$300,000,000. The total investment in western irrigation de- 

 velopments, largely dependent on national-forest watersheds, is 

 $4,500,000,000. If the investment in western irrigation agricul- 

 ture is divided by the acreage of important watersheds, the 

 resulting figure is about $30 per watershed acre. If the invest- 

 ment of the national-forest grazing permittees in livestock ranches 

 and livestock is divided by the acreage of national-forest grazing 

 lands, the result is about $3.75 an acre. 



In addition to their value for irrigation agriculture, national- 

 forest watersheds have other extremely important values. They 

 supply the water for much of the hydroelectric power produced 

 in the Western States. Hundreds of western towns and cities 

 depend on the national forests for their municipal water supplies. 

 The whole economic life of the West, indeed, depends in a large 

 measure on a reliable, usable water supply from the national 

 forests. 



Satisfactory watershed management and the rebuilding of 

 deteriorated watershed cover is extremely important in the reduc- 

 tion of flood damages and of the costs of flood control on the 

 lower reaches of major streams. Flood damages and costs of 

 projects for the control of floods total many millions yearly in 

 the West. 



The recreational and wildlife resources of the national forests 

 also have important values. In 1947 a total of 21,324,000 

 recreational visits were made to the national forests — 34,000,000 

 man-days of use. The 4,537 improved camp and picnic grounds 

 were utilized by 8,780,000 persons. The national forests are the 

 principal home of extensive western deer and elk herds and many 

 other kinds of wildlife. Approximately 4,700,000 hunters, fisher- 

 men, and trappers utilized the national forests in 1947 — a total 

 of over 16,000,000 man-days of use. 



Cash expenditures by sportsmen and other recreationists are 

 an important source of income for local businessmen. Although 

 no reliable estimate of the amount is available, if each person 

 spends only $2 or $3 a day, the annual total must reach many 

 million dollars. 



14. It has been said that the Forest Service aims to eliminate 

 grazing entirely from national forests. Is this true? 



No. Definitely and positively the Forest Service does not seek 

 to exclude livestock from the national forests. On the contrary, 

 the policy aims at building up and maintaining the national-forest 

 ranges so that they can make their maximum contribution to a 



