Wildlife in the United States 



23 



iill areas there are no data available to indicate the 

 percentage of land which will be primarily devoted to 

 that purpose. 



Within the national forests, tliere are approximately 

 8,000,000 acres of land classed as "barren" on which 

 some forms of wildlife are found. Tliis area, so far as 

 can be seen, will serve no other purpose than the pro- 

 duction of wildlife. ^Miile its classification would 

 indicate lack of vegetative cover, this is not entirely 

 true since within the cracks and crevices and along the 

 narrow ledges on the faces of almost perpendicular 

 cliffs, and on other inaccessible areas there is ample 

 food for the species of wildlife inhabiting such localities, 

 such as mountain goats, mountain sheep, and 

 ptarmigan. 



In addition, there are within the national forests 

 some 10,000,000 acres of "brush land", much of which 

 will be permanently useful only for watershed protec- 

 tion and wildlife production. 



Areas Specially Adapted to Wildlife 



The areas of private land and public domain listed 

 in table II, as needed for additions to national forests 

 in regions 1 to 10, inclusive, are vital to wildlife manage- 

 ment on tlie western national forests. They are an 

 integral part of the winter range for many of the big 

 game herds which depend upon national forest ranges 

 for subsistence during tlie summer months. Hea\T' 

 snows and severe cold drive elk and deer from the 

 high sunmier ranges to the lower countrj-, where 

 climatic conditions are more favorable and food may 

 be obtained during the winter. 



The capacity of the national forests to produce 

 sustained crops of big game animals is very definitely 

 limited b}^ the availabilitj^ of winter range. Under 

 present conditions of ownership and use, that portion 

 of winter range in private ownership (6,000,000 acres) 

 and in the pubhc domain (14,000,000 acres), within 

 and adjacent to national forests, is not capable of 

 supplying forage adequate to maintain wildlife popu- 

 lations as large as can be supported by national forest 

 summer ranges. 



These areas, totaling 20,000,000 acres, should be 

 added to the national forests, and other uses, chiefiy 

 grazing by domestic livestock, should be sufficiently 

 curtailed to allow the big game herds to increase to a 

 size comparable with the carrying capacity of the liigh 

 national forest summer ranges. 



Areas Available for Wildlife 



All national forest land is now and may in the future 

 be employed for the production of some form of \\-ildIife 

 in conjunction with other uses. The following tabu- 

 lation shows the extent of these areas, by national 

 forest regions. 



Table I.- 



-Exlenl of iialional forest area which is available for 

 wildlife use 



1 Includes land approved for purchase under the Weeks and Clarke-McNary 

 laws. 

 ' Included in net area national forests and purchase units. 



The 167,000,000 acres of national forest land, located 

 in 33 States, Alaska, and Puerto Rico, is all available 

 for wildlife. All of this land, except the 25,000,000 

 acres of Federal and State game refuges, is open for 

 hunting and fishing, subject to the laws of the several 

 States. Hunting is also permitted on some of the Fed- 

 eral refuges, under special regulations. 



Almost 3,000,000 acres have been closed to use by 

 domestic livestock, in the interest of wildlife production. 

 These areas, however, may be used for other purposes, 

 such as timber production and recreation. This illus- 

 trates the policy of correlated land uses, a prmciplc 

 which can be applied in safeguarding the wildlife re- 

 source. Strictlj^ speaking, therefore, there are no areas 

 in the national forests devoted exclusively to wildlife, 

 but future studies may reveal the necessity for dedi- 

 cating areas to only one use. 



Needed Additions to Forests 



The Forest Service believes that, in the interests of 

 the production and management of wildlife, three 

 classes of additions to the national forests are essential: 

 (1) Completion of the purchase program in the East, 

 within purchase units approved by the National Forest 

 Reservation Commission; (2) purchase of certain es- 

 sential areas of ^vinter game range within and adjacent 

 to the national forests; and (3) transfer of certain areas 

 of winter game range within the public domain to 

 adjacent national forests. These recommended ad- 

 ditions are shown in table II. 



Of the 34,000,000 acres needed for additions to the 

 national forests, all but 14,000,000 acres of pubhc do- 

 main will, if acquired, be devoted to wildlife in associa- 

 tion with other uses. The pubhc-domain lands are 

 urgently needed for speciahzed whiter range use by big- 

 game animals summering on the national forests. 

 These lands, if added to the national forests, will be 

 so administered that the winter range for big-game 

 animals, chiefly elk and deer, will be greatly enlarged 



