Senate Document 84 Message from the President of the United States Transmitting A Report of the Secretary of Agriculture in Relation to the Forests, Rivers, and Mountains of the Southern Appalachian Region

Cover

Letter of Transmittal

Report of the Secretary of Agriculture

Nature and extent of this investigation
The Appalachian region
The Southern Appalachian region
The Southern Appalachian Mountains
The forests
Forest clearing and agriculture in the Southern Appalachians
Forest clearings, the rivers, and floods
The climate of the Southern Appalachians
How can these forests be preserved
Conditions of purchase and management
Conclusions

APPENDIX A.—Report on the forests and forest conditions in the Southern Appalachians

Description of the forests and forest conditions by mountain groups
   Forests of the Blue Ridge
   Forests of the White Top Mountain region
   Forests of Roan, Grandfather, and the Black mountains
   Forests of the central interior mountain ridges
   Forests of the Great Smoky Mountains
   Forests of the southern end of the Appalachians
Changes in forest conditions of the Southern Appalachians
   Forests cleared for farming purposes
   Forests injured by fires
Lumbering in the Southern Appalachians now and under Government ownership and supervision
Application of conservative forest methods to this region by the Government practicable and profitable
Some evils of the present system of lumbering
Recent lumbering methods more profitable, but also destructive
Objects and policy of forest management under Government ownership
Improvement in general forest policy necessary
Considerations that should govern in the management of the proposed forest reserve
Description of the Southern Appalachian forests by river basins
   New River Basin
   South Fork of Holston River Basin
   Watauga River Basin
   Nolichucky River Basin
   French Broad River Basin
   Big Pigeon River Basin
   Northwestern slope of Smoky Mountains
   Little Tennessee River Basin
   Hiwassee River Basin
   Tallulah-Chattooga River Basin
   Toxaway River Basin
   Saluda River Basin
   First and Second Broad River Basin
   Catawba River Basin
   Yadkin River Basin
Trees of the Southern Appalachians
List of shrubs growing in the Southern Appalachians

APPENDIX B.—Topography and geology of the Southern Appalachians

The mountain systems
The river systems
Climatic features in the mountains
The geologic formations
Relation of rocks to surface
Protection of the soils

APPENDIX C.—Report on the hydrography of the Southern Appalachians

Physiographic features of the region
The rainfall and run-off in this region
Stream flow in the region and its measurement
Value of these mountain streams for water-power purposes

APPENDIX D.—Report on the climate of the Southern Appalachians

APPENDIX E.—Report on the present status of the movement for the proposed Appalachian Forest Reserve

Memorials and resolutions favoring the proposed Appalachian Forest Reserve
   Memorial of the Appalachian Mountain Club
   Memorial of the Appalachian National Park Association
   Resolution of the American Association for the Advancement of Science
   Resolution of the American Forestry Association
   Resolution of National Board of Trade
   Resolutions passed by other boards of trade
Preliminary report of the Secretary of Agriculture on the forests of the Southern Appalachian region, January 3, 1901
Report on the creation of the Southern Appalachian Forest Reserve by the Senate Committee on Forest Reservations and the Protection of Game, February 12, 1901
Resolutions and acts by the legislatures of States whose territory extends into the region of the proposed forest reserve
   Virginia
   North Carolina
   Tennessee
   South Carolina
   Georgia
The press and the proposed Appalachian Forest Reserve

PLATE

I. (a) Land erosion on the cleared slopes of the Southern Appalachian Mountains. (b) Flood destruction of an Appalachian mountain valley

II. Relief map of the United States, showing location of the national forest reserves

III. (a) Valley of Virginia. (b) Piedmont Plateau in Virginia.

IV. Relief map of the Southern Appalachian region, showing the distribution of the mountains (omitted from the online edition)

V. Doe River Gorge, Tennessee

VI (pt. 1), VI (pt. 2). Panorama from Grandfather Mountain, typical of Appalachian Mountains

VII. Grandfather Mountain, showing sharp, rugged peak surrounded by hard-wood forests

VIII. (a) Bald of Big Yellow Mountain. (b) Welchs Bald in the Great Smoky Mountains

IX. (a) The southern end of the Appalachian Mountains near Cartersville, Ga. (b) A mountain valley, northern Georgia.

X. Caesars Head, South Carolina

XI. Whiteside Mountain, southeast profile

XII. Map of the Southern Appalachian region, showing forest area under consideration and hydrographic gaging stations (omitted from the online edition)

XIII. An original Appalachian Mountain forest

XIV. Mixed hard-wood and pine forest

XV. Spruce forests at high elevations

XVI. The tops of the Black Mountains (colored)

XVII. Panorama showing the unbroken forest of the Great Smoky Mountains

XVIII. Forest clearings for farming on the Southern Appalachian Mountains

XIX. Stone Mountain, near Atlanta, Ga

XX. (a) Newly cleared mountain field planted in corn. (b) Recently cleared field impoverished and abandoned

XXI. (a) Badly washed mountain field. (b) Mountain field completely ruined

XXII. (a) Washing of grass-covered soil, top of Roan Mountain. (b) Washing of abandoned pasture field

XXIII. (a) Unwashed valley lands surrounded by forest-covered mountains. (b) Badly washed mountain valley lands

XXIV. (a) Valley lands badly washed by recent floods and abandoned. (b) Valley lands completely ruined by floods

XXV. Water-power development and cotton mills at Columbus, Ga.

XXVI. (a) Water power at Pelzer, S. C. (b) Water power at Columbia, S.C

XXVII. Cascades near head of Catawba River

XXVIII. Tallulah Falls. Georgia

XXIX. Forest-covered slopes of Linville Gorge

XXX. Forest regulating the flow of streams

XXXI. (a) A spring on southern slope of Mount Mitchell. (b) A mountain brook

XXXII. (a) Landslide stopped by the forest, north slope of Roan Mountain. (b) Small landslide at a spot where no large trees were growing

XXXIII. Large tree growing in mountain ravine

XXXIV. Flood damages on Catawba River: (a) Soil removed and white sand spread over the surface. (b) Layer of sand spread over the soil by a flood

XXXV. (a) Flood damages in West Virginia (b) Débris from floods on Nolichucky River, East Tennessee

XXXVI. (a) Flood damages to railway on Doe River, Tennessee. (b) Flood damages to railway on Nolichucky River, East Tennessee

XXXVII. Original forest, northwest slope of the Great Smoky Mountains

XXXVIII. (a) Slightly culled mixed forest. (b) White pine forest excessively culled

XXXIX. (a) Wagon loaded with logs en route for the sawmill. (b) Wagon loaded with lumber en route for the railway station.

XL. Spruce forest near summit of White Top, Virginia

XLI. Forests on the southern slopes of the Blue Ridge, about Mount Toxaway

XLII. Forests on the walls of Nantahala Gorge

XLIII. Forests about the southeastern slopes of the Great Smoky Mountains, between cross ridges

XLIV. Big chestnut trees, from the base of the Great Smoky Mountains

XLV. Forests on the southern end of the Appalachian Mountains, Table Rock, South Carolina

XLVI. Damages from forest fires in killing trees and undergrowth

XLVII. Damages from forest fires: (a) Injured base of pine tree (b) Sprouts from base of a fire-killed oak

XLVIII. (a) Granite knob from which the forest, and later the soil, has been removed. (b) Humus and undergrowth destroyed by fire; soil washed from rock by rain

XLIX. (a) Destruction of forest on mountain ridges for pasturing purposes. (b) Corn planted between girdled trees on the mountain ridges

L. (a) Mill in the mountains; waste in sawing. (b) Tops left among the trees in logging

LI. (a) Sawing large timber at a small mill in the woods. (b) Binding poplar lumber for export

LII. Timber which should have been culled long ago

LIII. Forest destruction along the snaking trail

LIV. Reproduction of hard-wood forest

LV. Reproduction of white-pine forest

LVI. Panorama of the Blue Ridge and southern end of the Black Mountains

LVII. Grandfather Mountain, with types of summits

LVIII. The Blue Ridge Plateau and Grandfather Mountain

LIX. Front of the Blue Ridge in Virginia

LX. The narrows of the Little Tennessee River

LXI. Balsam and Pisgah mountains

LXII. (a) French Broad River. (b) Ocoee River

LXIII. Elk Falls

LXIV. Forest-covered slope of Hawksbill

LXV. West foothills of the Unakas and valley of East Tennessee

LXVI. Rock weathering and decay in the Southern Appalachians

LXVII. Land erosion in the Southern Appalachians

LXVIII. Yonahlossee road on Grandfather Mountain

LXIX. (a) Rhododendron undergrowth holding the soil and the water. (b) Seams in the rock, facilitating the storage of water

LXX. Whitewater Falls

LXXI. Lower Cullasaja Falls

LXXII. Linville Gorge

LXXIII. Swannanoa River

LXXIV. (a) Sawmill wrecked by flood. (b) Logs lost by breaking of boom

LXXV. (a) Highway bridge washed away by floods. (b) Public road ruined by floods

LXXVI. (a) Flood damages to settlements. (b) Flood damages to railroad and mining settlements

LXXVII. Toccoa Falls, Georgia

LXXVIII. Improved water power, Augusta, Ga