What the NATIONAL FORESTS Mean to the WATER USER 5 



13,200,000 acres, whether it comes from surface streams and lakes or 

 from underground sources, has its origin in the mountains where the 

 National Forests are located. Obviously, not all of this mountain area 

 is forested, nor is all of the forested area under Federal ownership. At 

 the same time, the National Forests include a large part of the area from 

 which the bulk of the irrigation water is derived, and must therefore exert 

 an important influence on the amount and character of the supply. 



No figures are available as to the exact value added to these lands 

 by the application of water, but it unquestionably runs into the hun- 

 dreds of millions of dollars. Without water much of this area would be 

 practically worthless, and the value even of that portion on which dry 

 farming is feasible would be greatly reduced. In the vicinity of Salt 

 Lake City, Utah, for example, irrigated lands deriving their water from 

 the Wasatch National Forest are valued at from $100 to $1,000 per acre, 

 with an average of probably $400 per acre; while land without water in 

 the same district, except where it requires drainage, is practically valueless. 

 Near Los Angeles, Cal., unimproved lands with water rights are worth 

 from $200 to $500 per acre, while bearing orange or lemon groves may be 

 valued at $3,000 or even more per acre. What the water supply protected 

 by the Angeles National Forest means to this region is also well illustrated 

 by the value of the crops produced on irrigated lands that without water 

 would be of little or no agricultural value. In 191 5, 25,750 acres devoted to 

 citrus fruits, alfalfa, and sugar beets, deriving their irrigation water from 

 the San Antonio watershed, with an area of only 24 square miles, yielded 

 crops valued at $5,400,000; while 5,870 acres of citrus fruits, deriving then- 

 water from the San Dimas watershed, with an area of only 18 square miles, 

 yielded crops valued at $2,600,000. 



Irrigation represents one of the vital needs for water in the West, but 

 there are others. Water is the " white coal " which furnishes or will furnish 

 the motive power for lighting systems, trolley lines, p 



and manufacturing plants everywhere in the Western 

 States. As such it constitutes an immensely valuable resource. The 

 western mountains contain more than 72 per cent of the potential water 

 -,)ower of the United States. Through lack of markets, only a compara- 

 tively small part of this has been utilized, but in the last 20 years great 

 strides have been made in development. In the decade from 1902 to 191 2, 



