i 9 oi. AMERICAN FORESTRY ASSOCIATION. 89 



there are combined the rich coal regions of Assuming that the general Government 



Pennsylvania, the iron features of several will construct the necessary storage reser- 



great States, the fishing industries of the voirs, then naturally the next question is, 



North Atlantic coast, the precious mineral who will construct the canals? The prob- 



resources of the Rocky Mountain district, lem may be solved by the unconditional 



and lumber resources that cannot justly be transfer to each State of the irrigable lands 



compared with any other section in the within its borders or otherwise; but in 



world. Further, Puget Sound is the di- any event the subject should be widely 



rect approach to the " Open Door " of the and fully discussed. And here again 



Orient. In such a State we need good Washington is especially concerned, 



roads; we need forest protection; we need To-day the most inviting tracts of our 



irrigation facilities. country for thrifty home-seekers are in the 



Forest preservation is a high road to Pacific northwest. The available tracts of 



irrigation; forest destruction means floods. land in California and the Middle West 



No one questions the wisdom of the policy have been to a great extent taken up, and 



under which the general government con- the home-seekers of to-day, in large num- 



trols the commercial waterways of the bers, are turning toward Washington and 



United States. The construction of the neighboring States. We have in the 



storage reservoirs, which will prevent State of Washington, as nearly as can be 



floods, and incidentally serve the purpose estimated, 117,000,000,000 feet of stand- 



for irrigation, is simply an extension of ing timber, and, approximately, 5,000,000 



the river and harbor work. Indeed, it is acres of irrigable lands. The great fir 



difficult, because of the inter-state ques- forests are located west of the Cascade 



tions involved, to see how this work can range, and the tracts suitable for irriga- 



be done with satisfactory results other tion are in the eastern part of the State, 



than by the general government. A case on the eastern side of this range. The 



in point which illustrates this difficulty was standing timber may be divided, as to 



the Columbia River flood of 1894. The quality, as follows : 



damage done by this freshet ran into the Red fir, 68,338,421,000 ft. 



millions. The entire business portion of the Cedar, .... .16,309,453,000 



city of Portland was flooded, the river and p^ Ck ' ' ^ 586,520 " 



harbor work at several points was seriously Spruce, '. ... 6,4i9,'2i5iooo " 



damaged, and there was general devasta- Larch, 2,078,601,000 " 



tion for hundreds of miles along the lower White fir, 24,550,000 



river. Now the Columbia River heads in 0ak > 3.700,000 



Montana and flows through British Co- The irrigable area can reasonably be 



lumbia and the States of Washington and classified as follows: 



Oregon. Its principal branch, the Snake, Under constructed canals and in 



heads in Wyoming and flows through cultivation, ....... 150,000 acres. 



Idaho, Oregon and Washington, and so on Und f n % c ^^ ^ butUOt 50000 



with other tributaries. It is evident that Un der canals surveyed, but not 



to prevent floods, forest reservation and constructed, and the feasi- 



the reservoir system must be conducted on bility of which at reasonable 



r 1 1 1 4. u i,i cost has been determined, . 1. 080,000 



a far-reaching scale, and must be largely Undercanalsprojectedi the f e asi- 



m charge of the general government just bility f w hich at reasonable 



as is other work for the protection and cost are undetermined, . . 510,000 



utilization of the nation's waterways. Balance presumed to be above 



It is worth considering, however, SSj2SX^SS^ 



whether the land which receives the bene- ditions, '. 3,210,000 " 



fit of the stored water should not pay a Total 5,000,000 " 

 share of the cost of maintenance, which 



would be but a small amount per acre per The Cascade and other mountain ranges 



year, which encircle the arid district basin will 



