Increased attention will be given to the identification of areas having recreational value and to the integration of such recreational uses with other uses under a balanced use management program. Cooperation with local, county, and State organizations in planning for the development and management of areas having significant value for recreational use will be accelerated. Coordination of uses of public lands with intermingled private lands to facilitate efficient and workable multiple use management will require increasing emphasis, particularly with respect to public access. Studies will be continued in cooperation with western State colleges and universities and the Agricultural Research Service and Forest Service Research to determine more effective techniques for range evaluation, management, and rehabilitation, and coordination of the various uses, particularly with respect to wildlife and domestic livestock. A comprehensive study of grazing uses of the Federal range and other grazing areas of a similar nature will be conducted and completed which will provide a realistic base for the determination of appropriate grazing fees. (b) Fire Presuppression The estimate of $659,000 is an increase of $401,000 to permit substantial expansion in all phases of fire presuppression. Need for increase.-Wild fires on public lands are a constant threat to the conservation of our natural resources. During calendar year 1959, 267,000 acres were burned requiring $1.6 million for suppression. Calendar year 1960 was one of the most critical burning periods in the Bureau's history. Reports to date indicate that the Bureau suppressed over 900 fires at a cost in excess of $3.5 million which burned more than 300,000 acres of Federal resources. The frequency of fires continues to increase with expanded use of public domain lands and increased flammable vegetation. Nearly 60 percent of all range fires are man caused. The 900 fires that were suppressed during calendar year 1960 represent an increase of approximately 17 percent over calendar year 1959, and an increase of approximately 29 percent over the average of 730 fire suppressions for the previous 5 years. In view of the growing fire danger to the public lands, presuppression activities need to be expanded to the level required to properly organize, train, and equip an adequate fire-control organization. Inadequacy of this phase of the program can create safety hazards, threaten human life, and almost invariably result in increased costs of fire suppression as well as in the loss of surface resources. The increase of $401,000 is urgently required to provide for the improvement of the detection systems to all high fire risk and hazard areas, to provide adequate action directed toward fire prevention, including education, law enforcement, and hazard reduction; to expand the radio communication systems to obtain complete coverage of all high risk and hazard areas and to provide for orderly replacement of equipment and facilities as they become worn out or obsolete. In addition, improved planning, training, and organization are essential for efficient suppression action which should result in significant savings in fire-suppression costs, plus reduction in acreage burned. The severity and extensiveness of the recent fire season demonstrates the necessity of expanding manpower, organization, and facilities available for expeditious handling of the fire-control program. Plan of work.-Hazard reduction will be strengthened by more than doubling the number of firebreaks in strategic locations to prevent the spread of fires. The fire danger rating and detection systems will be improved to provide earlier warning and detection for more aggressive action on fires occurring on or threatening public rangelands. The effectiveness of fire-retardant application by aircraft will be increased by modernization of the detection system and through additional facilities including the expansion of the radio communication systems to high fire risk and hazard areas. The prevention program will be expanded to increase public awareness of the detrimental effects of fire on the natural resources and to solicit assistance in reducing the number of man-caused fires. The increased funds will permit more intensive training of personnel in the factors of fire behavior, fire physics, fire meteorology, and fire suppression tactics as measures of improving fire preparedness. Action will be taken to improve the facilities in areas of high risk and hazard to provide the early action necessary to reduce the risk of large conflagrations. Some of the equipment used for firefighting is worn out or obsolete and the increase will provide an orderly replacement of such equipment. The complement of equipment and personnel in areas of high frequency of fires will be strengthened to provide for more prompt suppression. The increased manpower also will provide an opportunity to investigate instances where reimbursement may be due the Government from trespassers who have caused fires. Emphasis on enforcement of laws should result in the reduction of man-caused fires. Administration of grazing lands STATUS OF PROGRAM This activity provides for the grazing administration and management on 176 million acres of public lands in 13 Western States (exclusive of Alaska) which are used by 10 million livestock owned and operated by nearly 29,000 stockmen. These ranges annually provide food and habitat for 1,500,000 big game animals and associated recreational uses for over 5 million people in the form of hunting and access to fishing streams. The routine administrative functions including the issuance of grazing licenses and permits and collection of grazing fees must continue. Increasing demands for multiple uses of the public lands require an accelerated program in range use supervision to minimize trespass and promote orderly and effectively integrated uses of these public lands. The range management responsibility is centered at the field level in 59 district offices employing 194 range managers. The range adjudication program within grazing districts is complete in Arizona and New Mexico. In the remaining eight Western States the job is 30 percent complete on a number of operator basis. The 1961 increase of $300,000 for range adjudication and range surveys will permit increased accomplishments of 61 percent in range surveys and 26 percent in range adjudication over the 1960 fiscal year level. Comprehensive coverage of the Federal range by condition and trend studies was completed for the first time in 1959. These studies show that 17 percent of the total public range acreage is in good or excellent condition, 52 percent is in fair condition, and 31 percent is in poor condition; also that 24 percent of the acreage is improving, 57 percent is static or indefinite and 19 percent is declining in range condition. Fire presuppression This activity also provides for preparedness in prevention, detection, and suppression of fires on 173 million acres of public domain in the Western States. Fire danger and risk on these public land areas increases with the continuing increase of public use. Greater preparedness will lessen fire losses. Reliance has been placed on seasonal per diem guards to take initial action on fire suppression. The individuals serving as per diem guards are self-employed and have as first interest their vocations and are not always in a position to take immediate action. Expansion of the Bureau's fire control organization plus the efforts of the per diem guards will improve fire suppression efforts with consequent savings in resource losses. Annual training is necessary to orient personnel with new organization and fire fighting techniques. More intensive training is planned to develop an organization consistent with the resource being protected. Emphasis will be placed upon interpretation of fire behavior factors as influenced by fuel and weather conditions. A VHF radio communication system has been planned for all areas but installations are only about two-thirds complete. This system is necessary to provide direct communications between the detection system and the organization doing the suppression work as well as providing communications on the fire line. Fire danger rating stations have been installed in most critical areas, but more are necessary to provide the Bureau with sufficient data to anticipate severe fire situations and take immediate steps of preparedness to suppress all fires which may occur with efficient and aggressive action. Installation of the required number of stations is approximately one-half complete. Many high fire hazard areas are remote and inaccessible and have inadequate detection facilities. Plans are to improve the detection system to cover all high risk and hazard areas, especially in the inaccessible and remote areas, to provide for early detection of all fires which occur thus insuring early suppression. Truck trails and fire breaks are likewise essential to effective fire control. Plans are to extend truck trails and fire breaks to all high fire risk and hazard areas with emphasis on the inaccessible and remote areas to curb fire apread and to provide rapid access for fire suppression action. Progress is being made in the attainment of improved detection facilities and extension of a truck trail and firebreak network. The estimate of $3,565,000 is an increase of $384,000 consisting of— (1) An increase of $7,000 to bring increased pay costs to a full year basis; (2) An increase of $310,000 to expand activities in forest management, primarily in support of the sale of less accessible timber, reduce timber trespass cases and increase set-aside timber sale efforts in cooperation with the Small Business Administration. (3) An increase of $17,000 in the Government's contribution to the reforestation of O. & C. lands; and, (4) An increase of $50,000 for contractual fire protection service as a result of increased costs. Need for increase.-Increasingly remote locations of timber, the cumulative effects of previous and current activities, expansion of forest management functions, and growing demands for services require a substantial increase in funds for fiscal year 1962. Among the specific activities which require additional funds or effort for fiscal year 1962 are those necessary to: (a) administer an additional 45,000 acres planted or seeded during fiscal years 1960-61; (b) finance additional fire contract costs ($50,000) resulting from rising costs of services and materials; (c) administer additional timber sales contracts, grant additional rights-of-way permits, and secure additional easements or rights-of-way for timber sales; (d) expand the sale of thinnings; (e) process up to 100 additional trespass cases; and (f) substantially expand the emphasis on advance planning for access roads, timber sales, and related activities. Plan of work.-Forestry activities conducted on the Oregon and California grant lands include the three major functions of forest management, forest development, and forest protection as described below: (1) Forest management: The estimates include $2,864,000 for this function which is an increase of $317,000 (including $7,000 related to pay costs) over the amount available for fiscal year 1961. Activities in this function include those directly related to production and sale of O. & C. timber on a sustained yield basis and compatible use of the O. & C. lands and their resources for maximum longterm local and national benefits. Forest products and many of the related resources which are harvested annually from the O. & C. lands are renewable resources. With appropriate protection and mangement successive crops can be harvested each year in perpetuity. Under such management this practice can be maintained on a substantial revenue producing basis for the foreseeable future. Continuous forest management planning is conducted as an essential prerequisite of efficient forestry programs. The size and complexity of the total resource management program for the O. & C. lands requires comprehensive planning to coordinate the program and to integrate it with those of other public agencies and intermingled private land and timber owners. Such planning contributes materially to the stability of local industries and local economies while also serving as a sound basis for resource management by the Bureau. A central feature in the forest management of the O. & C. lands is the establishment, by timber inventory, of the declared annual sustained yield allowable cut for these lands, which presently is 874.2 million board-feet. A perpetual inventory is required to maintain accurate, reliable basic timber volume, growth, depletion and mortality data and to keep a realistic relationship between such data and relevant technological and economic changes. Other Federal, State, county and private timber landowners in the Pacific Northwest are making a joint effort to establish and maintain a long-term and uniform inventory technique throughout the area. As a major land agency in the area, the Bureau participates in this effort which has been initiated, and should be fully established in fiscal year 1962. * The O. & C. Act (50 Stat. 874) states in part ((* ** not less than the annual sustained yield capacity when the same has been determined and declared, shall be sold annually" It is anticipated that timber sale offerings in 1962 will approximate 1 billion board-feet including approximately 120 million boardfeet of salvage and thinnings not chargeable to the allowable cut. Offering of this volume of timber is considered to reflect a balanced forestry program which requires an adequate sales program integrated with related management functions, including access, trespass control, land pattern adjustment, and administrative and technical operations. The average selling price per thousand board-feet was $34.19 in fiscal year 1960 as compared to $32.63 in fiscal year 1959. The average selling price is indicative of the current strong demand for O. & C. timber which is expected to continue. Rapid cutting of privately owned timber in this area also is expected to continue. The volume, sale price, and receipts for O. & C. and CBWR timber sold during fiscal year 1958-60 and estimated receipts for fiscal year 1961 and 1962 are as follows: Includes receipts from sale of Coos Bay Wagon Road Grant Lands timber. The average cost and average effort required to offer a given unit of O. & C. timber for sale in fiscal year 1962 is expected to be somewhat greater than in fiscal years 1960 and 1961, for the following reasons: (1) previously appraised timber will not be available; (2) remaining uncut timber is more remotely located, generally less concentrated, and situated on more rugged terrain; (3) more intensive forestry practices will be followed, including more check cruising and closer supervision of sales areas; (4) the rapidly expanded sales program has resulted in a greater number of sales areas which require increased administrative supervision, especially of sales made in previous years; (5) "set-aside" sales practices pursuant to Public Law 85-536 will require additional effort; and (6) approximately 17 million board feet of thinnings will be offered in fiscal year 1962. Much of the volume in young stands is lost by natural mortality. With appropriate techniques, it will be possible to salvage most of such material and thereby ultimately provide a greater supply of urgently needed timber for local industries. The checkerboard pattern of the O. & C. lands created many unavoidable access problems. The more than 2 million acres of O. & C. lands include over 7,000 separate tracts; they are intermingled with more than 10 million acres of lands in other ownership. To assure equal opportunity for competitive bidding for O. & C. timber, access to the timber is guaranteed prior to its offering. An estimated 274 right-of-way permits or easements involving 186 miles of route are needed by the Bureau for its 1961 sales program; 391 permits are needed for the 1962 sale program. Owners of lands intermingled with the O. & C. lands in turn require right-of-way permits to transport non-Federal timber across O. & C. lands or on O. & C. roads; an estimated 286 and 300 permits are needed by such parties in fiscal years 1961 and 1962, respectively. Additional efforts to secure satisfactory access to O. & C. timber will be needed in 1961-62 due to the more remote locations of much of the timber being offered for sale. The scattered nature of the O. & C. lands results in an ownership perimeter of approximately 13,220 miles. Much of this perimeter is not readily identifiable, and consequently, trespass is not uncommon. In many instances, trespass is unintentional. An estimated 500 cases involving 150 million board feet currently valued at $3,500,000 are known or suspected. During fiscal year 1960, 115 trespass cases involving 3.4 million board feet and $79,000 were closed. Planned expansion of this activity should permit the disposal of approximately 200 cases in 1962, including many of the more complex cases of long standing. Greater emphasis also will be given to prevention of further trespass and to detection of existing cases. (2) Forest development: The estimates include $100,000 for this function which is $17,000 over the amount available for fiscal year 1961. This amount represents the Government's contribution to the reforestation of the O. & C. lands. Reforestation is being financed primarily with funds contributed by the O. & C. counties on a ratio of about $7 by the counties to $1 by the Government. The increase for 1962 reflects a parallel increase by the counties. Details of this program are discussed under the appropriation, "Oregon and California grant lands." (3) Forest protection: The estimates include $601,000 for this function which is $50,000 over the amount available for fiscal year 1961. The increase is due to rising contract and service costs. The State of Oregon and the Forest Service have competent and well-equipped fire control organizations in the O. & C. area. The Bureau of Land Management makes use of these facilities through contractual arrangements in lieu of duplicating similar organizations for its own use. These contracts are negotiated on a rate per acre based on the cost experiences of the contractors. Additional elements of cost are the felling of snags, disposal of slash, development of fire trails, and extra protection for areas of high fire hazard which are usually covered by other contracts. Standing dead trees promote rapid spread of forest fires, and increase the problem of controlling going fires. Owners of adjacent or intermingled lands are felling snags, constructing fire truck trails, and clearing corridors across their own lands. It is mutually advantageous to the Bureau and intermingled landowners to coordinate their efforts in reducing these hazards. Approximately 2,145,700 acres of O. & C. lands are protected under contracts with the State of Oregon and the Forest Service. The Bureau contributes to presuppression and control measures by removal of snags, slash disposal, and development of fire trails. The program for fiscal year 1962 is as follows: The estimate of $3,673,000 is an increase of $819,000 consisting of: (1) An increase of $50,000 to bring increased pay costs to a full year basis. (2) An increase of $436,000 to expand activities in forest management in support of a larger timber sales program. (3) An increase of $170,000 to provide for the reforestation of an additional 3,300 acres. (4) An increase of $49,000 to cover a special assessment for contract costs and for studies of fire contract costs. (5) An increase of $114,000 to continue the expansion of the Alaskan fire protection system. Need for increase.-A steadily growing demand for timber from public domain lands, increasingly remote locations of such timber involving complex access problems, an expanded timber sales program with modest expansion of certain related program functions, and the cumulative effects of previous and current activities, require a substantial increase in funds for fiscal year 1962. Among the specific activities which require additional funds and effort in 1962 are those necessary to: (a) increase the volume of timber to be offered for sale to 233 million board feet as compared to the 188 million board feet offered in 1961; (3) increase the reforestation program from 500 acres scheduled for 1961 to 3,800 acres in 1962; (c) administer additional timber sales contracts, grant additional rights-of-way permits, and secure additional easements or rights-of-way for timber sales: (d) substantially expand the emphasis on advance planning for access roads, timber sales and related activities, and on the initial inventory of commercial forest lands; and (e) participate in the development of recreation facilities on forested public lands in several western States. Plan of work.-Forestry activities conducted on the public domain include the three major functions of forest management, forest development, and forest protection, as described below: (1) Forest management: The estimates include $1,783,000 for this function which is an increase of $474,000 (including $38,000 related to pay costs) over the amount available for fiscal year 1961. Activities in this function include those directly related to production and sale of timber from the public domain forest lands on a sustained yield basis and compatible use of other resources for maxi |