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There are approximately 7,262,000 acres (38 percent) of pasture and range for grazing of domestic livestock. Permits or leases are held by farmers and ranchers for grazing their livestock on the Federal lands. In addition, these pasture and rangelands provide habitat for wildlife and also provide areas for hunting and recreat ion. Forests Forests comprise approximately 14 percent (2,679,000) of the basin. A large portion of the forest lands are federally owned. These forests are predominately softwood or coniferous. Elevation has an important bearing on the distribution of forest and their species composition. Trees seldom grow at less than 4,000 feet above sea level, except along river bottoms. Minerals Mineral resources of the basin can be described by grouping items into three categories: metallics, non-metallics, and fuels. Metallic mineral resources are generally associated with mountainous areas and their peripheral outwash plains. Principal mineral production includes gold, silver, lead, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, and taconite. Non-metallic minerals include fluorspar, limeston, pegmatite minerals, silica sand, and barite. Sillimanite and related minerals, kyanite and andalusite, along with barite, have been observed in deposits not yet considered as being commercial. Construction materials produced and used in the area are cement materials, various clays, crushed rock, gypsum, limestone, sand and gravel. Pumice and volcanic glass deposits are found but they have not been utilized. Fuels - natural gas, petroleum, and coal represent important energy resources in the basin. Presently, oil and gas production occurs in the basin, primarily between Denver and Julesburg. Although coal production in the basin had ceased until recently, activity has increased. Fish and Wildlife Fish and wildlife resources in the basin are among the most outstanding in the nation. Wide varieties of habitat types, fostered by the extreme magnitude elevational differences and land uses within the basin, provide for a diversity of wildlife species. Elk in the more mountainous forested environs share this habitat with deer that merge into the habitats more identified with the plains. Where cropland has replaced rangeland, ringnecked pheasants have replaced prairie chickens that are now found in greatly reduced numbers in essentially relict mid-to-tall grass rangeland. Both coldwater and warmwater fisheries are represented in the basin. The predominance of the coldwater fish, typically trout, are found in the permanent cold water streams, ponds, and reservoirs of the mountains and foothills; while warm water species, represented by bass, bluegill, channel catfish, and others are typically found in constructed ponds and reservoirs on the plains. B-8