In actual practice most wilderness areas are grazed and the live- 

 stock are handled in exactly the same manner as on other national- 

 forest lands. 



30. Why are irrigationists and water-power and municipal 

 water users interested in national forests? 



These groups are concerned with the management of the 

 national forests because most of the water in the Western States 

 on which they so vitally depend comes from national-forest water- 

 sheds. The amount and distribution of that water depends upon 

 the condition and management of the watersheds. 



Without effective protective plant cover to check runoff and 

 bind the soil, surface runoff is excessive, soil is eroded from slopes, 

 gullies are formed, reservoirs and irrigation ditches are silted up, 

 spring flows assume flood proportions, flash floods occur from 

 intensive summer storms, and highways, buildings and other 

 property are damaged, oftentimes miles away from where the 

 floods started. 



Sound range management aids in restoration or preservation 

 of plant cover; unwise use causes deterioration. The aim of 

 national-forest watershed management is to maintain the protec- 

 tive cover or where it is depleted, to restore it as rapidly as 

 possible. Rain or melting snow on lands well covered with grass, 

 shrubs, or trees does not quickly run off but moves slowly over 

 the surface, where it seeps through the decaying leaves and twigs 

 down through the porous topsoil to form underground reservoirs. 

 This process, both on the surface and underground, helps provide 

 a steady, dependable flow of clear water from springs and in 

 streams throughout the year. 



31. Should the Forest Act of 1897 be amended to provide by 

 law that grazing be a basic use of national-forest lands? 



Although by law the primary purposes of the national forests 

 are to produce timber and protect watersheds, there is ample 

 authority in the Act of June 4, 1897, to permit and encourage 

 other uses under regulations of the Secretary of Agriculture. 

 Regulations issued under the authority of that act, which have 

 the full effect and force of law, provide for grazing of domestic 

 livestock on the national forests. Grazing as one of the major 

 uses has also been repeatedly and increasingly recognized by the 

 Congress in the annual appropriation acts for the Department 

 of Agriculture containing provisions for range management, 

 improvement, and research. There can be no doubt that such 



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