148 OUR FEDERAL LANDS 



cial use of a commercial character which would im- 

 pair their wilderness character." 



GAME ADMINISTRATION 



Of the various lesser functions of the National 

 Forests, administration of their wild life has particu- 

 lar interest to the people of to-day. The vast wealth 

 of wild animal life which the early colonists found in 

 America has suffered proportionally even a greater 

 destruction than the original forests. Nevertheless 

 a surprising number of wild creatures are still left 

 in the National Forests, where efforts are being made 

 to conserve them in reasonable proportions to the 

 sheep and cattle whose grazing for the market is one 

 of the forests' major functions. The census of 1927 

 reported the following: 



Antelope, 6,942 ; black or brown bear, 47,865 ; 

 grizzly bear, 5,814; caribou, 174; deer, 671,050; 

 elk, 82,478; moose, 7,192; mountain goats, 18,418; 

 mountain sheep, 13,285; beaver, 115,676. 



These are distributed through the National For- 

 ests of twenty-four states and Alaska. Arizona and 

 Idaho contain a substantial majority of all the ante- 

 lope, with New Mexico standing a good third. Cali- 

 fornia, Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana 

 have together most of the common bear. There are 

 5,000 grizzlies in Alaskan National Forests, Mon- 

 tana being second with 441, and Wyoming third with 

 136. Twenty caribou are listed in each of Idaho, 

 Montana and Washington, and 22 in Minnesota. 



