SAVANNAH PURCHASE UNIT.

Within this area is contained 539,702 acres, the larger portion of which is at the extreme headwaters of the Savannah River, but a part is on the drainage of the Tennessee River. Approvals for purchase aggregating 146,278 acres, the lands acquired being in two units separated by the upper valley of the Little Tennessee River. The Government's holdings have been very largely built up by assembling many small tracts, many of them having been in part used for farming purposes though under such unfavorable conditions that farming was not profitable. Much of this cleared land being situated on slopes was, while in cultivation, subject to excessive erosion on account of the heavy rainfall-70 to 80 inches per year exceeding that of any other portion of the Eastern States. A great part of this open land has already been restocked to timber through natural seeding from the near-by forests, thus greatly reducing erosion. On account of the beneficial results from the Government's protection and minimized erosion, the very complete plans for the development of the water-power resources, on the two head streams of the Savannah River which rise on the purchase unit, are now in process of execution. Four units out of eleven have already been developed. (See page 22, "Benefits to stream flow.") A development of this kind, which will undoubtedly have some influence in the equalization of stream flow on the main Savannah River, would not have been effective on account of the jeopardy to the storage capacity of the reservoirs through silting but for the thorough protection of the soil by forest cover, which is assured by the establishment of the national forest.

Of the remaining unacquired lands on the Savannah unit, only about 32,000 acres, or less than 6 per cent of the total area, is classed as farm land, and a great part of this area is level land in the valley of the Tennessee River. Of the remaining forest land, 15,000 acres is private land under management to secure a permanent yield of timber, while there is available for purchase 346,000 acres, the greater part of which, however, is held in very large tracts, which are either being operated or which have never been cut and which at present, consequently, are not available for purchase. Until these lands become available accretions will largely consist of small tracts on which there are small clearings, but where the conditions have not been found suitable for farming and which the owners consequently desire to sell.

There have been authorized for purchase during the year on this unit 18 tracts, having a total area of 6,435 acres. A number of these effect the elimination of undesirable interior holdings. The most signal purchase consisted of a group of lands, aggregating nearly 5,000 acres, located at the extreme southern end of the Nantahala Range of mountains, in part on the headwaters of the Little Tennessee River and in part on the headwaters of Tallulah River. These lands adjoin the southern end of the Nantahala purchase unit, and the authorization for their purchase is the first step toward effecting a junction between the lands on the Nantahala and those lands on the Savannah already approved for purchase, which lie to the west of the Clayton Valley and the valley of the Little Tennessee River. These lands skirt in part the upper edge of the Burton Res

Its value for farming destroyed by erosion of soil. It is being restocking to forest. The soil thus eroded is deposited in pools in navigable streams, necessitating dredging, and settles in reservoirs, reducing their storage capacity. Several thousand acres of such land have been acquired in the Appa

Fig. 2.-Young timber near merchantable size. This stand indicates the capacity for rapid growth and shows the soil protected against erosion by a forest cover. Southern Appalachians.

RECLAIMING THE SOIL.

Water-power plant generating 96,000 horsepower, located just outside of the Savannah National Forest, and one of a series of four developed power units utilizing a stream lying within the forest. Note the insufficient forest cover and naked soil subject to Within the forest the soil on such sites is protected by a cover of vegetation.

erosion.

ervoir of the Georgia Railway & Power Co., a unit in a water-power development already producing at this point nearly 190,000 horsepower and embracing, when completed, 11 reservoirs, the watersheds of which are protected wholly or in part by the Savannah and Nantahala National Forests.

NANTAHALA PURCHASE UNIT.

On the Nantahala unit there have been approved for purchase 74.264 acres out of a total designated area of 497,411 acres. Of the remaining lands only about 27,000 acres can be classed as farming lands, leaving nearly 400,000 acres available for purchase. A very large part of this area lies in a single tract on the Cheowah River, and consists of about 80,000 acres of very heavily timbered land within which are situated a number of parcels, known as the Olmsted lands, transferred to the administration of the Department of Agriculture from the Treasury Department and aggregating several thousand acres. This 80,000-acre tract is of too high a value to be considered with the timber, but it is possible that some arrangement can be made by which the surface can be acquired by the Government subject to the right of the owners to cut the timber in an acceptable manner. The Cheowah River, on which this tract is located, is a tributary of the Little Tennessee River, and just below its mouth there has been erected the first unit in a series of dams designed through the control of the flood waters to develop in a most complete manner the water-power possibilities of the Little Tennessee Basin. On the Nantahala unit during the year the purchase was authorized of 13 tracts with a total area of 1,146 acres, all of them comparatively small but of value in effecting consolidation, many of them eliminating in whole or in part interior holdings and thus facilitating administration.

PISGAH PURCHASE UNIT.

The Pisgah unit comprises 304,350 acres and protects the headwaters of the tributaries of the Tennessee River. The lands which have been assembled by the Government, amounting to 88,176 acres, Occupy the southeastern slope and foothills of the Pisgah Range, from which the unit takes its name, forming a compact body. A large part of this land is acquired subject to a contract under which the larger timber is to be removed, but which will leave standing the trees under 14 or 16 inches in diameter and assure them protection from fire. The area is well covered by roads and trails and there are a number of small areas which were once cleared and used for farming purposes but which have reverted to timber. On account of previous timber cutting over portions of the land and subsequent protection there have been found excellent stands of young timber. Situated in the very midst of the Appalachian Mountains and near the city of Asheville there is large use of these lands for scenic and recreation purposes. Of the remaining lands 23,400 acres are classed as farm lands, while more than 11.000 acres within the purchase unit are private lands under forest management for permanent timber production. There remain available for purchase 181,000 acres, a great part of this area being in several large tracts which are at present being operated and which consequently are not available for purchase until operations have been completed. Most of these lands

also are situated on an entirely different watershed and small tracts for this reason can not be taken up independently of the larger units on account of the excessive cost of protection.

No land was approved for purchase during the current fiscal year on the Pisgah unit, but under authorizations given by the commission in a previous year several undesirable interior holdings used as rendezvous for the illegal killing of game on the Pisgah Forest game preserve were acquired by condemnation.

GEORGIA PURCHASE UNIT.

There have been approved for purchase 70,200 acres out of 337,272 acres which comprise the Georgia purchase unit, which is located along both slopes of the Blue Ridge Mountains partly on the headwaters of the Tennessee River and partly on the Chattahoochee River. Much of this unit has been built up of small areas, many of them having small clearings on them, where attempts at one time were made to farm. The fields which were cleared have nearly all been abandoned, as the slopes were too steep for permanent tillage. The erosion which caused the abandonment of these fields is now being checked since the old fields are restocking to forests. A tract of 55,700 acres within this unit is being very carefully protected from fire by the owners, and it is believed that the timber on it will be conservatively cut with a view to maintaining its capacity as a timber-growing property. Except along the Toccoa River and the adjacent foothills, there is very little agricultural land within the unit, the total area being less than 6,000 acres. There remain 205,522 acres of forest land of a character and so situated that its eventual ownership by the Government is desirable unless it is accorded ample protection by the owners. Nearly one-half of this area is located on the south side of the Blue Ridge and consists of a number of large properties belonging to owners with interlocking interests and now in process of having the timber cut off. At the present time this land is not available for purchase. Additional purchases within the unit are consequently practically restricted to small bodies which solidify or which adjoin lands the purchase of which has already been authorized.

On the Georgia unit six tracts with a combined area of 896 acres, a number of them being interior holdings, were approved for purchase during the year.

CHEROKEE PURCHASE UNIT.

On the Cherokee unit the commission has approved for purchase 141,637 acres out of a total of 326,173 acres. The acquired lands occupy a nearly solid body at the southern end of the unit and are separated from the large block of unacquired lands by several agricultural districts, the land in which should not be acquired, the aggregate area of which amounts to 26,000 acres. The remaining lands available for purchase consist of 158,406 acres, largely located in a single block on the steep western and northwestern slopes of the Tellico Mountains.

On the Cherokee unit the purchase of two tracts involving 346 acres, both effecting additional consolidation, was authorized during the year.