This will involve provision for installation and concessionaire 

 operation of the full complement of public facilities, including 

 resorts and other commercial services. 



Wildlife Habitat Resources 



In 1960 one-quarter of the 92.5 million recreation visits to the Na- 

 tional Forests and Grasslands were for the primary purpose of hunt- 

 ing and fishing. Hunter and fisherman visits since 1949 have in- 

 creased 8 times faster than the nationwide sale of hunting and fishing 

 licenses. This use is expected to increase to about 50 million visits by 

 1972. The long-range objective of habitat management is to make it 

 fully productive so as to support fish and game populations to contrib- 

 ute to the need for public use and enjoyment. 



The wildlife habitat management proposals for the 10-year 

 period are : 



1. Revise and complete wildlife habitat management and im- 

 provement plans for all administrative units, assuring proper 

 coordination between wildlife habitat management and other 

 resources. 



2. Inventory and evaluate wildlife habitat resources in coop- 

 eration with other Federal agencies and with the States in which 

 National Forests and Grasslands are located, as a basis for or- 

 derly development of wildlife habitat improvement and coordi- 

 nation programs, including (a) big-game, gamebird, and small- 

 game habitat surveys and investigations on the 186 million acres 

 of National Forests and Grasslands, (b) fishery habitat surveys 

 and investigations on the 81,000 miles of National Forest fishing 

 streams and nearly 3 million acres of lakes and impoundments, 

 and (c) participation in planning, inspection, and control phases 

 of all habitat improvement, land- and water-use projects con- 

 ducted on National Forest lands by States, other Federal agen- 

 cies, and private groups to assure that projects will benefit wild- 

 life and be in harmony with other resource values. 



3. Improve food and cover on 1.5 million acres of key wildlife 

 areas. 



4. Develop wildlife openings, food patches, and game ways in 

 dense vegetation by clearing or controlled burning on 400,000 

 acres. 



5. Improve 7,000 miles of fishing streams and 56,000 acres of 

 lakes by stabilizing banks, planting streamside cover, and con- 

 structing channel improvements. 



Protection 



The total adverse impact of disease, insects, fire, weather, destructive 

 animals, and other forces on the uses and values of forest resources 

 is not generally recognized. They kill and destroy, retard or prevent 

 reproduction and growth, impair and damage values, and disrupt 

 uses. 



The loss in growth of sawtimber because of damage by destructive 

 agencies in the United States in 1952 was estimated to be about 44 

 billion board feet. If it were not for the effect of destructive agen- 

 cies, sawtimber growth would have been nearly tw T ice as great as the 

 47 billion board feet in 1952. About 45 percent of the loss in growth 



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