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CHAPTER XII. 



THE FOREST PROBLEM IN THE WEST. 



The economic interest of the American people in their forests 

 everywhere, and especially in the West, is to preserve the integrity 

 and water holding power of the mountain watersheds of the country. 

 This is clearly the public interest, whether these mountain watersheds 

 could or could not support by their products and wise use a system of 

 management guaranteeing the integrity of their water-holding power. 

 The public interest is both economic and humanitarian in preserving 

 the mountain forest covering. Without forest preservation, most of 

 our remaining wild public land districts cannot be settled, and districts 

 already settled are likely to lose In man-sustaining power. This has 

 occurred already over wide areas of the world from undue forest de- 

 nudation, on the one side by the irregular or exhausted water supply, 

 and on the other by the destructive action of flood and torrent through 

 sudden rainfall delivery from bared areas. The proper preservation 

 of forest balance does not require that ripe timber should not be cut, 

 or that other uses, such as mining, should not be enjoyed. 



The interests and requirements of districts vary in what treatment 

 of forested areas is most advantageous. In most of the West, and in 

 all of the Southwest, the conditions of topography, rainfall and climate 

 exact the highest care and treatment of the comparatively small 

 forested area, all of which in the Southwest is on mountains or high 

 plateaus only. 



JUDICIOUS USE OF FOREST PRODUCTS ADMISSIBLE. 



In this district it were better for the country and for its people 

 that no use should be made of forest lands or forest products than to 

 have the forests wasted and burned, as at present is generally being 

 done. 



However, no such drastic remedy as the isolation of the forests 



