FIRST BIENNIAL STATEMENT 77 



aside of the national reserve forests, a certain amount of 

 agricultural lands were temporarily gathered in with the 

 wild timber lands. But as rapidly as practicable, those 

 agricultural lands now are being cut out and opened up to 

 the tillers of the soil. This means many settlers in the na- 

 tional forest areas, and great difficulties in delimiting any 

 new game preserves, — saying nothing also of increased dif- 

 ficulties in enforcing the game laws. 



But those difficulties can and must one by one be sur- 

 mounted. The American people are neither so feeble in 

 wit nor so infantile in resources that these difficulties can- 

 not be met and vanquished. 



From the beginning, the government has permitted, un- 

 der license, the grazing of stock in the national forests, and 

 the cutting of timber. The proceeds of these duly licensed 

 operations go toward defraying the cost of conserving the 

 forests. No one will propose that game be increased at the 

 expense of domestic sheep, cattle and horses that need 

 range grass. 



The lower grass-grown slopes of the national forests are 

 grazed to the limit of their capacity. There are vast areas, 

 however, whereon there can be no grazing, because of the 

 natural conditions. I think it is a safe guess that about 

 one-half the total area of our federal forests is wholly un- 

 suited to grazing and to agriculture, and never can be util- 

 ized along either of those lines of industry. 



This being the case, is it not the part of wisdom and the 

 true spirit of conservation to take steps to create in those 

 otherwise waste lands a great permanent food supply in 

 wild flocks and herds, that need no other care than protec- 

 tion from wasteful and wicked slaughter? Why should we 

 leave 125,000 square miles of rough mountains and more- 

 or-less forests deserted and tenantless, and barren of wild 

 life? Is it a kindness to a short-sighted frontiersman with 

 a brood of children around his hearth to permit him to kill 

 the last of the deer and elk, because he does not know any 

 better? 



In America there are perhaps 10,000,000 men and women 

 who need to be protected from themselves ; who need to be 



