Vacation Trips in i J\ e 

 Page Thirteen Holy C r o s s N at i o n al F or e si 



WATER POWER IN THE FOREST. 



^.lidway between Glenwood Springs and Hanging Lake is located 

 the Colorado Power Co.'s hydroelectric plant, which is the largest 

 in Colorado. The entire flow of the Grand River is used in generating 

 electrical power at this point, and the minimum flow of this stream 

 is inadequate for the needs of this important enterprise. Power 

 generated at this plant is used for domestic and commercial purposes 

 throughout the surrounding countr}^ and as far east as Denver. 



A trip into the mountains helps one to realize what the protection 

 of Forest watersheds from fire means to such industries as this. Alonsr 

 the edges of the timber in the higher countr}" great drifts of snow, 

 which are slowly melting and supplementing the flow of the Grand 

 River, will be seen even in midsummer. Out in the open the snow 

 is all gone, having been melted away by the first warm days of spring. 

 One needs no scientific student to tell him that it is imperative that 

 the drainage areas of the Grand River should be protected from fire 

 to preser\^e an ample and uniform flow of water for power and other 

 domestic and commercial purposes. 



FIRE. 



Fire is the greatest enemy of our mountain forests. During the 

 dangerous fire season the forest officers of the Holy Cross National 

 Forest give fire protection precedence over all other work. All parts 

 of the Forest may be communicated with by telephone from the 

 Castle Peak lookout, at which an officer is on duty from daylight to 

 dark. The prime objective is to learn of a fire in its incipiency, and 

 to be prepared with the necessary men and equipment to extinguish it. 

 Each forest ranger has secondary lookout points and patrol routes 

 on his district, but even w^ith all these advantages and precautionary 

 measures on the part of Government officials the cooperation of 

 visitors to the Forest is necessary. 



You may be the first to discover a fire, and no matter how small 

 it is it should receive attention at once. If you can not put it out 



