IRRIGATION AND FORESTRY. 



DENUDING OF THE FORKSTS A DETRIMENT TO 



IRRIGATION. 



By JOEL SHOMAKER. 



Irrigation and forestry are so closely allied in the arid west that 

 one cannot be neglected or improved without having a corresponding 

 effect upon the other. The forests are the natural reservoirs for con- 

 serving soil moisture, and the fertilizing silt necessary to plant life is 

 held in solution until by the ingenuity of man, the water carries it in 

 artificial irrigating channels to the fields of the farmer or fruit grower 

 in the valleys. Every ruthless destruction of the native forest causes 

 more or less trouble to the water users down below. In some instances 

 where the mountain slopes and canyon basins have been denuded of 

 forest vegetation, by fire, lumbering, or grazing the streams have 

 rushed down in perfect floods, destroying thousands of dollars worth 

 of property in their pathways. 



Fifteen years ago I inspected a large area of Wasatch Mountains; 

 in Utah, by riding on horsebock over the summit and through the can- 

 yons. The entire district was then a perfect arid mountain paradise 

 of all classes of natural vegetation. The grasses and native weeds 

 stood two to four feet in height and the undergrowth of the forests 

 was a perfect mass of shrubbery. Today the picture has changed to 

 an almost barren, desolate appearing waste, cut into dusty paths, 

 tracked by numerous roads and washed beyond recognition from the 

 many drag ways made by hauling timber to the loading places in the 

 canyons. E* ery where may be heard the bleat of the sheep, the sound 

 of the woodchopper's axe or the rattle of the lumber wagon. 



A few days ago the people residing in the valleys beneath this 

 peak of desolation witnessed a most destructive flood, whicu destroy- 

 ed many thousands of dollars in property, decreased real estate values 

 fully fifty per cent, and piled up masses of mud and debris on every 

 street and road, causing disease and distress everywhere in the flooded 

 district. This was the fourth recurrence of such a disaster, in the 

 past eight years, and the evils remain unchanged The place referred 

 to is Manti, located in a beautiful spot 'neath the Wasateh Mountains, 

 in Sanpete county, Utah. One hundred thousand dollars would not 

 recompense the inhabitants of this city for the losses sustained from 

 the floods, caused by the denuding of the forests in one canyon, their 

 source of water supply. 



The same condition exists in scores of Utah cities and in many 



