A WATERSHED PROTECTION PROGRAM 



By L. F. WATTS, Director, Northern Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experi- 

 ment Station; E. N. MUNNS, Chief, Division of Silvics; W. R. CHAPLINE, 

 Chief, Division of Range Research; and LUTHER G. SCHNUR, Associate Sil- 

 viculturist, Allegheny Forest Experiment Station 



CONTENTS Page 



Influence of forest cover 1509 



Relation of ownership to watershed conditions 1512 



Major critical situations 1521 



Program for adequate watershed protection 1532 



INFLUENCE OF FOREST COVER 



That stream flow and erosion are greatly influenced by the kind 

 and condition of forest and other vegetative cover has been shown in 

 the section of this report entitled " Watershed and Related Forest 

 Influences", hereafter called the " watershed description section." 

 Profound changes, it is evident, have taken and are taking place in 

 the regimen of our streams, and undesirable soil movement has taken 

 and is taking place on great areas of watershed land. These changes, 

 usually harmful in their effect, have been shown to be largely the 

 result of improper use of forest, range, and farm land. 



The introduction to the watershed description section has shown 

 that the degree of a forest's influence on watershed functioning de- 

 pends on (1) the type and condition of the forest, (2) the characteris- 

 tics of the soil, (3) the topography, and (4) the intensity and purpose 

 of water use. A classification of the forest areas of the United States 

 as to watershed-protective value, on the basis of these factors, is pre- 

 sented in table 1 and figure 1 . 



Almost three fourths of the total forest area has been classified as 

 watershed-protection forest, that is, as having major or moderate in- 

 fluence on watershed values. The remaining fourth, because of flat 

 topography or extremely permeable soil or for other reasons, is con- 

 sidered to have slight influence or none. Of the watershed-protection 

 forest about two thirds, or 308 million acres, exerts a major influence 

 and one third, or 141 million acres, exerts a moderate influence. 



1509 



