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Show PART IV MEANS FOR MEETING NEEDS Farmers Home Administration The Farmers Home Administration (FHA) was established to aid in the solution of rural and small community problems. The FHA offers a variety of loans that include: Farm Ownership Loans, Economic Loans to Coopera- tives, Economic Loans to Individuals, Grazing Association Loans, Operating Loans, Rural Housing Loans, Water Development and Soil Conservation Loans, Watershed Loans, Financial Assistance Loans, and Recreational Enterprise Loans. Four Corners Regional Commission The Four Corners Regional Commission (FCRC) is one of the newly organized Economic Development Districts created by the Economic Develop- ment Administration (EDA). The EDA is an agency within the Department of Commerce, established by the Public Works and Economic Development Act (PL 89-136) of 1965 and amended by PL 90-103, 1967. The Four Corners Regional Commission's primary goal is to draw up plans and formulate pro- grams to help stimulate the economic development of a 92 county area including parts "of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, and Utah. The Commission is presently: (1) evaluating the available resources of the area, (2) establishing development goals, and (3) preparing a program that will coordinate all public and private efforts for the best socio-economic development and growth in the region. Proposals and project suggestions will be evaluated by the Commission and those with the most direct impact will be selected for initial action. Opportunities Available for Water Yield Improvement Past watershed management has been aimed primarily at protection of the watershed rather than with the production of water. Recent projects, such as those on "barometer" watersheds, bring in the new dimension of management for the sake of the water itself. This program seeks to coordinate resource management activities on water-producing areas to the end that water quantity and quality become planned resource outputs. From Forest Service research on the pressing problems of water resource management in high elevation forests and alpine areas, two basic methods of watershed treatment have evolved for increasing water yield: (1) rearrangement or reductions of the vegetation mass in the timber harvest zone, (2) conversion of deep-rooted stands of dense brush or noncommercial timber to shallower rooted stan<£s of grass. Manipulation of vegetal cover and other water yield improvement techniques can result in increased streamflow without damage to the watershed or to areas downstream if the activity is carefully planned and executed as a part of a coordinated land and resource management program. The danger lies in proceeding too fast with too little knowledge 74 |