What the NATIONAL FORESTS Mean to the WATER USER 1 5 



rents the water is absorbed into the great reservoir of mineral soil, from 

 which it is gradually paid out to the springs and streams. This tends to 

 decrease the high water run-off and to increase the low 



water run-off. Both results are good. The decrease in „, 



Stream tloW 

 the high water run-off means that there is less dan- 

 ger of destructive floods and less waste of valuable water; while the 

 increase in low water run-off means that a larger supply of water is avail- 

 able during the dry season, when it is particularly needed. It is the low 

 water flow that to a great extent determines the availability of any given 

 supply for municipal use, irrigation, or hydroelectric development, and any- 

 thing which will increase this flow is therefore a factor of prime importance. 



What One National Forest Does 



A typical example of the ways in which the National Forests benefit 

 the water user is furnished by the Pike National Forest in Colorado. This 

 Forest extends along the main range of the Rocky Mountains from some- 

 what north of Denver to south of Colorado Springs, and includes within 

 its boundaries a considerable portion of the headwaters of the South Platte 

 and Arkansas Rivers. 



Irrigation by means of water coming from the mountains included 

 in the Pike National Forest had its modest beginnings in i860 along the 

 South Platte River in South Park and also near Denver. Since then the area 

 on which irrigation is practiced has grown steadily, until now it is esti- 

 mated at some 400,000 acres, valued at about $40,000,000 and with an 

 annual crop production of over $10,000,000. On many acres where water 

 is not available dry farming is practiced, but the results are uncertain 

 and the yields much less than on irrigated land. The value of water in this 

 region is so great that the natural flow of the streams is greatly over- 

 appropriated, and there is need for every additional drop that can be 

 developed or stored. Practically all of the Great Plains lying east of the 

 Rocky Mountains is potentially agricultural land, and the only limit to 

 its development is the amount of water which can be secured for irrigation. 

 So well recognized is the part played by the forest cover in protecting the 

 water supply that in one case an organization of farmers has protested 

 against any cutting of timber on certain watersheds. 



