66 OUR NATIONAL FORESTS 



ing in the National Forests. The proposed water 

 system for the city of San Francisco, California, is 

 also to be taken from the National Forest streams. 

 A few years ago planting was undertaken on the 

 watershed of the Colorado Springs, Colorado, reser- 

 voir. This water supply is worth annually from 

 $80,000 to $100,000. Besides this the 2,000 horse- 

 power hydro-electric plants are valued at $40,000 

 and the 40,000 undeveloped horsepower are said to 

 have an additional value of $400,000, making the 

 total value of the watershed more than $500,000, 

 with the probability that a greater water supply 

 having a far greater value will be needed as the city 

 grows. 



And there are many evidences that the people of 

 the West have begun to realize that the National 

 Forests are the key to the entire water-supply situ- 

 ation in the West no matter for what purpose the 

 water is used. The public consideration now being 

 given to flood control, the requests from many west- 

 ern cities for special measures to protect their mu- 

 nicipal water supply, the concern expressed by irri- 

 gation associations in Colorado and elsewhere, lest 

 even the regulated cutting on the National Forests 



