Montezuma National Forest, Colorado (1939)

by United States. Forest Service. Rocky Mountain Region

OBJECTIVES OF NATIONAL FORESTS

There are 158 national forests within the United States, including two in Alaska and one in Puerto Rico. They contain approximately 175,000,000 acres of public land and are administered by the Forest Service, United States Department of Agriculture. The Montezuma is one of 14 in Colorado.

To grow a timber crop and to protect the forest and vegetative cover as a precautionary measure against erosion on the watersheds, are important and necessary. To this end the national forests were established with the positive injunction that all their resources were to be protected, developed, and used in perpetuity for the benefit of all citizens. Therefore, conservative use of all forest resources, with adequate protection to insure a continual supply, has been the primary consideration in their management.