U.S. Forest Service History > Policy > Grazing

People

Places

Policy

Grazing

Publications

Collections Database

Search this site

Grazing

Image of sheep grazing on the Apache National Forest. (Forest Service Headquarters History Collection). Click for more image information.

Although Congress identified the protection of timber and water supplies as the only objectives for the nation's forest reserves, sheep and cattle grazing immediately established a presence on forest and grasslands across the western United States. In fact, few uses of the public lands have proven more iconographic or potent than those represented by the livestock industry. From the romantic vision of the American cowboy to the devastated rangelands caused by "hooved locusts," grazing practices have led variously to both reform and rebellion. The Forest History Society Collection includes early agency documents, scientific reports, and even a bilingual manual for managing what remains a prominent presence on multiple use public lands.

 

Jardine, J. T. and Mark Anderson, "Range Management on the National Forests." (1919), cover and excerpt [html]

Handling Sheep in the National Forests (1920) [pdf]

Hill, R. R. "Browse Problem in Region 3" (1930) [html] [pdf]

Miller, Char. "Grazing Arizona: Public Land Management in the Southwest." (1999) [pdf]


Page updated: May 16, 2007
  People | Places | Policy | Publications | Collections Database
 
Staff Contact Information

Forest History Society home page

U. S. Forest Service home page