OCR Text |
Show LAND TREATMENT AND MANAGEMENT An appraisal of future land treatment and management requirements was made assuming that all land use will be based on sustained or increased production without deterioration of the land and water resources. Erosion and sedimentation processes are major problems in the Region, Soil erosion causes various types of damage as does sediment, the product of erosion. Erosion causes such damage as land loss and loss in land productivity, decreases recreation values and the quality of fish and wildlife habitat, and in most cases, blemishes the esthetic value of the landscape. The 19^5 average annual erosion damage of $6.7 million, with- out additional protection measures or works of improvement installed after 1965, is projected to increase to $24.1 million by 2020. There is a need for the treatment of mountain watershed lands to increase and regulate water yield in order to help fulfill the ever- increasing water requirements. Control of wildfire is basic to the development and utilization of nearly all resources, activities, and uses of the forest and rangelands of the Lower Colorado Region. The 19&5 average annual damage from this source of $5.7 million, with no intensification of the wildfire protec- tion program, is projected to increase to about $20.0 million by 2020. Area of severely eroded grazing land. 75 |