The Western news. [volume] (Libby, Mont.) 1933-current, 1948-12-23
PROBLEMS IN WATERSHED
MANAGEMENT IN THE
NATIONAL FORESTS"

Presented by p D. Hanson, Reg
lonal Forester before the Joint
Meeting of Columbia Basin Inter
Agency Committee and Columbia
River Resource Committee, Spo-
kane, Wash, Dec. 8, 1948.
l appreciate very much this op-
portunity to present to the Column
.bia Basin Inter-Agency Committee
Ie-, condensed view of some of the
problems affecting the management
OF the watersheds of the national
forests. This is a complex prob
lem which would involve consider
able time to treat in detail.
The Forest Service operates this
property under the principle of
multiple use of all resources. Water
production is one of the major uses.
II transcendS all others. The man
aGement of other resources in pro-
cess of development must be kept !
Ia harmony with water manage
rcnt.
A major portion of the water
v hich flows in the Columbia River
in this country, from
watersheds under the administra-
ION of the Forest Service. This is
lue to the fact that national for
sst lands are, in general, located
n the higher elevations where pre-
iritation, chiefly in the form of
now, occurs in greater relative
'olume than it does on larger areas
# land at lower elevation As an /
IS percent of the water
lowing in the river at Metaline
'alls IS known to originate on ma
.onal forest watersheds
The enabling legislation estab- :
shlng the national forests by the r
-ct of June 4, 1897, provides that e
1rest reservations shall be estdb- r
shed for the purpose of improving Il
nd protecting the forest within the =
in order to secure ia
orable conditions of water flows
nd to furnish a continuous supply -
timber for the necessities of d
tizens of the United States So, >,
we in the Forest Scr. -
ce are in the business of manae- -
e watersheds for the production y.
water 1t would be homogeneous a.
state that we are not interested o.
the program of river basin de -
lopment since this movement II ~
elf is a means of assuring our IN
elective of beneficial use of the r,
lters so provided
Since the creation Of the ma
nal forest system. our work in lol
neral has been of necessity di- va
tied mainly along custodial lines. at
e forests as they came to us ia
uipa1ly- ,rtora ,,nJavoIopod ard III
re subject to many devastating gri
est fires which were then, and st,
We continued. to take a large toll
m values in the national forest De
tersheds Forest fire control int
refore has been our main activ me
of the past This era of custod- the
ship is being rapidly transformed
. a period where the resources WI
a national forest are needed for the
We are now approaching 4 cot
IOd of intensive forest develop RO.
Mt. management, and protection Ha
he major products from national SUP
ast land can be listed as timber, Mr.
er, forage for domestic stock the
wildlife. and opportunities for I
cation I wish TO treat two or Of
,e of the major resources brief anC
use
he timber industry is becoming viii
dly dependent in large degree era
the early availability of large and
INES of timber products from
onal forest lands This ap- edu
lching dependency is due to the to
that the timber supply nation viii
and particularly that on pri- cree
ly owned lands is declining trai
dly Our national capital IN and
DRY of saw timber has decline
-- N
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