-,g^gg^g^8»i,>e*f>>»->3ife. 



-j?^^^' 



^^W**^'*^*.p^ 



F— 403271 



Figure 33. — Severe gullying of this forest-range eco- 

 system resulted from improper grazing management. 



Range management, as an art and a science, 

 was developed initially in response to the needs 

 of society to correct resource damage and to 

 prevent further damage and losses. These needs 

 for conservation and stewardship continue. 

 More recently, however, society has become in- 

 creasingly interested in forest-range as a part 

 of the total environment. As a result, even high- 

 er demands may be placed upon the forest- 

 range. 



The qualitative outputs of the forest-range 

 environment and their demands are discussed 

 in very broad and general terms. In the subse- 

 quent analysis the values of these outputs are 

 handled as changes in index numbers. Choices 

 are simply between an improvement or deterio- 

 ration of the base index. Generally, a practice 

 is considered satisfactory when it does not 

 cause the index values to decrease. 



Recreation 



Forest-range environment provides Ameri- 

 cans with outdoor recreation. The general out- 

 look is for growth of outdoor recreation activ- 

 ities. Open space and interesting and beautiful 

 landscapes attract more and more people to 

 forest-range. Demands for opportunities for 

 camping and picnicking, hunting and fishing, 

 hiking and rock hunting, and other outdoor 

 recreation activities are all expanding. These 

 increases in demands vary by type of activity 

 and location (fig. 34). 



Maintaining the quality of recreational op- 

 portunities and integrating recreation with 

 other uses depend upon thorough understand- 

 ing of range ecosystems. For example, livestock 

 grazing, as one means for managing landscapes, 

 can stimulate wildflower production or alter the 

 herbaceous growth in and around recreational 

 areas. 



Most outdoor recreation is site-oriented. Out- 

 door recreation is not bought and sold in the 

 open market to any great extent. It cannot be 



RECREATION REQUIREMENTS 



1 Camping (developed) 



2 Picnicking 



3 Horseback Riding 



4 Hiking 



5 Fishing 



6 Hunting 



r600 



1965 



1980 



Figure 34. 



2000 



52 



