GOVERNMENT RULES AND REGULATIONS 27 



grain into beef and mutton. In order to remain in the livestock 

 business it was necessary for the ranchman to use the elevated, 

 cool summer ranges of the National Forests, at least during 

 spring, summer, and autumn. Then, as now, the Forests in 

 many communities were indispensable to permanent and profit- 

 able settlement. 



Accordingly, a thorough-going Federal investigation was ar- 

 ranged, which soon brought out the injustice of totally exclud- 

 ing sheep and of too strictly limiting the grazing of cattle and 

 horses on some of the National Forests. In numerous localities 

 it was found, as it is still commonly found, that the utilization 

 of the forage crop meant very much more to the home-builder 

 than did the timber resources. However, it was evident from 

 the condition of the range lands that, in the interest both of 

 timber and forage production and of the efficiency of the water- 

 shed, unregulated grazing could no longer be permitted. On the 

 other hand, properly regulated grazing, through the removal 

 of the forage crop, was believed to protect the Forests from de- 

 structive fires. Furthermore, it was not thought that the 

 streamflow supplying the irrigation water for the adjoining farms 

 would be interfered with. 



Government Rules and Regulations. — Following the estab- 

 lishment of a more liberal grazing policy on the National Forests, 

 the Federal Government, on June 4, 1897, was empowered to 

 promulgate rules and regulations for the proper control of live- 

 stock. All grazing was then made subject to the issuance of 

 permits, and a small fee was decided upon for the grazing privi- 

 lege. That method still obtains. The range is not leased in the 

 ordinary sense, but the grazing is looked upon as a personal 

 privilege or license based upon the qualifications of the individual. 

 Local settlers and stockmen enjoy the first right to the use of the 

 range. In this way unfair competition between large and small 

 stock owners, which formerly caused so much trouble, is done 

 away with. The number of animals, the season of grazing, the 

 allotment to be grazed, and detailed rules for salting, bedding, 

 and the like are determined and enforced by the Federal Govern- 

 ment. Thus the functions of the Forest Service in regulating 



