



Two instances of range management on the public domain deserve 

 comment. The Pumpkin-Mizpah area in eastern Montana and the 

 Owen Valley area in California are being given a type of manage- 

 ment very similar to that practiced on similar lands on the national 

 forests. In these two instances owners of adjacent ranches have 

 leased, under special legislation, not only the public domain but all 

 the other lands within the boundaries of the topographical unit. An 

 advisory board of the users involved determines the number of stock 

 to be grazed, the season of use, and the method of livestock manage- 

 ment. While it is too early to reach a final conclusion, the system 

 seems to offer some promise where it can logically be applied. 



WATERSHED MANAGEMENT 



Although range forage is of the greatest immediate concern to the 

 local communities, conservation of the water resource is of greater 

 long-time importance. The area suitable for cultivation in the far- 

 western States is greatly disproportionate to the available supply of 

 water for irrigation, without which successful agriculture is generally 

 impossible. In most parts of the far West the degree to which a 



