NATIONAL FORESTS AND THE WATER SUPPLY 



1519 



over $18,000,000, and as the domestic supply for some 

 28 towns, with a total population of about 13,000. 

 Hoiv National forest Adiniiiistration Benefits the Water 

 User. 

 In the actual 

 management of 

 t h e National 

 Forests every 

 pre caution is 

 taken to see 

 that the inter- 

 ests of the 

 water user are 

 fully protected. 

 No utilization 

 of their various 

 r e s o u rces is 

 permitted un- 



answer can be 

 given to the 

 question. Will 

 the proposed 

 use have any 

 injurious efifect 

 on the water 

 supply ? 



An outstand- 

 ing feature of 

 National For- 

 est administra- 

 tion is the em- 

 phasis placed 

 on fire protec- 

 tion. Fire is 

 the worst thing 

 that can hap- 

 pen in a forest, 

 both as regards 

 destruction of 

 property and 

 inter ference 

 with the water 

 supply. Every 

 fire, no matter 

 how small, de- 

 stroys some of 

 the organic ma- 

 terial in the 

 surface layers 

 of the soil, and 

 to that extent 

 reduces its ab- 

 sorptive capac- 

 ity. Repeated 

 fires on the 



U.\ lilt NATIOXAL FUKh,blb 



Upper.— A fire-lookout station on the summit of Mount Eddy, on the Shasta National Forest, Califorina. 

 Lookout stations of this sort make possible tlie prompt detection of forest fires. They are con- 

 nected by telephone with the headquarters of the Forest Supervisor, who is thus enabled to 

 organize and dispatcli a fire-fighting crew before the fire gains any considerable headway. 



Lower. — Extinguishing a fire on the Wasatch National Forest, Utah. In tlie mountains of the West a.\es 

 and shovels play a much more important part than water in tlie suppression of forest fires. 



to control so dangerous a menace. The guiding idea 

 is to prevent fires from starting and to put out those 

 that do start before they attain any considerable head- 

 way. Various 

 r-'TV-'- i^ means are used 

 to bring home 

 to the general 

 public the ser- 

 iousness of the 

 fire danger and 

 to secure the 

 co-oper a t i o n 

 both of local 

 residents and 

 transient visi- 

 tors. Lookout 

 stations are es- 

 t a b 1 ished on 

 mountain tops 

 and at other 

 points of vant- 

 age for the 

 prompt detec- 

 tion of fires. 

 These are sup- 

 plemented b y 

 riding patrols. 

 Boxes of fire- 

 fighting tools 

 are placed at 

 strategic points. 

 Roads, trails, 

 and telephone 

 lines are built 

 as means of 

 quick com- 

 m u n i c a tion. 

 Extra men to 

 serve as fire 

 guards are ap- 

 pointed during 

 the danger sea- 

 son, and the 

 local communi- 

 ty is so organ- 

 ized as to make 

 an efficient fire- 

 hghting force 

 avail able on 

 short notice. 



The system 

 lias now reach- 

 ed a stage of 

 efficiency where 

 the majority 

 of fires are 



same area, even if they do not destroy the forest out- brought under control before they do any serious damage, 

 right, may practically nullify its effects in preventing In 1916, for example, "/T) P^r cent of the 5,655 fires on 

 erosion and regulating stream flow. Every effort is made the National Forests were extinguished before they had 



