2 MISC. PUBLICATION 9 0, IT. S. DEPT. OP AGRICULTURE 



of the soil can be maintained, by proper management. The water 

 supply can be conserved by the same measures which renew and 

 perpetuate the forests and forage; for, by maintaining the plant 

 cover on the watersheds, decreases in the amount of water available 

 and increases in the damage to life and property by floods can largely 

 be prevented. Wild life also is a natural resource of the forest and 

 range which can be renewed. 



Organized effort to conserve the natural resources of the United 

 States began with the creation of the American Forestry Associa- 

 tion in 1875. In 1891 Congress gave the President authority to set 

 aside forest reserves, and President Cleveland took advantage of 

 this authority to reserve extensive areas of forest from further entry. 

 Among these areas was the Uinta Forest Reserve, established in 

 1897, covering the greater part of the Uinta range in Utah. In 1899 

 and 1901, President McKinley issued proclamations which marked 

 the beginning of the Fishlake Forest and the Nebo division of the 

 present Uinta Forest. Under President Roosevelt the proclamations 

 became more frequent and included greater areas. In 1905 the forest 

 reserves were transferred from the Department of the Interior to 

 the Department of Agriculture by an act of Congress, and placed 

 under the authority of the Forest Service; and in 1907 the name 

 forest reserves was changed to the more appropriate name of national 

 forests. By 1906 a nucleus had been established for each of the 

 national forests now in the State. Since that time areas which have 

 proved to be more valuable for agriculture than for forests have 

 been eliminated. There have also been minor additions and some 

 consolidations, and on June 30, 1929, there were 10 national forests 

 in Utah with a total area of 7,475,762 acres. 



The policy under which the national forests have always been 

 administered was laid down at the outset by Secretary of Agricul- 

 ture James Wilson, who directed that all their resources should be 

 used, that this use should be for the benefit of the whole people and 

 under such restrictions only as would insure the permanence of these 

 resources, and that all questions of management of the forests should, 

 be decided from the standpoint of the greatest good to the greatest 

 number in the long run. 



On September 19, 1914, at the request of Salt Lake City, Congress 

 reserved from all forms of entry and set aside as a municipal water- 

 supply reserve for the use and benefit of the city of Salt Lake City, 

 portions of City Creek, Bed Butte, Emigration, and Parley's Can- 

 yons, to be administered by the Secretary of Agriculture in coopera- 

 tion with and at the exclusive expense of the city for the purpose of 

 storing, conserving, and protecting from pollution the said water 

 supply, and preserving, improving, and increasing the timber growth 

 on said lands to more fully accomplish such purposes. This reserve 

 is within the Wasatch National Forest. Salt Lake City has also 

 acquired lands of its own on its watersheds and administers them 

 mainly for watershed protection. 



The State of Utah has established game preserves and fish hatch- 

 eries; it has enacted fish and game laws; and it operates a fish and 

 game department, all for the conservation of its natural resources. 



It is evident that conservation of natural resources in Utah has 

 already been recognized as a Federal, State, and municipal respon- 

 sibility. 



