forest reservoir. Those who live in regions where the denudation of moun- 

 tain slopes has brought alternating flood and drought, have seen with 

 their own eyes, and learned perhaps by their own bitter experience, the 

 ruin which comes with destruction of the forest there. The indispensability 

 of the forest for the sustained flow of streams is therefore well understood; 

 it is probably the best known and most keenly appreciated of the reasons 

 for the maintenance of forest reserves. 



The third purpose of the forest reserves is the protection of local 

 residents from unfair competition in the use of forest and range. As 

 regards demand for timber, the forest administration studies the needs 

 and rights of the small user and aims to protect him to the full extent 

 of the law. It is with this purpose that the Secretary of Agriculture, 

 at his discretion, permits the sale by Forest Rangers and Forest Supervisors 

 on the ground of such small quantities of wood as residents and settlers 

 may need in addition to the wood to which they are entitled under the 

 provisions regulating free use. 



As regards the range, the regulations in force are designed to en- 

 courage the conservative use of the forest pasture by those who are depend- 

 ent upon the livestock industry. Overstocking the range, and grazing 

 at certain seasons of the year, are forbidden, not to restrain this industry 

 but to insure its proper growth and its permanence. This fact is well under- 

 stood by a majority of livestock owners. Those who raised a clamor against 

 all regulation of grazing on the reserves did so in most cases from misappre- 

 hension or from lack of foresight. Misapprehension prompted them to 

 oppose any limitations of their own grazing customs which might favor 

 the competition of other owners; lack of foresight prevented their realiz- 

 ing that misuse of the range must speedily put an. end to the livestock 

 industry. Happily, however, a better understanding already prevails. In 

 general, the restriction of grazing on the reserves under a permit system, 

 within the limits which the safety of the forest and its healthy reproduc- 

 tion prescribe, is heartily desired by the owners of livestock, because they 

 see that it is for their best interests and their business welfare in the long 

 run. 



Grazing on the reserves is regulated by permits, granted to actual 

 owners of stock. The reserves on which grazing is allowed will be divided 

 into districts and such range divisions will be made among applicants for 

 the grazing privilege as appear most equitable and for the best interests 

 of the reserve. The leading objects of the grazing regulations are: The 

 protection and conservative use of all forest reserve land adapted for graz- 

 ing; the best permanent good of the livestock industry through proper 

 care and improvement of the grazing lands; and the protection of the 

 settler and home builder against unfair competition in the use of the range. 



The new rules for the use of the forest reserves, which were issued 

 by the Secretary of Agriculture on July 1, are designed to open the reserves 

 to freer use. The people of the West, who have felt the need of them, have 

 welcomed them heartily. At first, the law authorized the mere creation of 

 reserves, and made no provision for their administration. Those local in- 

 terests which depended upon forest resources could not fail to find this 

 state of things annoying, and at the request of the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, the National Academy of Sciences recommended a national forest 

 policy. The Act of June 4, 1897, followed, under which, with several later 

 amendments, the reserves are now administered. The Act of February 

 1, 1905, transferred authority over the reserves to the Secretary of Agri- 

 culture, providing, at the same time, for the consolidation of the various 

 branches of Government forest work, which until then had been divided 

 between the United States Geological Survey, the General Land Office, 

 and the Bureau of Forestry, not the Forest Service. The Secretary of Agri- 

 culture now has entire jurisdiction over the forest reserves, except in 

 matters of surveying and passage of title. 



It has therefore become possible to introduce scientific methods and 

 a technically trained force in solving the complex problems arising from 

 the necessary use of forest and range. As soon as the forest, reserves were 



