OCR Text |
Show Forestry A comprehensive basin plan should integrate for- est use with other land use changes to control soil erosion and water flow. To meet the goal of im- proved economic opportunities, the plan also will provide for expanding timber production and for recreation and wildlife. Measures directed toward producing a perma- nent supply of timber for industry, such as cutting control, fire protection, and grazing protection, are particularly important in the Alabama-Coosa Basin. They can increase rural income by expanding tim- ber yields from farm woodlands and can increase nonfarm employment opportunities by providing adequate timber for an expanding forest industry. Increased timber production in this area is im- portant to the Nation. The extensive forest area located near markets and the remarkably produc- tive forests make the southeast region responsible for producing a major part of the Nation's timber needs. While the forest resources are declining in most parts of the Nation, present and anticipated national timber needs far exceed the rate of forest growth. The Alabama-Coosa Basin's share of a national timber growth goal, which aims to supply enough timber in the future to make it available at reason- able prices, calls for an annual growth rate of 50 cubic feet of all timber per acre of forest (an in- crease of one-fourth) including 180 board feet of saw timber (a two-thirds increase). The effort re- quired to meet this goal will not tax the growth capacity of the land since the forests of this region can grow an average of 300 board feet of saw timber per acre. Mineral Resources The mining industries of the Alabama-Coosa Basin will use the water resources of the area for power, fo:r refining processes, for cooling, and for transportation. Underground water constitutes a handicap -to efficient and economical mining opera- tions in some areas. Dewatering problems caused by large quantities of ground water moving along faults under great pressure, intersected by mining operations, require immediate study and solution to permit continued successful mining of iron ores in this area. Water development plans should consider (1) whetlier reservoirs will flood and make un- usable an)^ potential mineral resources, and (2) the problem of meeting the water requirements of a synthetic fuels industry based upon the lignite de- posits of the area. Industry Industrial expansion offers the greatest immedi- ate promise of providing more adequate economic opportunity for the people of the basin. Wise de- velopment of the area's water resources will be an important factor in the expansion of existing indus- tries and in inducing new industries to locate in the area. Some of the area's major industries use large quantities of water. For others the quality of water is important. The potential hydroelectric power, if developed, would provide ample low-cost power for future industries throughout the southeastern region. Manufacturers in the area can produce finished goods from local raw materials with which the area is well endowed-the iron, coal, and other minerals and the increased forest and farm products. Be- cause of the location of this region on the Gulf Coast, raw materials from foreign countries can be brought to industries in the region. Flood Control Under natural conditions, some 500,000 acres of valley lands are subject to inundation, about 50 per- cent of which are cleared. Major floods, occurring usually in winter months, cause urban damage at Rome, Gadsden, Montgomery, and Selma. At Rome and on a few tributaries, levees have been constructed and the Allatoona Reservoir has been built recently to control the Etowah River above Rome. Additional flood protection to bottom lands on the main river and principal tributaries will be afforded by providing storage in the multiple- purpose system of reservoirs in order to hold part of the flood flow above the normal level of the power pools. Sound planning will provide for flood control measures to permit the use of potentially productive bottom lands for agriculture where application of sound flood plain zoning require- ments would not adequately prevent flood damages. Navigation The lower section of the Alabama River is used for rafting logs and barging gravel downstream to 570 |