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WCU - Great Smoky Mountains - A Park for America

H.R. 13523

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Item 1 - H.R. 13523
wcu_great_smoky_mtns-13988.jpg

H.R. 13523

NCWRA_019_04_03_56_01
Item 2 - H.R. 13523
wcu_great_smoky_mtns-13989.jpg

H.R. 13523

NCWRA_019_04_03_56_02
wcu_great_smoky_mtns-13990.jpg

H.R. 13523

NCWRA_019_04_03_56_03
Item 4 - H.R. 13523
wcu_great_smoky_mtns-13991.jpg

H.R. 13523

NCWRA_019_04_03_56_04
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Item’s are ‘child’ level descriptions to ‘parent’ objects, (e.g. one page of a whole book).

  • THE NATIONAL APPALACHIAN FOREST RESERVE. 3 The region is likewise the great eastern watershed,where the principal rivers have their sources, and from which they flow radially through the great valleys of the Tennessee and of Virginia. The James, the Roanoke, the Yadkin, the Catawba, the Broad, and Savannah flow to the Atlantic, transport the commerce of the country, water its farms, and furnish power for the growing industries of the South; the Alabama and the Chattahoochee flow to the Gulf; the Hiwassee, Tuckaseegee, Nolichucky, Watauga, Holston, French Broad, the Little Tennessee, and the Kanawha (or New) to the Ohio and the Mississippi. The rainfall in the region is excessive, ranging from 00 inches for the year in Georgia to 71 inches in North Carolina, and is exceeded nowhere in the United States except on the north Pacific coast. This fact has an important bearing upon the proposition to reserve and protect the forest of this region. It makes it especially necessary that the ground cover, the humus, leaves, network of tree roots, in fact all that makes the soil porous or spongy, should in every way be preserved. In the absence of ponds, lakes, and marshes this is the natural reservoir for the storage and regulation of the water supply. During the year last past floods in the rivers of the Piedmont Plateau swept away buildings, farms, bridges, and roads, exceeding in value the sum of $18,000,000. A large part of this loss might have been prevented if the forests about the river sources had been preseiwed and protected. Not the smallest of the resources of this southern Appalachian country is its water power. At various points on its numerous and important streams, between their sources and the head of navigation, are falls and rapids which furnish valuable power for the increasing manufactures of that region. Estimates made by the Geological Survey during the last three years place the available power at 1,000,000 horsepower, which at the least calculation would mean a saving in the coal consumption of the region equivalent to $30,000,000 annually. The utility of this power depends upon the uniformity of the water flow, and the water flow is very largely regulated by the forest cover. Farming settlements within the limits of the proposed reserve are neither numerous nor populous. Under proper supervision they may be allowed to continue without detriment to the proposed reserve. In . fact, they will undoubtedly be benefited by the measures to be adopted. Mining claims and manufacturing industries will likewise be protected and stimulated within the reserve area. The needs of the region may therefore be summed up in the words "forest protection." This means the preservation of the trees, the perpetuation and utilization of the timber supply, the salvation of the mountain and valley farms, the prevention of fires and floods, and the regulation of the water flow which furnishes the power. These needs have long been recognized b\' observant men, but the ability to .satisfy them resides not with individuals or States. The streams to be protected often rise in one State, flow through a second, and empty into the sea within the boundaries of a third. No individual or State can be expected to expend money in protecting the sources of a stream or developing its power when the benefits are to be enjoyed by the public generalty in another State or neighborhood. The National Government alone can afford to undertake works of this magnitude, and it is the only power able, economically and con-
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Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).

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Great Smoky Mountains - A Park for America

This digital collection was created to contribute to the public's understanding of the forces and ideas that led to the establishment of the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in 1934. The most vi...

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