"The forest reserves belong to all the people, but of necessity, under proper management, their use for grazing purposes can only be allowed to a limited number. Therefore, it is fair and just that those who receive the grazing privilege should pay a small fee which will go towards helping to pay the running expenses of the reserves."
Gifford Pinchot
Forester of the Department of Agriculture,
Albuquerque Citizen, January 2, 1906
"They drift around in search of good feeding grounds,...regardless of the interests of any one else..the result being that the range is kept grazed off close and soon suffers from the result of overgrazing.. In some localities the range has been overcrowded and injured by this system of grazing until it has become almost impossible for settlers and homeseekers to find pasture for the small herds of cattle and horses necessary for their success in the establishment of a home."
"High up against the side of the great mountain the ranger rides to look after the sheep herds Here above timber-line, on the lovely alpine meadows, the sheep men bring their ewes and lambs to graze. The rich succulent mountain grasses furnish the ewes with plenty of milk, and the little lambs grow like weeds all summer long...
Deep in a mountain canon near a spring he finds a dead colt. It needs but little observation to show him that this is the work of some mountain lion He notes the spot, and tomorrow he will return with his traps and some poison, and try to capture or kill the beast, for this, too, is one of his varied duties. Down on the lower ranges his traps are set all the time for coyotes and timber wolves.
In one of the higher mountain peaks in a wet, swampy place, he finds two dead cows He notes the brands and earmarks, that the owners may be told of their losses A little of the botany he has picked up along with his other accomplishments shows him that their death is due to the presence of the deadly larkspur; and if there is not too much of it, he spends an hour or two cutting it out with his hatchet If the patch is too large, he will report it to his supervisor, who will probably send some barbed wire to fence in the infested area, and thus keep the cattle from eating it."
"High up against the side of the great mountain the ranger rides to look after the sheep herds Here above timber-line, on the lovely alpine meadows, the sheep men bring their ewes and lambs to graze. The rich succulent mountain grasses furnish the ewes with plenty of milk, and the little lambs grow like weeds all summer long...
Deep in a mountain canon near a spring he finds a dead colt. It needs but little observation to show him that this is the work of some mountain lion He notes the spot, and tomorrow he will return with his traps and some poison, and try to capture or kill the beast, for this, too, is one of his varied duties. Down on the lower ranges his traps are set all the time for coyotes and timber wolves.
In one of the higher mountain peaks in a wet, swampy place, he finds two dead cows He notes the brands and earmarks, that the owners may be told of their losses A little of the botany he has picked up along with his other accomplishments shows him that their death is due to the presence of the deadly larkspur; and if there is not too much of it, he spends an hour or two cutting it out with his hatchet If the patch is too large, he will report it to his supervisor, who will probably send some barbed wire to fence in the infested area, and thus keep the cattle from eating it."
protection for the rancher is the law
"(5) to prevent economic disruption and harm to the western livestock industry, it is in the public interest to charge a fee for livestock grazing permits and leases on the public lands."
43 USC Ch. 37: PUBLIC RANGELANDS IMPROVEMENT
From Title 43—PUBLIC LANDS
PUBLIC RangeLANDS improvement Act, 1978
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