269 



The agricultural yield of Colorado (exclusive of live stock) for the year 1891 irnonnted to 

 $53,900,000 ; the mineral output for the same period was $33,549,000 a large sum, but greatly 

 inferior to the one tirst named. 



It will thus be seen how vitally important to the growth and continued prosperity ot this 

 Commonwealth is an abundant supply of water for irrigation. In fact it may be said that hence- 

 forth he agricultural yield of the State will be limited only by its water resources. 



The streams upon which the irrigation systems of Colorado depend are fed by the springs, 

 rivulets, and melting snows of the mountains, which in turn are nourished and protected by 

 the native forests. Where the forests have been destroyed and the mountain slopes laid bare 

 most unfavorable conditions prevail. The springs and the rivulets have disappeared, the winter 

 snows melt prematurely, and the flow of streams, hitherto equable and continuous, has become 

 fitful and uncertain. Floods and drought alternating clearly indicate that the natural physical 

 conditions of the region have been unduly disturbed. In winter and early spring, when heavy 

 masses of snow have been accumulated on treeless precipitous slopes, snow and landslides fre- 

 quently occur with disastrous results to life and property. Even thus early in the present season 

 a considerable number of valuable lives have been sacrificed in this manner. 



The main Rocky Mountain range extends throughout the State, from north to south, and is 

 flanked on either side by numerous spurs and minor ranges. The average or mean elevation of 

 Colorado, 7,000 teet above the sea level, is greater than that ot any other portion of North 

 America. The high and rugged interior region contains 140 peaks or more, exceeding 11,000 

 feet elevation, and comprises about one-fourth of the area of the State. Small portions of this 

 region are used for agriculture and grazing, but in the main it i< unsuited for such purposes. Its 

 surface, below timber line, was originally quite generally covered with a coniferous forest growth, 

 but has subsequently been marred and disfigured by fire and the axe. Vast areas have been 

 thus desolated. Above timber line proper there are many gulches and sheltered places, in some 

 of which exist a stunted growth of trees and shrubs, where the drifting snows find lodgment, 

 melting only during the summer months. 



At certain of these greater elevations are found morasses, alpine lakes, and during portions 

 of the year, ice fields of limited extent. The region is mainly one of cold and humidity for long 

 periods of each recurring season. This is one of the principal, if not the chief, of the distribut- 

 ing centres of the continental water system. It contains the sources of the North Platte (in part,) 

 the South Platte, Arkansas, Rio Grande, Dolores, Gunnison, Grand, White, Yampa, and other 

 powerful streams, the preservation of which is not only important to Colorado but to neighbor- 

 ing States and Territories. New Mexico would be uninhabited were it not for the life-giving 

 waters of the Rio Grande, which flow from the snow mountains of Colorado. 



In view of the above, and in consideration of many recognized evils which follow the reck- 

 less and inconsiderate denudation of timbered areas, we respectfully ask that you will, under the 

 act of March 3, 1891, cause to have withdrawn from disposal a'id constituted a forest reserve, 

 all public lands along the crests of the mountain ranges and spurs in this State, as above men- 

 tioned, and upon either side thereof for a distance of 6 miles, more or less, according to the 

 width of the timber belts in different localities and as may be deemed advisable after due official 

 examination of the same. 



We beg to represent further, that in our opinion the rights o : prospecting and mining and 

 right of way for public roads within the territory in question should remain inviolate, and that 

 the general government should inaugurate at the earliest practical period a careful and conser- 

 vative administration of such public lands. We also believe that, under proper regulation, a 

 prudent and economical use of the forest resources may be had without endangering the per- 

 petuity of the forests. Forest conservation should promote, rather than retard, all legitimate 

 industries. 



In this connection it is also worth while to quote the language of the chief 

 of the forestr} r division from the annual report of the Secretary of Agriculture 

 for 1891 :- 



WATER MANAGEMENT THE PROBLEM OF THE FUTURE. 



Before even attempting the control of precipitation, our studies, in the opinion of the writer, 

 should be directed to secure better management of the water supplies as they are precipitated 

 and become available by natural causes. How poorly we understand the use of these supplies 

 is evidenced yearly by destructive freshets and floods, with the accompanying washing of soil, 

 followed by droughts, low waters, and deterioration of agricultural lands. 



It may be thought heterodox, but it is nevertheless true, that the manner in which most of 

 the water of the atmosphere becomes available for human use (namely, in the form of rain) is by 

 no means the most satisfactory, not only on account of the irregularity in time and quantity, but 

 also on account of its detrimental mechanical action in falling, for in the fall it compacts the 



