TENURE AND USE OF ARID GRAZING LANDS. 57 



often very different both in quality and in quantity. Adjustment 

 of stock to area by the permit system normally results in slight 

 understocking of the range, if any mistake is made; while the lessee 

 of an area is almost sure to overstock in order to be sure that he 

 "gets his rent back." Especially is this true if his tenure of the land 

 is for a short period only. Likewise is this true of a poorly-informed 

 man who makes short-sighted plans. And it is very difficult to prove 

 that he is really overstocking the range, until it shows deterioration, 

 and then the harm has been done. For these reasons it is wiser to 

 handle the range under permit. 



Under certain conditions it is highly desirable to handle the grazing 

 of a given area as a community pasture. This is particularly true in 

 the vicinity of little towns where the owners of land adjacent to the 

 grazing lands each have a few head of stock that need pasture. The 

 permit system is easily adapted to such conditions, while a leasing 

 system is difficult to adjust. 



Where scattered bodies of land too small for separate use belonging 

 to one owner are mixed with similar scattered areas belonging to one 

 or more other owners, it is often advisable to use the land as a commu- 

 nity pasture. Such an adjustment may be brought about by pooling 

 the use and adjusting charges on the basis of the number of animals 

 grazed and prorating expenses on the basis of tenure. If a part of 

 the land is still Government land it might be leased to the owners, 

 either separately or as a group, leaving them to determine its use and 

 prorate the fees. The same result can be obtained by granting a 

 permit for the grazing of a certain number of animals upon the land, 

 but this method automatically regulates the rate of stocking to the 

 grazing capacity of the land. 



Neither the permit system nor the leasehold system is incompatible 

 with the State governments receiving a share of the rents equivalent 

 to the taxes which would be collected on such land if it were in private 

 ownership. 



The permit system need not interfere with a proper application of 

 the homestead laws. It might temporarily delay the occupation 

 of small areas of land suitable for crops, pending the demonstration 

 that the land was of this character. 



The right to prospect for and acquire mineral holdings might 

 easily be granted also, without in any way interfering with the admin- 

 istration of the grazing lands. 



That the remaining public arid grazing land should be added to the 

 national forests has been suggested in many places by men who are 

 now using the open grazing lands and are acquainted with the methods 

 of control of grazing that are practiced in these forests. Many 

 requests for such changes come to the Forest Service officials. 

 In fact, it has happened that men who were very anxious to have the 



