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I. . . OOJ192 CHAPrER IV LAND ADMINISTRATION AND SERVICES Forest Service The La Sal National Forest was established early in the century and in 1949 was combined with the Manti National Forest in central Utah into the Manti-La Sal National Forest. The La Sal Division of the forest is in the San Juan County study area. The division's two Ranger Districts, Monticello and Moab, stand out like a huge green oasis in the surround- ing desert. The forests of aspen, ponderosa pine, spruce, and fir are not far distant from surrounding lower areas of dry mesas and deeply cut, spectacular canyonlands. The Moab Ranger District encompasses about 175,100 acres and includes the entire La Sal Mountain range in Grand and San Juan Counties in Utah and Montrose County in Colorado. The Monti- cello Ranger District embraces about 365,350 acres in the Abajo Mountain area near the center of San Juan County. The natural resources of these forest lands are managed in accord- ance with the principle of multiple use for sustained yields of wood, water, forage, wildlife, and recreation. Timber has become an economically important resource in the La Sal Division in recent years. Large-scale cutting commenced in 1958 with the development of active markets for saw timber. Lumbering is now an impor- tant industry in the area. During 1967 the saw timber cut on the La Sal Division amounted to approximately 15 ~illion board feet. This volume re- flects a program of accelerated cut for the removal of overmature timber. Upon completion of this program the annual cut will be approximately 5 million feet of saw timber for the division. Cutting in the Moab District in 1967 amounted to 1.5 million board feet. One of Utah's largest saw mills, with a capacity of 15 mlllion board feet per year, is operating near Blanding. Three smaller sawmills in the general area also process La Sal Division saw timber. Ponderosa pine, an excellent commercial timber, is currently the principal tree species cut on the La Sal Division. Forest lands provide summer grazing for cattle and sheep. The For- est Service is working continually with grazing allotment permittees to improve forage conditions by balancing grazing allotment use with avail- able forage supplies on ranges suitable for grazing. In 1967 the La Sal Division furnished summer grazing for 7,365 cattle and 2,762 sheep. Development of the Canyonlands National Park, Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, Natural Bridges National Monument, and the Arches Na- tional Monument, along with better roads, has attracted an ever-increasing number of visitors. The uses of the La Sal Division's recreational re- sources are increasing proportionally with this influx of tourists. The scenic, archaeological, and recreation values of the forest are especially high when the high elevations, cool climate, and spectacular foreot-land 37