PURPOSES AND FUNCTIONS 



209 



Forests have been carefully demarkated on the basis of fundamental 

 distinctions in their uses. National Forests were originally created 

 for timber production; to conserve water flows at the headwaters of 

 our streams used for irrigation, potable, and power purposes, as well 

 as for navigation; for the grazing of many thousands of cattle and 

 sheep; for the development of power projects; and for many varieties 

 of recreational use. The last named is paramount in the ad- 

 ministration of the National Parks and Monuments. In effect, there- 

 fore, the National Forests are largely for a great variety of purposes, 



FIG. 114. Grand Teton National Park. Teewinat, the Grand Teton and Mt. 

 Owen, from String Lake. 



each one of which may be the outstanding feature in an individual 

 National Forest. In some of them the establishment and maintenance 

 of public camping grounds, picturesque glens and waterfalls, and other 

 scenic features, local recreational resorts, such as hotels, picnic areas, 

 and lakes for swimming and boating, may be of outstanding importance. 

 Though the forests may be primarily used for grazing purposes or 

 for the maintenance and protection of the water flows as in southern 

 California, the objectives of timber growing and cutting, grazing, 

 water-power development, and other features of National Forests are 

 utterly excluded from the work of the National Parks and Monu- 

 ments. The forests, wild flowers and plants, and wild life are main- 



