- Email: [email protected]
U.S. forest service grazing and rangelands: A history
590
R.A. WALTER
Other sections of this 1606 page, two volume work are: Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments, 4500 officials’ names and titles from 173 nations; Status of the World’s Nations, including official name, capital, population and area; U.S. Embassies Consulates, and Foreign Service Posts, which provides information on how and where to seek State Department assistance overseas; Health Information for International Travel, published by the Centers for Disease Control, this section provides vaccination information and certificate requirements, U.S. Public Health Service recommendations for vaccination and prophylaxis and health hints for the traveler; Foreign Travel: Passports, Visas, Government Advice, is made up primarily of two government publications, first, “Visa Requirements of Foreign Governments” and second, “Travelers’ Tips: Bringing Food, Plant and Animal Products into the United States;” International Treaty Organizations, includes briefings by the State Department on the United Nations (UN), European Communities (EC), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and finally Climates of the World, a 28 page publication of the National Climate Center. Because the information appearing in Countries of the World is from known and highly respected U.S. government sources, the accuracy and completeness of the information is as good as there is available. However, as a reference librarian I would have found accessing the publication much easier if the six shorter sections had been grouped together at the beginning of the first volume. Even more useful would have been reformatting the information from the various federal publications so that the information about individual countries, such as chiefs of state, status of the world’s nations, U.S. embassies, consulates, and foreign service posts and foreign travel information, appeared at the beginning of each “Background Note,” thus providing one-step look-up of information for any country. In using this and other annual cumulations of data, which is constantly changing, currency is a major concern. Librarians must be constantly aware of that fact and be prepared to steer their patrons to revised issues of the original series and/or to appropriate telephone numbers of the government agencies concerned. Since all of the material in these volumes is published in the same form by the Government Printing Office and is readily available, the immediate question is why to purchase this publication in the first place? The factor of convenience is certainly the overriding consideration. The information is all in one place and does not have to be gathered for the patron. Libraries that are government depositories might want to weigh the convenience factor against the concern of giving the patron the most recent data available and the savings of an annual expense. In any case, Countries of the World is recommended for larger public libraries, and college and university libraries, which are not government depository libraries. JOHN L. JOHNSON Chair, Research and Information Services Farrell Library Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66506 USA U.S. Forest Service Grazing and Rangelands: A History. (Environmental history series, no. 8) By William D. Rowley. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1985, xiv, 270 p. ISBN O89096-218-9. LC 85-40048. $29.50. William D. Rowley, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, has written an excellent account of the evolution of the grazing policy of the U.S. Forest Service. Rowley, who has written other studies on federal agricultural programs, was funded by the History Section of the U.S. Forest Service. This work does not duplicate the 1970 book by Harold K. Steen on the administrative history of the U.S. Forest Service. Rowley summarizes U.S. land policy and the relationship of the livestock industry with the west. Since the publication of this book, Jimmy Skaggs has written an excellent book on the livestock and meat-packing industry in the U.S., which places the range cattle industry in its proper perspective in relation to farm-produced livestock. Rowley also understands this relationship, noting that range-fed livestock has been important to the nation’s food supply although not as important as farm produced livestock. This book focuses on the range fed livestock. Rowley traces the beginnings of a federal grazing policy that eventually recognized that U.S. forest preserves provided water, soil, mineral, and forage resources as well as timber. Management
Reviews
591
of the forest preserves had to keep all these factors in perspective. Often politics or national crisis such as World War I and the depression of the 1930s interfered with other Forest Service objectives. The Forest Service had to withstand western state congressmen who periodically attempted either to place the reserves under state jurisdiction or to turn them over to the private sector. Rowley deals with the issue of range management including conservation, land classification, and user fees. The Service found it necessary to develop the field of range science to establish policies
for use of the forest reserves grazing areas. With responsibility for range management, the Forest Service could also be involved in social policymaking. The Service was always caught between the ease of dealing with large-scale livestock interests and the Jeffersonian ideal of small-scale farmers (supported by Theodore Roosevelt in the early formative period of the Service). Rowley has some errors in his book, which are not in the main theme of the work. For example, he makes the not uncommon mistake of starting the period of F.D.R.‘s administration with the election year 1932 rather than 1933 (p. 149). But a more glaring error is reference to Edward L. Doheny of the Pan American Petroleum Company in the Elk Hills scandals as “William Doheny of Sinclair Oil Company.” (p. 132). However, Rowley has written an objective book, which brings the reader a new perspective on the U.S. Forest Service’s grazing and range-lands policy. It is well-written and documented. This reviewer appreciated the publisher’s decision to place the notes at the bottom of the page where they could readily be used. It is to be hoped that additional studies of the Forest Service will emphasize the period of the 1970s and beyond. More discussion of the “Sagebrush Rebellion” and the policies in the Ronald Reagan-James Watts period is needed. THOMAS R. WALTHER Professor of History Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS 66762 USA BOOKS
AND OTHER
MATERIALS
RECEIVED
Barberis, Julio A. Znternational Groundwater Resources Law. (FAO legislative study; 40) Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization, 1986. vii, 67 pp. ISBN 92-5-102507-X. $6.00. (Distributed in the U.S. by Bernan-Unipub.) Everyone’s
United
Tenth ed. New York: United Nations, 1986. 484 pp. ISBN (pbk). $14.95; $9.95 (pbk). (Distributed in the U.S. by
Nations.
92-l-100273-7: 92-I-100274-5 Bernan-Unipub). Government
Research
Detroit: Gale Research, Guggenheim, velopers.
Joseph. Tax Credits fur Low Income
Non-Profits
Washington:
Edited by Kay Gill and Susan E. Tufts. Fourth ed. 1987. 977 pp. ISSN 0882-3766; ISBN o-8103-0473-2. $350.00.
Directory.
and
Communities
Simon Publications,
under
the
Housing: New Opportunities for DeI986 Tax Reform Act. Second ed.
1986. vii, 117 pp. ISBN o-941239-00-4. $19.95.
Trade Statistics Yearbook. Compiled by the U.N. Dept. of International Economic and Social Affairs Statistical Office. New York: United Nations, 1986. 2 v. ISBN 92-l-061 110-l. $80.00. (U.N. sales no. E/F.86.XVII.7) 1984 International
Occupation
of Japan:
U.S.
Planning
Popovich,
Charles J. Business
1942-1945. Edited by Makoto Iokibe. Service: Tokyo: Maruzen, 1987. 490 microguide (vii, 120 pp.). ISBN o-088692-107-4.
Documents,
Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information fiches (silver hallide) with accompanying $1,480.00.
and Economics
Databases
Online:
Environmental
Scan-
R.A. WALTER
Other sections of this 1606 page, two volume work are: Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments, 4500 officials’ names and titles from 173 nations; Status of the World’s Nations, including official name, capital, population and area; U.S. Embassies Consulates, and Foreign Service Posts, which provides information on how and where to seek State Department assistance overseas; Health Information for International Travel, published by the Centers for Disease Control, this section provides vaccination information and certificate requirements, U.S. Public Health Service recommendations for vaccination and prophylaxis and health hints for the traveler; Foreign Travel: Passports, Visas, Government Advice, is made up primarily of two government publications, first, “Visa Requirements of Foreign Governments” and second, “Travelers’ Tips: Bringing Food, Plant and Animal Products into the United States;” International Treaty Organizations, includes briefings by the State Department on the United Nations (UN), European Communities (EC), Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), Organization of African Unity (OAU), and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD); and finally Climates of the World, a 28 page publication of the National Climate Center. Because the information appearing in Countries of the World is from known and highly respected U.S. government sources, the accuracy and completeness of the information is as good as there is available. However, as a reference librarian I would have found accessing the publication much easier if the six shorter sections had been grouped together at the beginning of the first volume. Even more useful would have been reformatting the information from the various federal publications so that the information about individual countries, such as chiefs of state, status of the world’s nations, U.S. embassies, consulates, and foreign service posts and foreign travel information, appeared at the beginning of each “Background Note,” thus providing one-step look-up of information for any country. In using this and other annual cumulations of data, which is constantly changing, currency is a major concern. Librarians must be constantly aware of that fact and be prepared to steer their patrons to revised issues of the original series and/or to appropriate telephone numbers of the government agencies concerned. Since all of the material in these volumes is published in the same form by the Government Printing Office and is readily available, the immediate question is why to purchase this publication in the first place? The factor of convenience is certainly the overriding consideration. The information is all in one place and does not have to be gathered for the patron. Libraries that are government depositories might want to weigh the convenience factor against the concern of giving the patron the most recent data available and the savings of an annual expense. In any case, Countries of the World is recommended for larger public libraries, and college and university libraries, which are not government depository libraries. JOHN L. JOHNSON Chair, Research and Information Services Farrell Library Kansas State University Manhattan, KS 66506 USA U.S. Forest Service Grazing and Rangelands: A History. (Environmental history series, no. 8) By William D. Rowley. College Station: Texas A&M University Press, 1985, xiv, 270 p. ISBN O89096-218-9. LC 85-40048. $29.50. William D. Rowley, associate professor of history at the University of Nevada, Reno, has written an excellent account of the evolution of the grazing policy of the U.S. Forest Service. Rowley, who has written other studies on federal agricultural programs, was funded by the History Section of the U.S. Forest Service. This work does not duplicate the 1970 book by Harold K. Steen on the administrative history of the U.S. Forest Service. Rowley summarizes U.S. land policy and the relationship of the livestock industry with the west. Since the publication of this book, Jimmy Skaggs has written an excellent book on the livestock and meat-packing industry in the U.S., which places the range cattle industry in its proper perspective in relation to farm-produced livestock. Rowley also understands this relationship, noting that range-fed livestock has been important to the nation’s food supply although not as important as farm produced livestock. This book focuses on the range fed livestock. Rowley traces the beginnings of a federal grazing policy that eventually recognized that U.S. forest preserves provided water, soil, mineral, and forage resources as well as timber. Management
Reviews
591
of the forest preserves had to keep all these factors in perspective. Often politics or national crisis such as World War I and the depression of the 1930s interfered with other Forest Service objectives. The Forest Service had to withstand western state congressmen who periodically attempted either to place the reserves under state jurisdiction or to turn them over to the private sector. Rowley deals with the issue of range management including conservation, land classification, and user fees. The Service found it necessary to develop the field of range science to establish policies
for use of the forest reserves grazing areas. With responsibility for range management, the Forest Service could also be involved in social policymaking. The Service was always caught between the ease of dealing with large-scale livestock interests and the Jeffersonian ideal of small-scale farmers (supported by Theodore Roosevelt in the early formative period of the Service). Rowley has some errors in his book, which are not in the main theme of the work. For example, he makes the not uncommon mistake of starting the period of F.D.R.‘s administration with the election year 1932 rather than 1933 (p. 149). But a more glaring error is reference to Edward L. Doheny of the Pan American Petroleum Company in the Elk Hills scandals as “William Doheny of Sinclair Oil Company.” (p. 132). However, Rowley has written an objective book, which brings the reader a new perspective on the U.S. Forest Service’s grazing and range-lands policy. It is well-written and documented. This reviewer appreciated the publisher’s decision to place the notes at the bottom of the page where they could readily be used. It is to be hoped that additional studies of the Forest Service will emphasize the period of the 1970s and beyond. More discussion of the “Sagebrush Rebellion” and the policies in the Ronald Reagan-James Watts period is needed. THOMAS R. WALTHER Professor of History Pittsburg State University Pittsburg, KS 66762 USA BOOKS
AND OTHER
MATERIALS
RECEIVED
Barberis, Julio A. Znternational Groundwater Resources Law. (FAO legislative study; 40) Rome: Food and Agricultural Organization, 1986. vii, 67 pp. ISBN 92-5-102507-X. $6.00. (Distributed in the U.S. by Bernan-Unipub.) Everyone’s
United
Tenth ed. New York: United Nations, 1986. 484 pp. ISBN (pbk). $14.95; $9.95 (pbk). (Distributed in the U.S. by
Nations.
92-l-100273-7: 92-I-100274-5 Bernan-Unipub). Government
Research
Detroit: Gale Research, Guggenheim, velopers.
Joseph. Tax Credits fur Low Income
Non-Profits
Washington:
Edited by Kay Gill and Susan E. Tufts. Fourth ed. 1987. 977 pp. ISSN 0882-3766; ISBN o-8103-0473-2. $350.00.
Directory.
and
Communities
Simon Publications,
under
the
Housing: New Opportunities for DeI986 Tax Reform Act. Second ed.
1986. vii, 117 pp. ISBN o-941239-00-4. $19.95.
Trade Statistics Yearbook. Compiled by the U.N. Dept. of International Economic and Social Affairs Statistical Office. New York: United Nations, 1986. 2 v. ISBN 92-l-061 110-l. $80.00. (U.N. sales no. E/F.86.XVII.7) 1984 International
Occupation
of Japan:
U.S.
Planning
Popovich,
Charles J. Business
1942-1945. Edited by Makoto Iokibe. Service: Tokyo: Maruzen, 1987. 490 microguide (vii, 120 pp.). ISBN o-088692-107-4.
Documents,
Bethesda, MD: Congressional Information fiches (silver hallide) with accompanying $1,480.00.
and Economics
Databases
Online:
Environmental
Scan-