Weekly journal-miner., 1922-04-19
WHY FORESTS MUST BE PROTECTED FOR
 NATIONS BENEFIT
Special to the JOurnal-Miner)

ALBUQUERQU April lI -
 President Hardings proclamation
 making April 16 to 22 Forest Pro-
 tection week brings the thought:
 Why retain these forests?
 The outstanding use of forests is
 to supply lumber America owes much of its great stride toward the
 high standards of living of its citizens to its original super-abundance of forests widely distributed. The con- dition of cheap and abundant lumber is passing ill this country and will never prevail again in the same de- gree as in the past century.
 The most important function of forests after forest products are con sidered, IS that of stream control, conservation of water supply and the prevention of erosion. Much could be said in this field but the mere mention of each of the above factors starts a train of thought that may carry one far. Floods, one of the least controllable of all natures upheavals once under way, are large ly the result of forest destruction and, conversely, are controllable and preventable by proper conservation of ground cover, chiefly forests.
 In Arizona, many irrigation pro jects derive the bulk of their water from forested areas, and the slow seeping of this water from the for est floor alone makes life possible in these dry regions. Prevention of erosion of steep mountain slopes by the forest roots which knit the soil to the rocks beneath, thereby reduc- ing the burden of silt carried by streams, is a great benefit to all irri- gation works. Water, checked in big dam like Roosevelt, drops its load of silt and the filling of such dams with soil, and the consequent reduction of their water capacity is a serious problem.
 The great western grazing indus try depends, in large part, on forest regions to supply much of its graz ing grounds. While not contribut- ing directly to the supply of feed, forests have associated with them many edible species of grasses, her. baceous plants and shrubs which are utilized by grazing livestock.
 Forests readily occupy land too rugged to be suited to agriculture or any similar use, hence, it is econ necessary that the many millions of acres of true forest land in the United States be kept fully stocked and productive. In this fea- ture, again, forests vindicate the reason for their being, namely, pro ducing a crop on land unfitted for cultivated crops.
 Another great field in which for ests affect human beings is that of recreation. Whenever one thinks of recreation, of a vacation, either the oceanside or the mountains are considered. The mountains mean the forests or woods. Annual ly, the stream of recreation seekers heads in uncounted thousands to the forested regions of the country, east and west. Most of the great nation al parks are in forest regions. The national forests attract hundreds of thousands each year from Canada to the Mexican line. Fishermen during the suRlmer and hunters in the fall flock to the forested sections for their favorite pastime and recrea- ton.
 This is the "why" of forests. Obviously, they must be protected against forest fires which would utterly destroy them. Forest fire prevention is therefore of tremendous importance to every citizen of this country.