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. 

 How National Forest Administration Benefits the Water 

 User. 



In the actual 

 management of 

 the 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- 

 less a negative 

 answer can be 

 given to the 

 question, Will 

 the proposed 

 use have any 

 injurious effect 

 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 f erence 

 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 



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

 Lookout stations of this sort make possible the 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 dispatch a fire-fighting crew before the fire gains any considerable headway. 



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

 and shovels play a much more important part than water in the 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 

 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. 

 Eoads, 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- 

 fighting force 

 avail able on 

 short notice. 



The system 

 has now reach- 

 ed a stage of 

 efficiency where 

 the majority 

 of fires are 



same area, even if they do not destroy the forest out- 

 right, may practically nullify its effects in preventing 

 erosion and regulating stream flow. Every effort is made 



brought under control before they do any serious damage. 

 In 1916, for example, 73 per cent of the 5,655 fires on 

 the National Forests were extinguished before they had 



