36 What the NATIONAL FORESTS Mean to the WATER USER 



Many examples of destructive floods caused by overgrazing in the 



mountains prior to the creation of the National Forests are furnished by the 



r ,. , State of Utah. In what is now the Fillmore National 



Utah 



Forest the Chalk Creek, Pine Creek, Meadow Creek, 



Fool Creek, Oak Creek, and Scipio watersheds , which supply the water for 

 27,000 acres of irrigated land and for the towns of Fillmore, Meadow, Oak 

 City, and Scipio, were at one time so heavily overgrazed that the resulting 

 floods damaged roads, reservoirs, cultivated land, and other property to 

 the extent of thousands of dollars. Since the creation of the National 

 Forest grazing on these watersheds has been prohibited or restricted, and 

 the vegetative cover has had a chance to reestablish itself. As a result, 

 the floods have been steadily decreasing, both in number and severity, 

 until they are now practically negligible. The importance of the pro- 

 tection exercised by this Forest is still further emphasized by the fact 

 that, together with the Fishlake and Sevier National Forests, it is the 

 source of water used in the irrigation of some 200,000 acres, valued at over 

 $18,000,000, and as the domestic supply for some 28 towns, with a total 

 population of about 13,000. 



How National Forest Administration Benefits the Water User 



In the actual management of the National Forests every precaution 

 is taken to see that the interests of the water user are fullv protected. 

 No utilization of their various resources is permitted unless a negative 

 answer can be given to the question, Will the proposed use have any 

 injurious effect on the water supply? 



An outstanding feature of National Forest administration is the 



emphasis placed on fire protection. Fire is the worst thing that can 



happen in a forest, both as regards destruction of 

 Five 

 p , . . property and interference with the water supplv. Every 



fire, no matter how small, destroys some of the organic 



material in the surface layers of the soil, and to that extent reduces its 



absorptive capacity. Repeated fires on the same area, even if thev do not 



destroy the forest outright, may practically nullify its effects in preventing 



erosion and regulating stream flow. 



Every effort is made to control so dangerous a menace. The guiding 



idea is to prevent fires from starting and to put out those that do start 



