F-296726 



Figure 9.— Truck roads now 

 reach the small coal mines 

 that -were called "ivagon" 

 mines a few years ago. 



:4tieii^!ciiS 



tuial land, w?.tershed-management practices on lor- 

 est lands cannot give the desired results unless agri- 

 cultural lands are managed for the same objective. 



Much land in Kentucky is so rough that water- 

 shed protection may be its primary use. Flash floods 

 are very destructive in some places. For example, 

 the annual flood damage in the Kentucky Ri\'er 

 watershed is estimated to be about 12 million dol- 

 lars. More than half of this loss is caused by flood- 

 ing annual crops and pasture. Misuse of the so- 

 called "hill land" in the upper watersheds contrib- 

 utes gr-eatly to the damage caused by these floods. 

 Experts believe that good land management could 

 reduce flood damage in the Kentucky River water- 

 shed by half. Inasmuch as 40 to 45 percent of this 

 watershed is in forest cover, forest management and 

 good timber ciUting practices are important in any 

 flood control program. 



Flood damage, while spectacular, is not necessar- 

 ily the greatest loss suffered from the misuse of land. 

 In some parts of Kentucky the underground water 

 table has recently been dropping 2 feet or more a 

 year. Many communities are short of water during 

 dry periods and so cannot accommodate new indus- 

 tries. Surface water can be impotmded to furnish 

 a water supply, but this might not be dependable 



unless the watershed is protected. Forests provide 

 good protection. London and Morehead have both 

 built reservoirs only to ha\e them silt up in a few 

 )ears and become nearly useless. Morehead built a 

 second impoundment with the watershed area pro- 

 tected by the Cumberland National Forest. Where 

 watersheds are not protected by natural forests, com- 

 munities may find it profitable to establish forest 

 plantations to provide watershed protection. 



Recreation is important in Kentucky even though 

 recreational facilities are not yet fully developed. 

 In 1951 more than 2 million persons visited the 

 State parks. In addition, many visited Mammoth 

 Cave National Park, the Cumberland National For- 

 est, and pri\ately owned attractions. The forests, 

 streams, geological attractions, and historical points 

 of interest could acconrmodate an even larger toin- 

 ist trade. 



All together, there are about 727,000 acres of 

 forests in public ownership. Most of this acreage is 

 in the Cumberland National Forest. Kentucky's 

 State parks and national parks contain more than 

 50,000 acres. Without these forests the State's play- 

 grounds would lose much of their appeal to the 

 tourist (fig. 10). Thousands of people also use the 

 forests as a place to himt and fish. During the 



Kentucky's Forest Resources and Industries 



