Show THE VALUE OF THE FORESTS TO MOAB the following essay written by george powell was awarded first prize in the essay contest for moab N high school students conducted by the local forest office in connection wi with th forest protection week A 1 prize e of JG 6 was awarded for first p place DT I ace the essays winning second and third d prizes will be published in subsequent sequent issues editor R in 78 when the settlers began to come to moab to make a permanent sett lenvent the creeks were confined tu to narrow channels with well protected banks of recent years the A mountains have been overstocked over stocked too many trees have been cut and the indians destroyed it by purpose ly y building fires to frighten the big 01 0 1 game ame so 50 that they might slaughter it unmercifully merely for the hides bides and tongues a the result of this destruction destruct Aon is plainly amly evident anyone who abo has visit visited ed the creeks knows that their widened ened channels tell the story beter ter than words it seems a crime that lat man in his greed would des destroy tae the ie forests without thought of the 10 generations which are to follow him it is certain that these devastating fl floods must be controlled or thousands e of dollars more will be lost n through the destruction of bridges 9 irrigation ditches and valuable farm he lands yet after a careful estimate it ase has as been found that if deforestation lea ton on the la sal mountains continues fat at its present rate our forests would beabe be practically worthless in a com i 1 short length of time ae leflere lecta Here flere then is a problem of great mit importance facing the c coming g ge generation er of citizens ote they y ah should ild be taught in the schools the importance of this problem and they should be educated to face this menace to their future happiness with the forests the life giving element to moab gone we would be like so many fish out of water the strand holding up our happiness would be severely weakened the now devastating floods would be transformed into mad rhad rushing demons hell bent on the destruction of our homes and happiness Non control of the watershed would cause a drought in the heat beat of summer that would be fatal to agriculture in this valley which depends upon the steady stream from the mountains to mature its crops not only would agriculture be fatally wounded but its friend and ally the livestock industry would be crushed be I 1 ind nd all hope of recovery many of the tit citizens acris of moab depend upon the la 13 to foed for their herds and flocks with the disappearance pe arance of the forests would go the grass and pasture lands think of what this would mean to moab its agriculture gone stockmen stoc kmen gone and timber gone doab moab would need some very strong stimulant to save her now let us come again if we keep up and preserve our forests we will be saved the distress of seeing our town sink into the depths not only will we be saved but in all probability we will reap more benefits in the future for there are two of the major benefits not yet considered even in the age of coal wood forms by far the most important fuel for common bou household behold use can jou ou imagine a housewife with any determination standing over a suffocating fo coal fire when the thermometer registers one hundred degrees in the shade I 1 do not think you can for she would revolt against such treatment I 1 the other resource is one not as I 1 i yet much developed but one that I 1 am sure will come forward in the succeeding years this other is pleasure artificial lakes have been I 1 made and stocked with trout these i lakes will be thrown open for fishing this bear ear this will bring in money for licens licenses Ls people of the town can find a place in the la i for pleasure trips and not have to eek the fishing sport elsewhere tourists will learn of the good fishing while they are passing through and will speak of it in the presence ct of other people and in the course of time the la will become a place of recreation and sport for many people this sport will benefit the town in more ways than one it will adver I 1 for sporting purposes it will i bring tourists who in turn will bring money tourists cannot live without food and it is not probable that they will carry enough food along with them for a camping outfit it in the mountains the tourists will patronize the stores for their camping supplies the garage for oil gas and perhaps repairs on their car let us always remember that every diew or quarter left here by tourists en riches our town in their proportions another thing we should always remember is that we cannot reap without we sow therefore in the near future let us all exert out utmost energy to save and promote the welfare of our forests let us sow ow our seed in fertile soil and do our bit to help our government in its most noble efforts to protect our homes and happiness if we do this I 1 ami arn sare sure we will be bigger and better and more worthy to hold our places as citizens in this united states of f ours |