8 MISCELLANEOUS CIKCULAR 82, U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE 



charged with the responsibility of administering the range as a 

 public property, and in order to do this effectively it must carry 

 on research which will enable it to guarantee the permanence of the 

 range and prevent damage to forest reproduction. 



The Wyoming National Forests pasture 125,000 head of cattle and 

 horses and 575.000 head of sheep annually during the summer months, 

 supplementing the feed supply of about 1,200 stock growers, most 

 of whom are also local residents and property owners. A prefer- 

 ential system of allotting the range is followed by the Forest Service, 

 whereby the temporary, speculating, or nonresident (Class C) owner 

 must give way to the stockmen who are also local landowners, and 

 whereby the large owner, even though local (Class B) must reduce 

 within certain guaranteed limits for the small owner (Class A) in 

 case the range becomes crowded. Use of the range prior to the estab- 

 lishment of any forest is also the basis for a preference on that range. 

 On the Hayclen, however, it was necessary to transfer some of 

 the prior use preferences to near-by forests in Colorado to relieve 

 the range from overcrowding. A regular or preference permit is 

 binding on the Government for 10 years and amounts in reality to a 

 contract. A fee for each head of stock is charged for all animals 

 grazed, except a limited number kept by settlers, prospectors, and 

 travelers for noncommercial purposes. 



WESTERN WYOMING 



Northwest of the Hayden National Forest, across the Red Desert, 

 the Continental Divide again becomes mountainous. In this form 

 it nearly parallels, with its many spurs, the western boundary of 

 the State to the southeast corner of Yellowstone National Park, 

 where it again takes a more westerly course. The entire mountainous 

 region here is covered by national forests; the Wyoming and the 

 Teton on the west side of the mountain range, extending to the south 

 boundary of Yellowstone Park, and the Washakie and the Shoshone 

 on the east side, the latter adjacent to the park along its eastern 

 border. 



These national forests have so many characteristics in common 

 that, in many cases, what may be said of one applies to all. It is a 

 vast, rugged region where many of the boundary lines are little more 

 than devices for distributing equably the responsibility of admin- 

 istration. Nevertheless, since these lines are in most cases drawn 

 along bold topographic features which separate major watersheds, 

 each unit has points of especial interest which justify individual 

 description. 



Every summer many travelers enter this region in search of 

 "nature" unspoiled. And they are plentifully rewarded, for "na- 

 ture " is the dominant characteristic of the whole vast expanse. 

 Within the forest boundaries roads are infrequent, and settlements 

 are small and scattered ; but outside, in the surrounding valleys, they 

 are numerous enough to offer ample hospitality to the traveler. The 

 higher country is rough and utterly unsettled. 



WASHAKIE NATIONAL FOREST 



The southeastern portion of this great, broken upland is known 

 as Washakie National Forest. It is named after Chief Washakie 



