Class A. Persons owning and residing upon improved ranch property within or near a National Forest who are dependent upon National Forests for range and who do not own more than a limited number of stock (known as the protective limit).
Class B. Regular users of National Forests range who do not own improved ranch property within or near a National Forest, and persons owning such ranch property but who own numbers of stock in excess of the established limit.
Class C. Persons who are not regular users of the National Forest range and who do not own improved ranch property within or near a National Forest. Such persons are not granted permits upon Forests which are fully occupied by classes A and B. Classes B and C are not allowed to increase the number of stock grazed under permit except by the purchase of other permitted stock.
From this classification it is very evident that the small local stockmen who own approximately from 30 to 300 head of cattle and from 500 to 2,000 head of sheep and who own and reside upon the ranches near the Forests are given the preference in the allotment of grazing privileges.
_Grazing Permits._ Various kinds of grazing permits are required each year on the National Forests. These are known as ordinary grazing permits, on-and-off permits, private land permits, and crossing permits.
All persons must secure permits before grazing any stock on a National Forest except for the few head in actual use by prospectors, campers, ranchers, stockmen, and travelers who use saddle, pack and work animals, and milch cows in connection with permitted operations on the National Forests. Under these conditions 10 head are allowed to graze without permit.
Persons owning stock which regularly graze on ranges partially included within a National Forest, or upon range which includes private land may be granted permits for such portions of their stock as the circumstances appear to justify. This regulation provides for cases where only a part of a natural range unit is National Forest land, and where the economical use of the entire unit can be secured only by the utilization of the Forest land in connection with the other land. The regulation contemplates a movement of the stock governed by natural conditions, between the Forest range and the adjoining outside range, or between Forest land and intermingled private land. This is called an on-and-off permit.