The National Forests of New Mexico. 19 



THE SANTA FE NATIONAL FOREST. 



(In Mora, Rio Arriba, Sandoval, San Miguel, Santa Fe, and Taos Counties.) 



The Santa Fe National Forest lies on either side of the valley of 

 the Rio Grande in northern New Mexico. It embraces a gross area 

 of 1,489.987 acres, and is administered from the forest headquarters 

 in the historic town of Santa Fe. The Forest has two divisions — the 

 Jemez on the west and the Pecos on the east. 



The watersheds of this Forest supply important feeders to the 

 waters of the Rio Grande and embrace the headwaters of the Pecos 

 River. They bear a most important and beneficial relation, there- 

 fore, to the irrigated agricultural regions tributary to those two 

 streams. Along the Rio Grande and its tributaries, particularly be- 

 tween the two divisions of the Forest, there are many irrigated farms 

 dependent directly upon its watersheds for their irrigation water. 

 The Forest contains not only the entire watershed of the Santa Fe 

 River, which is the source of the water supply for the city of Santa 

 Fe, but also most of the Gallinas River watershed, which is the 

 source of the Las Vegas supply. The conservative handling of the 

 timber and grazing resources of these watersheds is, therefore, of the 

 utmost importance, and the forest administration is doing its best 

 to keep these water supplies from contamination. 



In addition to its value to the watersheds of the Rio Grande and 

 the Rio Pecos, the Santa Fo Xational Forest has timber resources 

 which are only beginning to be developed, and which will later be an 

 important factor in the timber supply of the Southwest. The total 

 stand is estimated to be about 2.672,037,000 board feet of saw timber 

 and 1,486,638 cords of wood. Of this 5,712,000 feet were cut during 

 the year ending June 30, 1921. Large bodies of this timber will 

 sustain a very much greater annual cut as soon as they can be made 

 accessible by means of the extensive railroad construction which will 

 be necessary to reach them. The Forest now supplies material for 11 

 active mills. Excellent opportunities are offered, especially by the 

 timber on the Jemez division, to prospective purchasers who are pre- 

 pared to undertake large and extensive operations. 



The grazing resources also of this Forest are of very considerable 

 importance. Permits were issued for the season of 1921 for a total 

 of 9,683 head of cattle and horses and 78,422 head of sheep and goats. 

 Most of these animals are owned by settlers of the adjoining valleys. 

 For the calendar year 1921 there were 624 permittees. There is now 

 a little excess range on the Jemez division which would be available 

 for settlers. The forage on this range is largely mountain bunch 

 grass, which is best adapted for the summer grazing of cattle and 

 horses. There is very little winter range on the forest, and persons 



