726 



Yearbook^ of Agriculture 1949 



and in openings. This forest range 

 covers 350 million acres and represents 

 more than one-half the total forest area 

 of the United States and more than 

 one-third of the total range area. 

 Roughly, 155 million acres lie west of 

 the Great Plains, representing nearly 

 70 percent of the total western forest 

 area; 142 million acres of forest range 

 occur in the South. By supporting 

 large numbers of domestic livestock, 

 forest ranges contribute significantly 

 to the Nation's meat, wool, and leather 

 industries. The proper utilization of 

 forest range is of primary importance 

 in multiple-use management of the 

 forest resource. 



There is no way to isolate and meas- 

 ure precisely the contribution of forest 

 range to our industry, trade, and gen- 

 eral economy. It is enough to recognize 

 that large numbers of western livestock 

 summer on forest range, that a great 

 many fat cattle and sheep are marketed 

 directly from far western ranges, and 

 that the rural South would be hard- 

 pressed indeed if its forest range were 

 not utilized by the cattle and hogs that 

 roam the piney woods. 



Wildlife and recreation are linked 

 closely with the forests. 



Varied climates and habitat condi- 

 tions of the forest lands are conducive 

 to many species of fur bearers and 

 birds. About 95 percent of the coun- 

 try's big game deer, elk, moose, big- 

 horn sheep, mountain goat, and bear 

 live in the forest. Roughly one-fourth 

 of the small game and fur bearers are 

 associated with wooded areas. 



Camping, picnicking, winter sports, 

 sightseeing, and similar recreation con- 

 stitute another major service of the 

 forest. For hunting and fishing alone 

 during the 1946-47 season, nearly 25 

 million licenses were sold. It is esti- 

 mated that more than a third of the 

 hunters and fishermen went to for- 

 ested areas. 



Expenditures for sporting arms and 

 fishing tackle in 1945 exceeded 60 mil- 

 lion dollars, and nearly equaled all 

 other expenditures for sporting goods. 

 Annual cost to the hunters and fisher- 



men in the forest for travel, food, and 

 lodging is currently placed at about 

 750 million dollars. At least half a mil- 

 lion people earn all or part of their 

 living supplying goods and services to 

 forest recreationists. 



AGRICULTURE also is linked to the 

 forest. No longer is the forest an en- 

 emy to be cut down, burned, and de- 

 stroyed. The farmer's own wood lot 

 and the forest cover on the more 

 distant hills and mountains provide 

 protection against erosion, water for ir- 

 rigation, essential timber products, and 

 forage for livestock. Local forest in- 

 dustries also provide an outlet for truck 

 crops and employment in the non- 

 farming season. 



Forests are the principal source of 

 the irrigation water, supplying roughly 

 300,000 farms in the United States. 

 Irrigation agriculture has improved 20 

 million to 25 million acres of low- 

 productivity land, increasing crop yield 

 and materially enhancing land values. 

 In the arid valleys of the West, in- 

 tensive agriculture is made possible 

 only by harnessing and applying to the 

 land water which originates in the 

 forested mountains. The forest cover 

 markedly influences water-table levels 

 and this affects the supply of irrigation 

 water even in those areas where water 

 is obtained from wells. 



More than 95 percent of both the 

 number of irrigated farms and acreage 

 irrigated are located in 17 Western 

 States and Arkansas and Louisiana. In 

 1945, although less than 18 percent of 

 the total farm acreage in these States 

 was irrigated, 27 percent (5 billion 

 dollars) of the value of all farm lands 

 and buildings was on farms wholly or 

 partly irrigated. In 1939, capital in- 

 vested in irrigation enterprises in 19 

 Western States exceeded one billion 

 dollars. 



Timber products are essential to the 

 operation of the 6 million American 

 farms. Much lumber, to begin with, is 

 used on the farm for new dwellings, 

 barns and other service buildings, and 

 fences and for repair and maintenance. 



