NATIONAL FORESTS AND THE WATER SUPPLY 



1517 



few years. In 1912 irrigated land and other property was have resided on Rock Creek for 28 years. During all this 

 damaged to the extent of some $20,000, a $5,000 bridge was time I was owner of a ranch and was dependent on a 

 washed out, and $8,000 was expended in preventing the good supply of water for all my crops; the welfare of 



my stock and 

 my own fiiian- 

 c i a 1 standing 

 depended, 

 therefore, more 

 or less, on a 

 good flow of 

 water in Rock 

 Creek. All 

 these reasons 

 make a man 

 oljservant and 

 t h o u g h t f ul 

 about any 

 causes that 

 may prevent a 

 normal flow of 

 water in any 

 stream the 

 headwaters of 

 which are in 

 the mountains. 

 We all know 

 that if a for- 

 est fire runs 

 thro ugh the 

 biggest portion 

 of the water- 

 s h e d of a 

 stream the 

 water supply 

 of such a 

 stream is great- 

 ly diminished, 

 if not entirely 

 cut ofif, during 

 the latter part 

 of July and 

 August, and 

 untold damage 

 is done to all 

 ranchmen who 

 are dependent 

 on such a 

 Inirned-ofT area 

 for their irriga- 

 tion water. 



"As proof of 



the foregoing, 



I mention the 



great fire on 



the headwaters 



of Rock Creek 



in 1890, when four-fifths of the Rock Creek watershed 



was burned off. There was good reason to think it was 



incendiarism. Immediately after the fire and for eight 



destruction of 

 two other 

 bridges. In 

 spite of this 

 comparative 1 y 

 recent damage 

 it is generally 

 believed that 

 floods are be- 

 coming less 

 frequent a 11 d 

 less destructive 

 as adequate fire 

 protection on 

 the Gunnison 

 Forest is grad- 

 ually restoring 

 a forest cover 

 on the burned- 

 over areas. 



Thirty years 

 ago a big fire 

 burned over the 

 watershed o f 

 Gypsum Creek, 

 which is located 

 in central Colo- 

 rado in what is 

 new the Holy 

 Cross National 

 Forest. Two 

 years after this 

 tire the low 

 water flow of 

 the creek was 

 so reduced that 

 the use of 

 vi'ater for irri- 

 gation from it 

 was restricted 

 to the first 47 

 decrees. Since 

 then the flow 

 had gradually 

 increased with 

 the establish- 

 ment of a dense 

 stand of tim- 

 ber until now it 

 furnishes suf- 

 ficient water 

 fori 30 decrees. 



The follow- 



/^i'RiM^A&Jj.- 



THE FIRE MENACE 



Upper. — Vista Point, on the Santa Fe National Forest, at the headwaters of the Pecos River. Dense stands 



of timber are typical of the higher elevations, where fire has been kept out, and form an ideal 



cover for the watersheds. 

 Lower. — View on the Rainier National Forest, Washington, along Stabler Ridge and Niggerhead. Where 



fires have burned we have denuded slopes like this, which are a menace to the lands below 



because of the danger of erosion and floods. 



ing letter from a rancher in northern Wyoming throws 

 light on what the protection afforded by the Bighorn For- 

 est means to the water user in that part of the country : "I 



