MONTANA STATE FISH AND GAME COMMISSION 53 



home of most of our big game was on the prairies, and in the valleys which 

 have now been fenced, pastured or plowed. Wild game has been forced into 

 the mountains, which, on account of heavy snows, furnish but little winter 

 forage. During severe winters only a very small percentage of the national 

 forest areas can be used as winter feeding grounds, and as a result the game 

 is heavily concentrated on these limited areas and much of it is forced to ad- 

 jacent lands already heavily used for other purposes. The winter loss is ac- 

 cordingly heavy. 



In order to alleviate this situation as far as possible, domestic stock has 

 been removed from the winter range areas of all national forest lands, except 

 in a very few instances where private lands are intermingled to an extent that 

 makes separate management impracticable. In addition, the control of over 

 200,000 acres of privately owned winter rangeland has been acquired by the 

 forest service by purchase, and exchange of grazing privileges, and this area 

 made available for the exclusive use of game animals. 



In spite of these efforts, snow conditions reduce the amount of usable 

 winter range to less than ten per cent of the area available to them during 

 the summer period. An active program of further land acquisition and ex- 

 change is now being fostered in an effort to provide seriously needed additional 

 winter grazing areas, but accomplishment is badly handicapped by the inade- 

 quacy of funds which can be made available for this use. 



Pioneer conditions can never be restored, the agricultural valleys and 

 plains cannot be returned to the unrestricted use of the buffalo and their 

 former associates. In fact, very few of even the most ardent sportsmen would 

 desire to return to frontier days and give up our farms, fields, and industries 

 which have been developed from the resources that once supported countless 

 wild animals. On national forests, however, big game is on the increase, and 

 during the last twelve years the number of game animals has increased approx- 

 imately 100 per cent. Carefully planned management and a better distribution 

 of game will make it possible to further increase these numbers as rapidly as 

 winter range areas can be provided for their use. 



