22 USE OF THE NATIONAL FORESTS. 



timber and the flow of water. If it is not wasted or used 

 up, but wisely used, it neither harms the forest growth 

 nor has a bad effect on the water flow. If it is over- 

 grazed or destroyed, the young tree growth is stamped 

 down or eaten off, and the soil is left bare and unpro- 

 tected, to be washed down the slopes into the canals and 

 reservoirs below. 



In the use of the range National Forests work first to 

 protect the settler and home builder. They make sure, 

 before everything else, that he has what range he needs 

 for his own stock. Before the Forests were made the 

 settler was at the mercy of the big stockman, who often 

 drove his herds in from a distance and completely grazed 

 off the settler's range right at his own door. This can 

 not happen in a National Forest, because the man with 

 a home is sure of the range near by for his own use, and 

 the big men from a distance are kept away from him. 



In allotting the range the small local owners are con- 

 sidered first; then the larger local owners who have regu- 

 larly used it; then the owners who live at a distance, 

 but who have been regular occupants; and lastly, if there 

 is any room left after these have been provided for, the 

 owners of transient stock. 



Special effort is being made to keep down wild animals 

 which damage stock, and the Forest oflScers, when re- 

 quested, help to enforce the State and Territorial live- 

 stock laws. 



A small fee is charged for grazing on the National 

 Forests, because when any man gets for his own special 

 use any property maintained for the use of the whole 

 people, he ought to pay for it. Most people are quite 

 willing to pay the cost of restoring the range and keep- 



