The National Forests of Arizona 3 



A large grazing industry is dependent for range upon the national 

 forests of Arizona. In fact, much of the summer range of the State 

 is located upon these forests, to which the cattle naturally drift and 

 the sheep are driven in the spring. About 290,000 cattle and 280,000 

 sheep find range on these mountainous areas. Although there are 

 some very large stockmen using national forest range, the great 

 majority of the grazing permittees are owners of small herds, and 

 many of them have farms in connection with their stock business. 

 The Forest Service encourages the use of the range by this class 

 of stock raisers, and under the Government permit system they are 

 given ample protection for their stock. 



It has always been the fundamental policy of the Forest Service to 

 put the national forests to their highest use, consistent with the 

 primary purpose of their establishment, for timber production and 



Fig. 2. — When ripe the timber on the national forests may be cut. Provision for future 

 stands is made bj' leaving seed trees 



watershed protection. That is why regulated grazing is allowed, 

 why agricultural lands may be homesteadecl, and why occupancy 

 permits for many other uses are issued. 



The grazing capacity of the various forest ranges has been estab- 

 lished as a result of scientific study, and upon each range is allowed 

 only so much stock as can use it without detriment to the growing 

 timber and the range. Improvements, such as drift fences and 

 water-development projects, have been constructed on many of these 

 ranges in order that they may be fully utilized. ]\Iost of these 

 have been built by the permittees themselves, although a few for 

 which funds were available were financed in part by Government 

 funds. 



Several years ago the lands within the forests were classified and 

 all those found suited to agriculture were listed as homesteads. 



