West though it does not appear likely that any major new areas in the Western States will be set aside for this kind of use in the immediate future.

It is quite likely that the total area of lands set aside for military and defense purposes in the Western States may be reduced over the years. Some of these lands may then become available for various kinds of development. Others, however, may have been used by the military services for various kinds of weapons testing operations, in which case some of the areas released from military use may not become available for immediate development. The value of the lands may not, for some years, warrant the public costs involved in decontaminating the areas.

Another kind of land use particularly applying to the West, and one which is growing significantly every year relates to the use of the "broad outdoors" for recreation purposes. This applies to extensive outdoor recreation use rather than the intensive use or development of a particular or specific area. This kind of recreation takes in the whole outdoors, and it may grow by leaps and bounds as the new interstate highway systems are built.

Patterns of land use in the West will, I think, change in the future along many of the same lines that they have been changing in the past. One hundred sixty-acre homesteads will continue to be consolidated into larger economic farm units. The cities will continue to expand farther and farther into the rural areas. Some lands now regarded as too arid or too mountainous may be settled and developed by people looking for places to live beyond the reach of the cities.

There is one additional new horizon in the field of resource development which may some day be open and available to the West for development. This is the ocean floor beyond our western coastline. As a source of food, minerals, and other materials, we have as yet never tapped the ocean. floor or the waters above it more than superficially. In addition to fish from the ocean and oil from the floor of the sea, we as yet know very little about the world's marine wealth. If the world's population increases and we need more and more food and raw materials, perhaps one day man will cause the seas to part and, like our Biblical ancestors, we will find in the sea a new road to survival.

The job of locating and developing the raw materials and resource potential of the United States and particularly the Western States will be a task that is broadly shared by government, by business and industry, and by individual citizens.

As the agency responsible for more than 175 million acres in the Western States (not counting Alaska), the Bureau of Land Management will continue to play an important role in resource development.

A look ahead to the land and resource needs in the next 4 decades leads me to the conclusion that

the jobs ahead will probably dwarf the accomplishments already made. The important key, however, is the fact that the decisions made today and jobs undertaken tomorrow will, in many cases, predetermine what is going to happen even by the year 2000.

A young seedling planted this afternoon on a forest slope in Georgia could be harvested-in about the year 2000. Another seedling planted here today on the lower slopes of the Rocky Mountains could in the year 2000 still be another 4 decades away from its time for harvest. In like manner the job of rebuilding the productivity of eroded grassland may take many years and only then be assured of success by adequate rain.

The jobs ahead are ones which will require forethought-planning-hard work-and cooperation in much larger measure than what we have known in the past. Your conference here this week will, I am sure, have contributed much knowledge and understanding of the problems and, perhaps tentatively, some of the solutions. From a full awareness of what the future may mean, programs and plans for the present may be built. Let's get the job done.

OIL LEASING PROCEDURES CHANGED

End

All interested parties will be assured an equal opportunity to file applications for lands formerly under Federal oil and gas leases as the result of changes in leasing regulations. The new regulations covering filing procedures apply to wildcat lands where an existing lease is canceled, expired, relinquished, or terminated. The new regulations will not affect regular 5-year extensions of existing leases.

The new system will call for a 5-day period each month during which applications may be filed for lands involved in the previous month's canceled, expired, relinquished, or terminated leases. The 5-day period would follow the third Monday of each month or the next working day if Monday is a holiday. On that Monday each BLM Land Office will post a notice on the bulletin board listing the lands available. All applications received during the 5-day period will be treated as if they had been filed simultaneously. Priorities of applications will be determined by a public drawing procedure.

Offers to lease lands involved in the four categories of old leases must meet the acreage requirements for all Federal oil and gas lease offers.

The changes have been designed to afford all interested parties an equal opportunity to file applications for lands formerly under lease. It will incidentally save much wear and tear on the public land records. The previous system had placed a premium on making rapid searches of Land Office records each morning to find lands newly available for leasing.

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yes!-with good cooperation between man and nature.

Some soils are of such an unstable nature that the removal of the trees would have the soil miles downstream before a substantial cover of grass could be established. Needless to say, such areas are bypassed. However, in areas where piñon control is practiced, erosion control projects complement the piñon control. In other words, whenever needed, small gully plugs, detention dams, or pit dams are constructed in conjunction with the piñon control. Although the removal of the trees releases the natural grasses for rapid reproduction, seed is broadcast from vehicles or by air to help nature establish a better cover of grass on the soil.

It is interesting to note that on the second pass of the chain the smaller gullies are usually filled with trees and limbs which drop under the chain, thus forming excellent plugs at the heads of the gullies.

Much has been said concerning piñon control, but what about the reasons for such a project? The reasons and results are as follows:

The increased forage on the range land will support more livestock and offer a monetary return for the investment in the land.

After the grass is well established, the erosion will decrease since such grasses as blue grama form a mat that is superior to piñon and juniper in control of erosive water caused by melting snow and heavy rains.

Small trees and browse are usually pliant enough to allow the chain to ride over them; thus good wildlife food is not only protected, but increased by the reduction of competition.

The present demand for fireplace wood in this area has resulted in the issuance of contracts for the cutting of such timber from control areas, thus helping clear the land for improved grasslands. The timber contracts also help defray the cost to the Government since from $1 to $3 per acre is derived from the sale of wood.

Is piñon removal a losing proposition in the terms of money? We believe not. But how do you assess a square foot of top soil that is kept out of the Gulf of Mexico? It is difficult to place an intrinsic value on such soil. Yet, to deny its worth is folly. Thus, erosion control benefits are mentioned in a somewhat abstract manner. Con

versely, improved forage capacity is more con

crete.

Our increasing population and growing economy are placing an additional burden upon our lands. Increasing the forage capacity of Federal range land is one method of keeping pace with the demands. Piñon control does just that. The release of sunlight and additional moisture produces greatly increased forage yields, sometimes & doubling or tripling the previous capacity. Under proper management this means a proportionate increase in livestock. In the long run we feel that piñon control will pay its own way in Colorado.

A very gratifying aspect of piñon control is the interest shown by ranchers. Realizing the value of such a program, an increasing number are chaining piñon on their own private lands. This fact alone acts as an endorsement to the economic feasibility of such a project. Cooperating with the Agricultural Stabilization and Conservation Committee, ranchers can obtain a maximum cost share of 50 percent of the chaining operation, not to exceed $3 per acre. Bureau employees heartily approve such actions and hope that more of this will be done in the future.

Piñon control, through the use of an anchor chain, has thus far proven highly successful. This kind of land treatment will continue to do its share towards the improvement of our Federal range lands.

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ACTIVE ACRES

(Continued from page 11)

But the regulations are sufficiently flexible to permit the Department of the Interior to raise the safeguards in cases where the minimum controls would be inadequate to protect scenic or other recreational values of the public lands.

They provide for close coordination between public land billboard and advertising standards set up by the Department of Commerce as part of the Federal highway program and the standards set by State authorities for other highways and roads.

Applications for billboard or advertising on public lands are handled by the Bureau of Land Management. The usual permit procedure involves the issuance of a special land use permit which, under the new regulations, would incorporate the necessary standards. The permits may be revoked at any time.

Billboard owners and advertisers on public lands are charged an annual fee based upon the fair rental value of the privilege. They also pay a $10 application service fee.

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