WHAT THE NATIONAL FORESTS MEAN TO THE 

 INTERMOUNTAIN REGION 



WEALTH THAT COMES DOWN FROM THE MOUNTAINS 



The intermountain region is that vast, elevated basin between 

 the Rocky Mountains on the east and the Sierra Nevada Range on 

 the west and between the Salmon River on the north and the Grand 

 Canyon of the Colorado River on the south. 



The region is characterized by long, rough mountain ranges, 

 small, fertile valleys, and great stretches of semiarid, desertlike 

 plains. Settlement and economic development have been concen- 

 trated in relatively small areas within this wide territory and it 

 would seem as if the fundamental wealth of the region were in these 

 oasislike, irrigated valleys, and in the industrial cities and the min- 

 ing camps. Land valuation helps to confirm this impression, rich, 

 irrigated farming lands being worth from $100 to $200 or more 

 per acre as compared with an assessed valuation of from $1 to $10 

 an acre for adjacent mountain lands. A careful study of under- 

 lying conditions, however, reveals the fact that a great deal of the 

 wealth in the more flourishing sections comes directly or indirectly 

 from the mountains; that it is the mountain masses, the sources of 

 wood and water, which are the fountain heads of prosperity and 

 development of the region. The lumber industry, the livestock 

 industry, irrigated farming, water-power development, mining, and 

 other economic activities all depend fundamentally on the resources 

 drawn from the mountains and on the effect of the vegetative cover 

 on their slopes. 



Wood and water are what give life to the farms, the mines, and 

 the cities; and the high mountain ranges are the chief contributors 

 of these two fundamental necessities. The infinite number of small, 

 low mountain ranges that break up the great plateau have not meant 

 much to the development of the valley land because the resources 

 which the mountains provide depend very largely upon the amount 

 of rainfall they receive, which, in turn, is dependent in great meas- 

 ure upon their height. The mountains that have really counted 

 in the upbuilding of the region are the high major masses, those 

 which have enough rainfall to produce forests. 



Out of approximately 35,000,000 acres of mountain land in the 

 region, valuable for timber and as the source of irrigation water, 

 more than 30,000,000 acres are now included within the national 

 forests. The close relationship that exists between the national 

 forests and the adjacent valleys and the dependence of these valleys 

 on the resources furnished by the timbered mountains are indicated 



