A NATIONAL PLAN FOR AMERICAN FORESTRY 365 



Improving present forest cover, however, offers a considerable 

 opportunity for combating the watershed problems of portions of the 

 basin. Fire protection on some 8 . million acres of unprotected 

 commercial forests would promote the accumulation of forest litter 

 and other ground cover. The extensive scrub forests of central 

 Texas and of the " Breaks" region are, however, in greatest need of 

 improvement. Here fire protection and probably less cutting would 

 do much to encourage scrub oak, mesquite, and other chaparral 

 species. A number of authorities have commented on the deleterious 

 effects of the heavy grazing in this region as contributing to the deple- 

 tion of the original grass cover. Proper management of livestock to 

 prevent overgrazing, therefore, appears to be the outstanding require- 

 ment for improved watershed protection. 



In view of the fact that most of this land is in private ownership 

 and that the private owners probably will be financially unable to 

 adopt those corrective measures for the eroded abandoned land which 

 will make for the control of erosion and favorable conditions of 

 stream flow, public ownership appears needed. This ownership should 

 include about 2,300,000 acres of land in those parts of the region 

 where watershed conditions are most critical and where the forest 

 cover exerts a major influence. This would mean about 400,000 

 acres of abandoned agricultural land and about 1,900,000 acres of 

 forest land. However, as cover conditions and watershed relation- 

 ships in the West Gulf drainages are imperfectly known, it is more 

 than likely that a much larger area should be in the hands of the 

 public. The lack of specific information as to erosion-control methods 

 indicates that investigations are needed and that these are particularly 

 necessary in the " Breaks " region. 



ST. LAWRENCE RIVER BASIN 



The St. Lawrence River (or Great Lakes) drainage in the United 

 States amounts to nearly 85 million acres, of which about 50 percent 

 is forest land. The western portion of this basin is shown in the map 

 of the upper Mississippi River Basin, figure 7 ; the eastern is shown 

 with the northeastern drainages in figure 3. The forest areas of the 

 basin are classified according to watershed-protective influence as 

 follows: Major influence, 5,029,000 acres; moderate influence, 4,112,- 

 000 acres; slight or no influence, 33,105,000 acres. 



The relative slightness of forest influence on watersheds in this 

 drainage is more marked in the western half than in the eastern. It 

 is due largely to the fact that much of the St. Lawrence drainage has 

 been heavily glaciated and that large parts of it, particularly in the 

 west, are without marked topographic relief. Throughout many 

 parts of the drainage occur the gravelly and sandy hills and rolling 

 lands typical of glaciated regions. Extensive areas of outwash plains 

 occur, the sandy soils of which are highly absorptive. 



The comparative uniformity of the water level in the Great Lakes 

 is due to the very large areas of water and of absorptive soil surface 

 in the drainage rather than to the influence of forest cover. Water 

 supplies are ample. On certain areas in the drainage, however, from 

 a watershed standpoint, a forest cover is necessary. 



