on the watersheds of that section may entirely disappear. Such a
condition would cause floods after every heavy rain. The
available supplies of rainwater which are needed for the thirsty
crops would be wasted as flood waters. These floods would cause
great damage in the valleys through which they rushed. The
freshets would be followed by periods of water famine. The
streams would then be so low that they could not supply the
normal demands. Farmers would suffer on account of the lack of
irrigation water. Towns and cities that depended on the mountain
streams for their water supplies would be handicapped severely.
In a thousand and one ways, a deficient water supply due to
forest depletion would cause hardships and suffering in the
regions exposed to such misfortune.

The important part which forests play in the development of our
country is shown by the fact that from the streams of the
National Forests over 700 western cities and towns, with an
aggregate population of nearly 2,500,000, obtain their domestic
water supply. The forests include 1266 irrigation projects and
325 water-power plants, in addition to many other power and
irrigation companies which depend on the Government timberlands
for water conservation and the regulation of rain water run-off
and stream flow.

The National Forests aid greatly in conserving and making
available for use the precious limited rainfall of the arid
regions. That is why settlers in irrigated districts are deeply
interested in the cutting of timber in the Federal woodlands.
Destructive lumbering is never practiced in these forests. In its
place has been substituted a system of management that assures