FOEEST AN"D RANGE RESOURCES OF UTAH 29 



eaten off as well. The growing portion of the woody stems is right 

 at the tip. When a tip is eaten off, growth in length of that twig 

 ceases. If moisture and soil conditions are favorable, new twigs 

 may develop from buds that would otherwise remain dormant. It 

 is not often that this second growth of twigs comes near being as 

 great as the growth produced before the grazing. 



Observations on the national forests, during many years, of 

 the effect of grazing browse plants have led to the conclusion that 

 an inch or two of most of the new twigs and a fair amount of leafage 

 should be left if the browse plants are to remain vigorous and 

 healthy. Just as sure as the leaves are stripped too closely and the 

 stems are cropped too much, the plants begin to have a sickly, hedged 

 appearance. They do riot make nearly so rapid, luxuriant, or large 

 growth as plants that are properly grazed. Such sickly plants are 



Figure 12. — An overgrazed range on the Wasatch Plateau in Utah. Overgrazing 

 destroys the valuable forage plants. Inferior species are the first to come in as 

 the range recovers and under proper management they are later replaced by the 

 more valuable plants 



common on overgrazed ranges, and there are many plants with dead 

 limbs, and many are killed altogether. (Fig. 12.) 



A few years ago several men were inspecting a range on the Dixie 

 National Forest. They noticed that the snowberry (Si/mphori- 

 carpos) appeared to be sickly and not to be making a full, vigor- 

 ous growth. A fence was constructed to protect a plot of the 

 snowberry from grazing, and within a year or two the plants 

 protected by the fence were vigorous and healthy. Those not 

 protected were still sickly in appearance. 



IMPORTANCE OF GOOD DISTRIBUTION OF STOCK ON THE RANGE 



If ranges are to be stocked to their full carrying capacity, the 

 stock must be so distributed that the forage will be utilized as uni- 

 formly as possible. Usually some parts of the range can not be 

 utilized because of too great distance from water, steepness, rocks 

 and ledges, down timber, etc. The forage on such areas can not, of 



