30 APPALACHIAN AND WHITE MOUNTAIN WATEESHEDS. 



AKEAS OF ESPECIAL IMPOETANCE. 



Owing to the high price that would have to be paid for virgin forest 

 land, but little of such land can be bought. Certain small areas of 

 Tirgin forest should, however, be preserved, surrounding places of 

 particular importance, as recreation grounds. The destruction of 

 the forest upon them would almost completely destroy their value. 

 These places are frequented by thousands of people annually, and 

 their preservation is of great importance. On invitation, representa- 

 tives of the Appalachian Momitain Club, the Massachusetts For- 

 estry Association, and the Society for the Protection of New Hamp- 

 shire Forests cooperated with the Forest Service in locating five such 

 areas. Their combined area will not exceed 5,000 acres. 



One area is located on the north slope of the Presidential Range 

 around the ravine of the Cascades and extends from an area that has 

 been recently logged over up to the limit of merchantable timber at 

 an elevation of 4,000 feet. It includes the slopes on both sides of and 

 above the Cascade Falls. These falls are much frequented by camp- 

 ers and vacationists, and this would be the only area of virgin tim- 

 berland left on the north slope of the Presidential Range. Another 

 area is located around the Glen Ellis Falls and extends in a narrow 

 strip from here, on both sides of the trail, up through Tuckermans 

 ravine on the slopes of Mount Washington to an elevation of 4,000 

 feet, the Hmit of merchantable timber. Another area is situated on 

 the East Branch of the Pemigewasset River, where Cedar and Shoal 

 Pond brooks come in. This is a popular camping spot for parties 

 crossing from the Crawford Notch region through the Pemigewasset 

 Valley to North Woodstock, and is very much used for camping. 

 Another tract is situated 7 miles west of North Woodstock on the 

 Mousilauke Brook. At this point, about 1 mile from its som-ce on 

 Mount Mousilauke, the brook disappears underground and flows 

 through a series of caverns for a distance of nearly half a mile, being 

 here called "Lost River." This underground stream is one of the 

 remarkable natural features in the White Mountains. Some twenty 

 or more caverns make the whole place one of unusual interest. Still 

 another area is Eagle Cliff, which is a combination of six mountains, 

 ranging in height fi'om 2,400 to 3,100 feet, all combined in one mass- 

 ive group, in the Franconia Notch. The south side of this cliff is very 

 steep and overlooks the Profile House, but on the opposite (north) 

 side it is more sloping in character, extending down to the wild bed 

 of Lafayette Brook, and is covered with a forest growth, mixed spruce 

 and hardwoods, of remarkable evenness and beauty. It is the most 

 prominent forest on the Franconia Range and one of the most promi- 

 nent to be found on any of the mountams. 



AREA AND LOCATION OF LANDS NEEDING PROTECTION. 



In order to determine the extent of the lands primarily available 

 for forests in the Southern Appalachian and White Mountain regions, 

 a reconnaissance survey has been made, as a result of which the 

 accompanying maps have been prepared. Maps I and II show for 

 the two regions the lands to be classed as distinctly moimtainous 

 and nonagricultural. 



