18 DEPARTMSliTAL aairijalo. 



rejected by the trespassers, the Department of Justice was asked to 

 secure an injunction to prevent the stock from entering the reserve, 

 and to bring suit for damages. 



In a few of the new reserves, where the regulations were not under- 

 stood or stockmen did not realize that they must be obeyed, stock 

 which entered without permit was allowed to remain on payment of 

 double the regular grazing fee. This method of settlement was 

 received as fair and right. It has inflicted no serious hardship, 

 while it has shown that the regulations must be obeyed and that forest 

 reserve control means real protection to the range. 



Occasionally stock trespassed upon closed areas or upon range to 

 which it was not assigned. Where such trespass was wilful the per- 

 mit was canceled, a portion of the stock was removed from the reserve, 

 and the amount paid for grazing fees was forfeited. 



DEPREDATIONS OP WILD ANIMALS. 



The loss of cattle in Wyoming and southern New Mexico during 

 recent years from wolves has caused much alarm. It was thought by 

 many that the wolves were breeding in the reserves, and that the pro- 

 tection of game increased their number.. In response to an appeal, 

 from stockmen, the Forest Service, in cooperation with the Biological 

 Survey, is studying the habits of wolves and coyotes, the locations of 

 their dens, and the most practical method for their extermination. It 

 has already been found that the breeding grounds are not within the 

 reserve^ but in the foothills outside, and that they simply follow the 

 cattle into the mountains during the summer. A large number of 

 dens were located and steps were taken to kill both the old and the 

 young wolves. It is confidently believed that the result of this 

 investigation will be of great benefit to live stock interests. 



LIVE STOCK ASSOCIATIONS. 



Some of the live stock associations organized by western stockmen 

 for the protection of their joint interests sought during the year 

 official recognition of advisory boards to confer with forest officers on 

 grazing matters. Much had already been done by the attendance of 

 forest officers at the meetings of these associations to promote a right 

 understanding of the purposes of forest reserves, and the benefits to 

 be derived from their proper use. The justice of this request for 

 recognition was seen at once, and authority for it was given by the 

 Secretary of Agriculture on March 31, 1906. Before the end of the 

 fiscal year, advisory boards of live stock associations in Oregon, 

 Wyoming, and Colorado had sought and received official recognition. 

 Thru them, satisfactory solutions of local problems, which might have 

 led to serious difficulty, have already been reached. A marked 

 improvement in sentiment among stockmen has followed, and the 

 cooperation of the live stock associations with the Forest Service to 

 secure the very best use of the reserve ranges is made certain. 



rOKBST MEASUBEMENTS. 

 EOREST COMPUTATION. 



The broadened activity of the Forest Service has materially in- 

 creased the scope of the work of the section of forest computation, 

 which undertakes the computation and final statement of all forest 



