You might ask why a Forest Service Chief should care so much about water. Water and soil are the primary natural resources we need to live to meet our most basic needs. Water is tied to soil through watersheds. A watershed is all the land drained by a single network of streams and lakes. Unchecked surface runoff from rain or snow can devastate a watershed.
Soils can wash away, permanently degrading the land.
But not in forests. Forest soils soak up water like sponges, letting it percolate into groundwater to recharge streams and maintain an even year-round flow. Even in heavy downpours, forests keep runoff and soil loss to a minimum. History is littered with civilizations that abused their forests and suffered. The bare, rocky hills of Greece were once covered with lush forests.