Abilene weekly reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1888-1935, 1909-04-08
Forests.


decreasing and reforestlng an are
may have upon floods. The grea
champion in the cause Of cultivatint
forests to prevent damage by flood
Is the Honorable Government For
ester. His enthusiasm has becom'
contagious and advocates a reforest
ing treeless areas as means OF fl0Ot
prevention and numerous in all part
of the United States. The subject Il
discussed here because in a way i
corresponds to the reservoir system
Rains falling upon forested are'
is partially consumed in wetting thu
leaves and branches Of the trees, ant
| is held back and enters the drainage
channel more slowly, which in turr
prevents sudden rise Of the stream
For ordinary rains and mild floods
there can be no doubt but that such
covering of forest trees materially
reduces the stage of high water
But here, as with reservoirs, 1t Is the
first rain that falls which vets the
leaves and branches and trunks oil
the trees. When excessive rains
come, four and five and six inches
the early rains thoroughly wet and
saturate all parts of the forest trees,
trunk, branch and leaf, SO that the
later part of the rain will have about
the same influence on flood condi-
lions as though the forests were not
there. 1t sens to the writer the i'm
portance of cumulative influence OF
forests has been greatly exaggerated.
Enthusiasts even go so far as to
claim that could we have our entire
country reforested the whole prob
lem of flood preventions would be
solved. Such parties should not be
called scientists, because the scien-
test sees in the river flood plains,
as already explained, positive EVIL
dence that the river valleys of Amer
lea have been visited by floods in
times past fully as much and prob
ably more than in modern times. This
geological evidence is not old sim
ply because it is geological, 1t deals
with the most recent period of geolo-
gic time, and links the past with the
present. 1t is little short of folly to
teach that destructive floods can be
prevented by reforesting the surface
of the country, no matter to what
extent such reforesting may be car
ried.
In a measure forests in river
flood plain become positively objec-
tionable because they retard the flow
of water already in the stream. No
sooner does stream overflow its
banks than the forest trees interfere
with the flow of water here, just the
same as they do on the uplands. Any
thing whatever which retards to any
degree the flow of water after 1t
once enters a stream becomes direct
ly flood producer. There can be no
question but that when the water has
once overrun the flood plains every |
tree, every bush, every blade OF grass
retards its movements. To whatever
extent this Is done they are positively
objectionably. 1t is passing strange
that SO much Importance should be
placed on this subject at a time SO
little removed from the days when
practically all Of the river valleys in
America we're forested in view of the
fact that all of our history and leg
ends coincide with geological evil
dence showing conclusively that our
rivers overflow their banks in those
days as frequently and to as great
an extent as they do now.
Levees.
Certain prominent citizens and en-
zineers are enthusiastic over the
beneficial effects that may be obtain
ID by the building Of levees along
liver banks in order to prevent flood
destruction. 1t seems to the writer
hat this method of improvement in
general should be handled with great
ARE. In effect, 1t is virtually the
,ame as deepening the channel. All
-iyers while meandering through the
food ploins naturally build levees.
Invariably such streams through the
greater part of their course have
built up the leyees from five to ten
leet and even twenty feet above the
Hood plain farther back from the
river. AT Lawrence during the flood
II 1903 there was one little spot OF
Try ground on the north side of the
river Immediately at the river bank.
Btween this and the bluff to the
north in some places the water was
As much as ten feet deep, while here
he surface was from one to three
,eet above the water level, showing
hat the natural river levee was ten
Dr. twelve feet higher than the main