Editorial label

[Letterhead and seal] The Secretary of the Interior / Washington [Stamped] Jun 19 1941 [Typed] EDITORIAL LABEL Pastoral pursuits have always been one of the principal occupations of the human race. The livestock industry in the United States had its beginning in 1540 when Coronado led his courageous band of explorers into what is now New Mexico. The Spanish dons and the mission padres quickly realized the possibilities of grazing their sheep and cattle on the mountain ranges in summer and on the broad flat valley land in the winter. From the early Spanish expeditions into what is now United States territory sprang the foundation herds of our present range livestock industry. Four hundred years have witnessed tremendous changes in the cattle country of the West. Four centuries of pioneering and exploitation are now being succeeded by a new era of conservation. The livestock industry, one of America's greatest, depends upon prudent use and management of the range resources in order that it may continue to survive and prosper. To foster that principle, Congress passed the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934. The Grazing Service, Department of the Interior, with the help of the local stockmen, is carrying out the purpose of this act on more than 140,000,000 acres of Federal range. [Signed] Harold L. Ickes Secretary of the Interior