Our National Forests Part 14

_Protective and Maximum Limits._ In order to secure an equitable distribution of grazing privileges, the District Forester establishes protective limits covering the number of stock for which the permits of Cla.s.s A owners will be exempt from reduction in the renewal of their permits. Permits for numbers in excess of the protective limits will be subject to necessary reductions and will not be subject to increase in number except through purchase of stock or ranches of other permittees.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 75. Sheep grazing on the Montezuma National Forest at the foot of Mt. Wilson, Colorado. Over 7,500,000 sheep and goats grazed on the National Forests during the fiscal year 1917.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 76. Grazing cattle on a National Forest in Colorado. Permits were issued during 1917 to graze over 2,000,000 cattle, horses, and swine on the National Forests.]

Protective limits are established to protect permittees from reduction in the number of stock which they are allowed to graze under permit below a point where the business becomes too small to be handled at a profit or to contribute its proper share toward the maintenance of a home. The average number of stock which a settler must graze in order to utilize the products of his farm and derive a reasonable profit is determined upon each Forest or, if necessary, upon each grazing district thereof, and serves as the basis for the protective limit. Protective limits have been established for various Forests running from 25 to 300 head of cattle and from 500 to 2,000 head of sheep and goats.

Increases above the protective limit are allowed only to purchasers of stock and ranches of permit holders and any such increase must not exceed the maximum limit. Cla.s.s A permittees owning a less number of stock than the protective limit are allowed to increase their number gradually. Whenever it is found necessary to reduce the number of stock allowed in any National Forest, Cla.s.s C stock is excluded before the other cla.s.ses are reduced. The reduction on a sliding scale is then applied to Cla.s.s B owners. Cla.s.s A owners are exempt from reduction.

When new stock owners are allowed the use of National Forest range upon a Forest already fully stocked, reductions in the number of permitted stock of Cla.s.s B and C owners is made in order to make room for the new man. Thus it is seen that the matter of protective limits is actually a protection to the small stock owner; he is protected from the monopoly of the range by big corporations.

When necessary to prevent monopoly of the range by large stock owners, the District Forester establishes maximum limits in the number of stock for which a permit may be issued to any one person, firm or corporation.

_Prohibition of Grazing._ It often becomes necessary to prohibit all grazing on an area within a National Forest or at least to materially reduce the amount of stock which is allowed to graze on a given area.

Sheep may be excluded from a timber-sale area for a certain number of years after cutting or until the reproduction has become well established. Where planting operations are being carried on it is usually necessary to exclude all cla.s.ses of stock. If investigations show that grazing is responsible for the lack of reproduction over a considerable area, the area or a portion of it may be withdrawn from range use until young growth has become established again. The watersheds of streams supplying water for irrigation, munic.i.p.al or domestic purposes may be closed to grazing of any or all kinds of domestic stock when necessary to prevent erosion and floods or diminution in water supply. Camping grounds required for the accommodation of the public may be closed to the grazing of permitted stock. Limited areas which are the natural breeding or feeding grounds of game animals or birds may be closed to grazing. Areas within National Forests infested seriously by poisonous plants may be closed to grazing.

_Protection of Grazing Interests._ The protection of National Forest grazing interests is secured by the prevention of overgrazing, by the prevention of damage to roads, trails, or water sources, by the proper bedding of sheep and goats, by the proper disposition of carca.s.ses, by salting the stock and by the proper observation of the national and state live stock and quarantine laws.

When an owner, who has a permit, is ready to drive in his stock upon the National Forest he must notify the nearest Forest officer concerning the number to be driven in. If called upon to do so he must provide for having his stock counted before entering a National Forest. Each permittee must repair all damage to roads or trails caused by the presence of his stock. Sheep and goats are not allowed to be bedded more than three nights in succession in the same place (except during the lambing season) and must not be bedded within 300 yards of any running or living spring. The carca.s.ses of all animals which die on the National Forests from contagious or infectious diseases must be burned and are not permitted to lie in the close vicinity of water. In order to facilitate the handling of stock and prevent their straying off their range, they must be salted at regular intervals and at regular places.

In order to facilitate the moving of stock by stockmen from their home ranches to their grazing allotments and to minimize the damage of grazing animals to the Forests, stock driveways are established over regular routes of travel.

SPECIAL USES

All uses of National Forest lands and resources permitted by the Secretary of Agriculture, except those specifically provided for in the regulations covering water power, timber sales, timber settlement, the free use of timber, and grazing, are designated "special uses."

Among these are the use or occupancy of lands for residences, farms, apiaries, dairies, schools, churches, stores, mills, factories, hotels, sanitariums, summer resorts, telephone and telegraph lines, roads and railways; the occupancy of lands for dams, reservoirs and conduits not used for power purposes; and the use of stone, sand, and gravel. No charge is made for a large number of these permits, some of which are the following: (1) agricultural use by applicants having preference rights under the Act of June 11, 1906; (2) schools, churches, and cemeteries; (3) cabins for the use of miners, prospectors, trappers, and stockmen in connection with grazing permits; (4) saw mills sawing princ.i.p.ally National Forest timber; (5) conduits, and reservoirs for irrigation or mining or for munic.i.p.al water supply; (6) roads and trails (which must be free public highways); (7) telephone lines and telegraph lines with free use of poles and connections for the Forest Service.

The occupancy and use of National Forest land or resources under a special use permit (except those given free of charge) are conditioned upon the payment of a charge and are based upon certain rates.

Agricultural use of land is given to permittees at a charge of from 25 cents to $1.00 an acre. Not over 160 acres are allowed to any one permittee. Cabins cost from $3.00 to $5.00; hay cutting from 20 to 50 cents an acre; hotels and roadhouses from $10.00 to $50.00; pastures from 4 to 25 cents per acre; residences covering from one to three acres cost from $5.00 to $25.00; resorts from $10.00 to $50.00; stores from $5.00 to $50.00 for two acres or less; and other uses in proportion.

Perhaps the use that is purchased most of all on the National Forests is that for residences and summer homes. On many of the Forests they are already in great demand. A large proportion of the population of the far Western States seek the cool and invigorating air of the mountains in the early summer because the heat of the valleys, especially in California, is almost unbearable.

There are many desirable pieces of land on the National Forests that are being reserved by the Forest Service especially for this purpose for the people of the neighboring towns. For example, on the Angeles National Forest in California the Supervisor had about 250 suitable sites surveyed in one picturesque canyon and in six months 226 of them were under special use permits as summer homes.

A large reservoir--Huntington Lake--was constructed on the Sierra National Forest in California as the result of a dam constructed by a hydro-electric power company. Immediately there was a keen demand among the residents of San Joaquin Valley for summer homes on the sh.o.r.es of the lake. In a few years it is expected there will be a permanent summer colony of from 2,000 to 3,000 people. The Forest Service has already authorized an expenditure of $1,500 in order to furnish an adequate supply of domestic water for the colony.

CLAIMS AND SETTLEMENT

Claims can be initiated upon National Forest lands under (1) the Act of June 11, 1906, (2) under the mining laws, and (3) under the coal land laws. In connection with these claims it is the duty of the Forest Service to examine them, but the determination of questions involving t.i.tle is within the jurisdiction of the Secretary of the Interior.

It is the purpose of the Forest Service to protect the lands of the United States within the National Forests from acquisition by those who do not seek them for purposes recognized by law. When it is apparent that an entry or a claim is not initiated in good faith and in compliance with the spirit of the law under which it was a.s.serted, but is believed from the facts to be a subterfuge to acquire t.i.tle to timber land, or to control range privileges, water, a water-power site, or rights of way; or if it otherwise interferes with the interests of the National Forests in any way, the Forest Service recommends a contest, even if the technical requirements of the law appear to have been fulfilled. It is bad faith, for instance, to hold a mining or agricultural claim primarily for the timber thereon or to acquire a site valuable for water power development.

_The National Forest Homestead Act._ At the present time there is very little, if any, fraud connected with the Forest Homestead Act because the land is cla.s.sified before it is opened to entry. The greater part of the work dealing with fraudulent claims is a relic of the old regime.

Before the Forests were established many Homestead and Timber and Stone entries were made for the purpose of securing valuable timber.

A large number of persons resorted to settlement in order to secure the preference right. It was the common custom in those days for land cruisers to locate men on heavily timbered land either before or immediately after survey and before the filing of the plats and the opening of the land to entry. A cabin would be built upon the land and some unsubstantial improvements made. When the National Forests were created they contained great numbers of these squatters' cabins. Many were abandoned but others attempted to secure t.i.tle. Under the old Timber and Stone Act timber could be secured for $2.50 per acre, but the National Forests are not subject to entry under this act. So as a last resort the squatters tried to prove up on the land under the Homestead law. When the Forests were created the Service found a great many of these fraudulent claims on their books, many of which were being brought up annually for patent. Between December, 1908, and June 30, 1913, a total of 498 entries for National Forest land were canceled in a single administrative district. These entries represented fraudulent efforts to secure t.i.tle to 85,906 acres of National Forest land for speculative purposes, involving nearly a billion feet of merchantable timber. During the fiscal year 1913 alone 300,000,000 board feet of merchantable timber in one district was retained in public ownership primarily because the Forest officers brought out the facts. The lands in all cases were covered with heavy stands of timber, very small portions of the land had been cleared, the claimant's residence on the land was not in compliance with the law, seldom was any crop raised on the land, and the claimant in other ways did not carry out the intent of the law.

The Act of June 11, 1906, known as the National Forest Homestead Act, provides for the acquisition by qualified entrymen of agricultural lands within National Forests. The Act is in effect an extension of the general provisions of the Homestead laws to the agricultural lands within the National Forests, with the essential difference that the land must be cla.s.sified by the Secretary of Agriculture as chiefly valuable for agriculture.

This Act authorizes the Secretary of Agriculture in his discretion to examine and ascertain, upon application or otherwise, the location and extent of lands both surveyed and unsurveyed in the National Forests, chiefly valuable for agriculture, which may be occupied for agricultural purposes without injury to the National Forests or public interests. He is authorized to list and describe such lands by metes and bounds or otherwise and to file such lists and descriptions with the Secretary of the Interior for opening to entry in accordance with the provisions of the Act. Agricultural lands listed by the Secretary of Agriculture are opened by the Secretary of the Interior to homestead entry in tracts not exceeding 160 acres at the expiration of 60 days from the filing of the lists in the local Land Office. Notice of the filing of the list is posted in the local Land Office and is published for a period of not less than four weeks in a local newspaper. The Act provides that the person upon whose application the land is examined and listed, if a qualified entryman, shall have the preference right of entry. To exercise this preference right, application to enter must be filed in the local Land Office within 60 days after the filing of the list in that office. The entryman can perfect his t.i.tle to the land within a certain period of years by fulfilling certain conditions of residence and cultivation.

By the Act of June 6, 1912, known as the "Three Year Homestead Act," the period of residence necessary to be shown in order to ent.i.tle a person to patent under the Homestead laws is reduced from 5 to 3 years and the period within which a homestead entry may be completed is reduced from 7 to 5 years. The new law requires the claimant to cultivate not less than 1/16 of the area of his entry beginning with the second year of entry and not less than 1/8 beginning with the third year and until final proof, except that in the case of the enlarged Homestead laws, double the areas given are required. On a 160-acre claim, therefore, it is required that 1/8 or 20 acres be under cultivation. A mere breaking of the soil does not meet the requirements of the statute, but such breaking of the soil must be accompanied by planting and sowing of seed and tillage for a crop other than native gra.s.ses. The period within which the cultivation should be made is reckoned from the date of the entry. The Secretary of the Interior, however, is authorized upon a satisfactory showing therefor to reduce the required area of cultivation on account of financial disabilities or misfortunes of the entryman or on account of special physical and climatic conditions of the land which make cultivation difficult. The entryman must establish an actual residence upon the land entered, 6 months after the date of the entry.

After the establishment of residence the entryman is permitted to be absent from the land for one continuous period of not more than 5 months in each year following. He must also file at the local Land Office notice of the beginning of such intended absence.

_The Mining Laws._ Mineral deposits within National Forests are open to development exactly as on unreserved public land. A prospector can go anywhere he chooses and stake a claim wherever he finds any evidences of valuable minerals. The only restriction is that mining claims must be bona fide ones and not taken up for the purpose of acquiring valuable timber or a town or a water power site, or to monopolize the water supply of a stock range. Prospectors may obtain a certain amount of National Forest timber free of charge to be used in developing their claims. More than 500 mining claims are patented within the National Forests every fiscal year.

A good example of mining claims located for fraudulent purposes were those located on the rim and sides of the Grand Canyon in Arizona to prevent the people from gaining free access to the canyon and make them pay to enter it. These claims were shown to be fraudulent since no deposits of any kind were ever found on them. They were canceled by the higher courts and the land reverted to the people.

_Coal-Land Laws._ Coal lands are mineral lands and as such are subject to entry the same as other mineral lands in the National Forests.

ADMINISTRATIVE USE OF NATIONAL FOREST LANDS

Lands within National Forests may be selected for administrative uses such as Supervisor's and Ranger's headquarters, gardens, pastures, corrals, planting or nursery sites or rights-of-way. These administrative sites are necessary for the present and probable future requirements of the Forest Service for fire protection and the transaction of business on the National Forests.

WATER POWER, TELEPHONE, TELEGRAPH, AND POWER TRANSMISSION LINES

Along the streams within the National Forests are many sites suitable for power development. These are open to occupancy for such purposes and have the advantage of being on streams whose headwaters are protected.

The aggregate capacity of the water power sites on the National Forests is estimated at 12,000,000 horsepower.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 77. North Clear Creek Falls, Rio Grande National Forest, Colorado. The National Forests contain about one-third of all the potential water-power resources of the United States.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 78. The power plant of the Colorado Power Company, on the Grand River, Holy Cross National Forest, Colorado. Every fiscal year there is a substantial increase in water power development on the National Forests.]

The Government does not permit the monopolization of power in any region or allow sites to be held for speculative purposes. The objects of the regulations are to secure prompt and full development and to obtain a reasonable compensation for the use of the land occupied and the beneficial protection given the watershed.

Permits for power development on the National Forests usually run for a term of 50 years and may be renewed at their expiration upon compliance with the regulations then existing. Such permits, while granting liberal terms to applicants, contain ample provision for the protection of the public interests.

Applications for power permits are filed with the District Forester of the Forest Service District in which the desired site is located.

Preliminary permits are issued to protect an applicant's priority against subsequent applicants until he has had an opportunity to study the proper location and design of the project and to obtain the data necessary for the final application. Operation is allowed under the final permit only. The permittee is required to pay an annual rental charge under the preliminary and final power permits and definite periods are specified for the filing of the final application, beginning of construction and of operation. The rental charges are nominal in amount, the maximum being about 1/16 of a cent per kilowatt hour. The amount of annual payment for transmission lines is $5.00 for each mile or fraction thereof if National Forest land is crossed by the line. No rental charges are made for small power projects (under 100 horsepower capacity), or for transmission lines used in connection therewith, or for transmission lines which are part of a power project under permit or for any power project in which power is to be used by a munic.i.p.al corporation for munic.i.p.al purposes.

The Secretary of Agriculture has authority to permit the use of rights-of-way through the National Forests for conduits, reservoirs, power plants, telephone and telegraph lines to be used for irrigation, mining, and domestic purposes and for the production and transmission of electric power. No rental charges are made for the telephone and telegraph rights-of-way, but the applicant must agree to furnish such facilities to Forest officers and to permit such reasonable use of its poles or lines as may be determined or agreed upon between the applicant and the District Forester.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 79. This is only one of the thousands of streams in the National Forests of the West capable of generating electric power. It has been estimated that over 40 per cent. of the water power resources of the western states are included in the National Forests.

Photo by the author.]

[Ill.u.s.tration: Figure 80. View in the famous orange belt of San Bernardino County, California. These orchards depend absolutely upon irrigation. The watersheds from which the necessary water comes are in the National Forests and are protected by the Forest Service. Some of the smaller watersheds in these mountains are said to irrigate orchards valued at $10,000,000.]