Southern Appalachian Digital Collections

Western Carolina University (21) View all

Secretary of Agriculture report on watersheds

items 40 of 41 items
  • wcu_great_smoky_mtns-14420.jpg
Item
?

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

  • 38 APPALACHIAN AND WHITE MOUNTAIN WATERSHEDS. NATIONAL FORESTS WOULD AID LOCAL INDUSTRIES. If established, national forests should in every way benefit the industries of the Southern Appalachian and White Mountain regions. Their influence upon the lumber industry would be to make it permanent rather than temporary, because its supply of raw material would be made permanent. As rapidly as the timber on the forests became large enough to be used it would be sold, but the young timber would be reserved from sale, protected, and held for a future crop. The action of the Government in protecting from fire large areas of forest would largely solve the fire problem in the two regions. Forest fires are the greatest obstacle to private forestry throughout the Appalachians. Let this be removed, and private forestry in many localities will become not only entirely practicable but relatively simple. In this result alone the national forests would be of great help to the lumber industry. To mining and prospecting the national forests would introduce no obstacles, as both operations could go on within the forests unhindered, just as they do in the Western States. In general, the Government should purchase the land without the mineral rights, and where the mineral rights were obtained regular provision should be made for their disposal. On the other hand, by insuring a future timber supply the reserves would be of the greatest value to the mines, which consume great quantities of wood. Often the profitableness of mining is determined solely by the presence or absence of a good supply of mining timbers. To farming and fruit growing the national forests should give material stimulus. The protection of the higher mountain slopes would greatly increase the safety of farming and fruit growing in the valleys below. No agricultural lands should be included. Should it be necessary to purchase small tracts of farming land in order to obtain large areas of important mountain land, provision should be made for reselling or otherwise utilizing them. The forests need not interfere in the slightest degree with the settlers who own and cultivate small areas of farm land along the mountain streams. Neither would they stop the use of the mountains for grazing where there is proper food for stock. The high mountain tops or "balds" which sometimes would be included, and other good grass lands, could be grazed without interfering with the purposes of the forests. The many other uses which can be made of the mountains would be facilitated rather than hindered. Such uses are for power development, hotel and residence sites, rights of way, and sawmills. The forests would not reduce the population of the region; on the contrary, they would increase the population by increasing the demand for labor and making more stable and permanent the local industries. It has been raised as an objection against the proposed forests that they would reduce the funds of the counties affected, by cutting down the taxable property. This should not be the case. In the West the Government returns to the counties 10 per cent of all revenues received from its forests in them. This more than compensates for the loss of taxes. The same should be done in the East. To the local residents of the Appalachian region the forests shoald be of great benefit. In addition to the protection they would give to farming and the permanence they would give to the lumber industry,
Object
?

Object’s are ‘parent’ level descriptions to ‘children’ items, (e.g. a book with pages).