WORK OF THE UNITEP STATES FOREST SERVICE 13 
erounds is shown by the increase in number of persons visiting them 
from about 3,000,000 in 1917 to almost 33,000,000 in 1937. The 1937 
figure includes only persons who used planned forest recreational 
areas or who came primarily to enjoy forest scenery and climate. 
Roads and trails, marked by signs, make the forests reasonably 
accessible. Public campgrounds have been established in localities 
frequented by large numbers of people. Water facilities, fireplaces, 
and comfort stations are being constructed for the convenience of 
visitors as rapidly as available funds permit. 
The national forests are the home of the country’s big game. 
There are also many excellent trout streams and lakes, frequently 
restocked with fish, which offer keen sport to the angler. In 
general, the only restrictions on hunting and fishing are those im- 
posed by the fish and game laws of the States in which the forests 
are located. All that is asked of the visitor is that he look to the 
proper sanitation of his camp and be careful with fire. 
Permission to occupy national-forest land for residential, com- 
mercial, or industrial purposes not unfavorable to the protection and 
management of the forest may be obtained under special-use permits 
granted upon payment of moderate fees. Detailed information may 
be obtained upon application to the forest supervisor. 
PRIMITIVE AREAS ARE MAINTAINED 
Within the national forests about 70 primitive areas have been 
established. Here primitive conditions of environment, transporta- 
tion, habitation, and subsistence are maintained with a view to con- 
serving permanently the value of these lands for purposes of public 
education and the pioneer type of recreation. 
The Forest Service intends, in maintaining primitive areas, to 
preserve unique natural values and to give the public opportunity 
to experience the conditions which existed in the pioneer days of 
the Nation’s development, and to engage in the forms of outdoor 
recreation characteristic of that period. 
CONSERVATION OF WILDLIFE 
The national forests are becoming increasingly important in pre- 
serving and restoring one of America’s basic resources—wildlife. 
They aid in maintaining opportunity for the public to enjoy the 
aesthetic, scientific, and social pursuits that are based on adequate 
populations of game animals, birds, and fish. 
Wildlife is considered by the Forest Service as a resource to be 
managed for permanent protection and use, as are other national- 
forest resources. The total national value of this economic resource 
is estimated at more than $1,000,000,000 annually. Through the 
practice of scientific wildlife management, aided by research findings 
of the Bureau of Biological Survey, the aim is to develop and main- 
tain this resource on a permanent basis. 
In the West as a whole, almost 75 percent of the remaining big- 
game summer ranges are now within the national forests. And, 
despite the fact that the number of persons passing through the 
national forests, fishermen and hunters included, increased from 
3,000,000 to 71,000,000 over a 20-year period (1917-386), the number of 
big-game animals on the national forests increased an estimated 
average of about 140 percent between 1924 and 19387, 
