igos\ Pratt — Appalachian Forest Reserve. 159 



rivers; and second, the protection of our supplies of lumber, 

 especially the hard woods. 



The region that is to comprise the proposed Appalachian 

 Forest Reserve lies for the most part in Western North Caro- 

 lina and eastern Tennessee, with smaller areas in southwest- 

 ern Virginia, northeastern Georgia and northwestern South 

 Carolina. The slopes of the mountains in this region are the 

 sources of many large rivers, as the Tennessee, the Savan- 

 nah, the Broad and the Catawba. The water-power and 

 navigation of these rivers are seriously affected by the removal 

 of the forests in the mountainous districts as is also the water 

 supply for the towns and cities in the vicinity of the moun- 

 tains and of these rivers. This southern section of the 

 United States has not been subjected to glacial action as the 

 northern States have and there are, therefore, no giacial drifts 

 in this region to act as storage reservoirs for water. Thus, 

 in the removal of the forests we are practically removing" all 

 the natural resources for storing water. 



In speaking- of forest reserves and particularly of the pro- 

 posed Southern Appalachian Reserve, President Roosevelt in 

 his address at Raleigh, N. C, October 20, 1905, pointed out 

 how vital the preservation of the forests is to the welfare of 

 every country and that the upper altitudes of the forested 

 mountains are most valuable to the nation as a whole, not 

 only on account of their commercial value as supplies of lum- 

 ber, but especially because of their effects upon the water 

 supply. He further said: "Neither state or nation can 

 afford to turn these mountains over to the unrestrained greed 

 of those who would exploit them at the expense of the future. 

 We cannot afford to wait longer before assuming- control, in 

 the interest of the public, of these forests; for if we do wait, 

 the vested interests of private parties in them may become so 

 strongly intrenched that it may be a most expensive task to 

 oust them. If the Eastern States are wise, then from the 

 Bay of Fundy to the Gulf we will see, within the next few 

 years, a policy set on foot similar to that so fortunately car- 



