WATER 



185 



haps just to sit there and gaze into limpid coolness. Of all the recreational 

 resources of the national forests, water is surely the most valuable. 



Of water most of the national forests still have plenty. A glance at a 

 map of Minnesota and Wisconsin forests, for instance, discloses countless 

 lakes and a veinlike network of thousands of small streams feeding succes- 

 sively larger and larger ones to form rivers. So it is even on drier forests 

 westward. Four of the largest drainage systems of the country originate in 

 the national forests of Colorado. To the northeast too, countless streams 

 cascade down the slopes of the White Mountains. 



In some of the Central States, in the Black Hills of South Dakota, and 

 throughout the Southwest in general, natural water is not so abundant, 

 or such as occurs naturally is not always useful for recreation. It is likely 

 to be stilled and stagnant. Even where there is some flowing fresh water 

 as in parts of the South, urban pollution often makes it unusable. Such 

 forest areas face a real problem in developing and maintaining watering 

 places for the public use and pleasure. 



Then, too, much water on the national forests in general is no longer 

 freely available to pleasure seekers, and public demand upon it increases 

 rapidly. To help prevent pollution of drinking water, certain watersheds 

 have been closed to recreational use. And the demand keeps rising to bar 

 the general public from easy access to many lakes and streams. Private 

 ownership of a key tract strategically situated may discourage or even pre- 

 vent large numbers of people from finding and using for their pleasure the 

 water and shore sites. 



Despite all this, and despite other conflicts between the few and the 

 many which have been suggested, much good water in the national forests 

 still is open to the use of the people. And here and there, through recent 

 land acquisitions and public construction, the amount of clean water useful 

 for pleasure has been increased. 



Some of the forest pools developed cost less than $200. The construction 

 is simple: A low dam of unobtrusive design, to deepen and perpetuate an 

 existing swimming hole. To clear snags, rocks, and brush away is some- 

 times enough. But clay beaches, or silt beaches, are a bit miry. It is hard 

 to swim and bask and come out clean. With relief labor it is often possible 



