14 MISC. CIECULAE 4 7, U. S. DEPT. OF AGEICULTUEE 



development of small springs and seeps. Certain forests had their 

 flocks and herds reduced as much as 30 per cent for certain classes 

 of livestock in the past two decades, to correlate the numbers grazed 

 with the capacity of the ranges for feeding them on a long-continued 

 and profitable basis. 



The wise management of the national-forest lands means every- 

 thing to the livestock business. Without it, summer grazing in the 

 mountains, the backbone of the livestock industry of the intermoun- 

 tain region, would be lost. 



i^-r€ 



F-4S888 — A 



Figure 5. — The result of overgrazing ; forage and watershed protection destroyed 

 HYDROELECTRIC POWER 

 EXTENT OF DEVELOPMENT 



One of the characteristics of the intermountain region is the pre- 

 valence of electric light and power in all the small towns in the 

 vicinity of the mountains. The secret, of course, lies in the abun- 

 dance of water power derived from the never-failing streams emerg- 

 ing from the canyons. (Fig. 6.) There are lOT power plants 

 driven by water power in the intermountain region, and Utah alone 

 has 69. The development of this resource has scarcely begun. 

 AYithin the intermountain region it has been estimated that from 

 2,750,000 to 5,250,000 horsepower may be developed. Of this 

 amount approximately half is located within the national forests 

 and the remainder upon the larger rivers which have their origin 

 in the high mountain lands covered by the same forests. 



DEPENDENCE ON FOREST CO\'ER 



Like irrigation projects, hydroelectric development is greatly 

 hampered, if not impossible, on mud-laden, rock-carrying streams, 

 subject to floods every spring and after the summer thunderstorms 

 that break the periods of low water and drought. Rivers, like the 

 Snake, Bear, and others that drain large areas are, of course, not 



