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Show TABLE II.-Precipitation and runoff for forest and nonforest areas in the Colorado Basin TABLE 13.-Annual water and silt volumes meas- ured on Colorado River Source: Forest Service. TABLE 12.-Annual water yield Annual water yield (inches per acre) Percentage of total runoff Percentage of total area 40 inches or over............... 30 to 40... 4 11 20 35 15 15 0.2 1.2 1.5 6.6 5.5 85.0 20 to 30......... 10 to 20.......... 5 to 10...... Less than 5................. Total.............. 100 100.0 Source: Forests and Water in the Colorado River Basin, Forest Service, Jun<: 1950. scale with, the advent of the Spanish in New Mexico, A.rizona, and California. By 1870, cattle and sheep were grazed in numbers, and with the end of the Indian wars and the coming of the railroads, stock raising became a sizable industry. Nearly all of the lands being grazed were then public lancls. In keeping with the general practice, these were used by the stockmen without restriction. No complaints developed until homesteads were taken up along the streams and in watered valleys. In the 15J80's complaints began to develop about range fences which ran indiscriminately across section and township lines. Settlers reported hun- Gaging station Drainage area Discharge Silt total Acre-feet per square mile Green River...... Cisco............ San Juan......... Lees Ferry........ Square miles 40, 600 24,100 23, 900 107, 900 1,000 acre-Jut 4,027 5,409 1,836 11,803 Acre-feet 13, 920 9,685 22, 310 80,020 0.38 0.50 1.20 1.09 Source: Colorado River Sedimentation Report, Department of the Interior, Bureau of Land Management, Region IV, Sedimentation Conference Proceedings, Salt Lake City, Utah. dreds of miles of fence on Government land and that armed conflict was taking place. In some instances, cattlemen and their employees took up homesteads and other claims, but in many places the only evidences of settlement on these public lands were sod shanties. Signs warned "trespass- ers" to keep off the land. In some sections com- panies and individuals fenced in as much land as they could. Some claimed in court that a man had the right to as much public range as he could fence. The extent of such enclosures is not definitely known. Instances of enclosures of from 20,000 to 50,000 acres or more were numerous in all of the Western States and territories. Congress in 1885 made such enclosures illegal and gave permission to settlers and others to destroy illegal fences. This only intensified the struggle for possession. After passage of this act, many cases were taken to court, but in about half of them, the defendants won title to the land. That most entries were fraudulent was common knowledge, but despite sod shacks, conflicting entries, abandoned lands, and other claims patents were granted. Enforcement of the 1885 law opened the lands to grazing again. First-comers were entitled to the grass. No one was responsible for overgrazing or for the destruction of the range. However, some agreements were entered into by Federal officials with the cattlemen. The Public Lands Commis- sion appointed in 1904 said: At present, the public lands are theoreti- cally open commons, free to all citizens; but as a matter of fact a large proportion has been 418 Average annual Average water precipitation production State Arizona....... Colorado...... Nevada...... New Mexico... Utah.. .... Wyoming..... Percent Inches Inches Inches Inches Inches Inches 16 12.0 18.4 10.7 0.7 1.5 0.5 23 16.0 19.6 15.0 4.4 11.4 2.2 8 8.1 9.7 8.0 .5 1.1 .5 13 14.4 16.6 14.0 .6 1.7 .5 17 10.8 15.7 9.7 2.0 6.5 1.0 15 14.1 18.2 13.4 4.1 14.7 2.2 Area forest Whole State Forest Balance of State Whole State Forest Balance of State |