QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS 

 ABOUT GRAZING ON NATIONAL FORESTS 



INTRODUCTION 



The national forests were established under authority of the 

 Congress of the United States primarily for timber production 

 and watershed protection. Grazing of domestic livestock is also 

 recognized as a legitimate and important use. Other important 

 uses include grazing by game, fur trapping, prospecting, and 

 recreational activities of many kinds. The administration of these 

 uses aims at the greatest good for the greatest number of people 

 in the long run. 



In the Western States the national forests are mainly located 

 on the principal mountain chains where moisture is sufficient for 

 tree growth. They also extend into the drier, brush-covered foot' 

 hills and to other areas where conservation of water supplies is 

 essential. These mountains and foothills embrace the headwaters 

 which furnish about 85 percent of the flow of major western rivers 

 and streams used for irrigation, for water power, and for domestic 

 use. 



Grasses and other forage plants suitable for use by domestic 

 livestock are produced in natural openings and under the trees 

 where they are not too dense. Approximately 80 million acres, 

 or 50 percent of the total area of national-forest lands in conti- 

 nental United States, produces forage. Most of this grazing area 

 is found in the West. The main forage plants on western national- 

 forest ranges are bunchgrasses and other tender herbs which 

 seldom form a sod. If, however, they are as abundant as the 

 normal soil moisture permits, their fibrous roots interlace between 

 the tufts under the bare soil spaces, and their spreading root 

 systems, along with plant litter on the surface, help to hold the 

 soil in place, keep it mellow and porous, and facilitate moisture 

 penetration. The moisture absorbed by the soil is used to produce 

 forage and other vegetative cover, evaporates, or passes on to 

 underground flow where it issues later in the form of streams 

 and springs. 



