When livestock interests in Oregon and California lost a court decision
upholding the eviction of
sheep from the forest reserves, they pressured Congress to open the
reserves to logging, mining
and livestock grazing. An amendment to an appropriations bill
passed on June 4, 1897 allowed
resource extraction on the forest reserves for the first time.
The Forest Reserves became a
permanently protected system of National Forests to be managed scientifically
to ensure a
sustained yield of products and services that include wood, clean water,
livestock rangeland,
wildlife habitat, recreational opportunities and wilderness.
Problems have arisen because some of
these uses are contradictory and Forest Service, lacking clear direction
of how to reconcile them,
has been heavily influenced by the demands of extractive industry.