INTRODUCTION 



For many years the Forest Service has been conscious of its watershed responsibil- 

 ities in the Western States. The high mountain country in the 11-State area from Nfew 

 Mexico to Montana and westward provides the water necessary for the survival and well- 

 being of some 32 million persons. About 18. S percent of the land area in these States 

 is administered by the Forest Service and nearly 50 percent of the major water produc- 

 ing areas fall within National Forest boundaries. Acting as managers of watersheds 

 that supply the needs of so many people is indeed a grave responsibility. 



The Forest Service, throughout its history as a public land management agency, has 

 given special attention to problems of water production and quality in conjunction with 

 its management and protection of other land resources and within the framework of its 

 land stewardship commitment. A major consideration in regulating timber harvest, range 

 use, and the general development of forest land has been to maintain or improve water- 

 shed and streamflow conditions. The concern for these critical watersheds is reflected 

 in the policy to rehabilitate, as promptly as funds permit, those watersheds damaged by 

 fire or past management practices. 



Damage to watersheds is not a problem the Forest Service alone faces nor is it a 

 problem peculiar to the West. Moreover, not all such damage can be called "historical." 

 Although it is true that before National Forests were established the millions of sheep 

 and cattle that roamed the open ranges did irreparable damage, overgrazing continued 

 long afterward on the Forests and on other public lands. Although the Taylor Grazing 

 Act and actions by the Forest Service have succeeded in substantially reducing the im- 

 pact of heavy grazing, there have been many instances where public land agencies, in- 

 cluding the Forest Service, have permitted a level of grazing that has since proved far 

 too heavy. 



Overgrazing cannot, however, be blamed for all watershed damage either past or 

 present. Careless logging operations, poorly-constructed road systems, mining activi- 

 ties, and excessive concentrations of big game in small areas, coincident or subsequent 

 to depletion of larger game-range areas, also contributed to many of the current water- 

 shed problems. 



During the time the Forest Service has been attempting to conquer its watershed 

 management and rehabilitation problems, the rapidly developing West has placed even 

 greater demands on watersheds. These demands are both for water production and other 

 onsite uses at levels that are potentially damaging. As the development of the land 

 and communities moved out of the valley bottoms, there was a need for increasing numbers 

 of storage and distribution facilities. As a result, such facilities were often con- 

 structed before the land use and land management problems on the watersheds could be 

 brought under control. Consequently, many small reservoirs filled with sediment at such 

 rates that they virtually had no chance to function as designed. 



These pressures for more water and increased onsite uses likely will continue. 

 Current projections of population growth indicate that by 1985 about 45 million persons 

 will be relying on the same watershed areas for a water demand that could double. Con- 

 sequently, an increasing number of water development projects are being undertaken, and 

 they are expensive. In the West the precipitation is highly seasonal over most of the 

 region where water is most needed. Providing adequate water at desired times requires 

 large storage facilities in areas where alternative storage sites are very limited, if 

 they exist at all. Limited sites and few alternatives make it imperative that completed 

 storage and distribution projects be given every chance for long-term effective opera- 

 tion. A reservoir that is rapidly filling with sediment cannot be useful for very long. 



