Rocky Mountain Area: Backbone Of The Nation (1963)

[Music] my name is Bob Sawyer I'm a ranger for the United States Forest Service Rocky Mountains of Colorado I lived here at the Buckhorn ranger station but I spend most of my days out in the field I'll cover a lot of territory today checking to see that our national forest resources are being used safely and in the best way possible because much of the country up here is wild and rugged not many people live in this part of the United States there's lots of untouched land with forests snow-covered mountains and plenty of wildlife too this is high country Malcolm peeks over 14,000 feet tall and even a few glaciers the Rocky Mountains stretch all the way from Canada almost to the Mexican border from north to south across the United States they cut through Washington Montana Idaho Wyoming Utah Colorado and taper off southward in New Mexico the Rockies have been a challenge to people ever since the early days of America many pioneers on their way to the gold fields of California thought of turning back when they saw those Peaks rising from the Great Plain and even when they had crossed the mountains there was more trouble waiting on the other side with over 400 miles of desert land lying ahead that land was the Intermountain region it stretches all the way from the Rockies to the mountains of California and Oregon and includes a part of every one of our western states the Intermountain region is mostly high dry country made up of broad plateaus steep cliffs and deep canyons thousands of years ago it was the land of many rivers but today water flows through the riverbeds only when it rains many of the lakes have no outlets and the evaporation of water has made them extremely salty the Great Salt Lake in northern Utah is five times saltier than the Pacific Ocean the Rockies play an important part in giving life to this desert land in fact more than half of the United States would be unable to get along without water from the Rocky Mountains mountains receive water when winds build with moisture blow eastward from the Pacific Ocean these winds rise and become cool over the Rockies snow and rainfall especially on the western slope when spring comes the melting snow and rain form little streams the streams join together to form rivers the rivers flow down from the Rockies bringing water to the lands below up here in the highest part of the Rockies is a ridge called the Continental Divide you might call it the backbone of the USA on one side of the divide streams flow westward toward the Pacific Ocean forming rivers like the Columbia the snake and the Colorado on the other side streams flow eastward toward the Gulf of Mexico forming the Missouri River the Platte the Arkansas and the Rio Grande this is where I work Roosevelt National Forest much of the land in the Rockies is National Forest owned by the United States government here in the mountains heavy rains make thick forests of spruce fir and pine lumbering is carried on in many parts of the Rockies privately owned lands or on the public lands of the National Forest where lumber companies pay for the right to cut down a certain number of trees the trees that are cut down will be sent to sawmill for tooth pulp and paper mill in addition to providing for a future crop those that are left standing will serve to protect the land when it rains so that good topsoil won't be washed away [Music] there are many great cattle ranches on the high plains just east of the Rockies and in the summer months cattle men let their herds graze here on national forest land each rancher is allowed to graze a certain number of cattle on public land he pays the government a fee for each animal sheep are also allowed to graze in the National Forest you will find them in the higher parts of the Rockies [Music] that's my friend Tony he's a shepherd works for a big ranch down in the valley whenever I can I try to bring him a few supplies that you'll need for his camp and the mail he's received at the range every summer Tony drives his sheep up to pasture and each fall he drives them back down to the ranch all fat bully [Music] because sheep will heat the courser vegetation which grows high in the mountains they can be grazed at this altitude cattle feed on the Richard grass at lower levels Tony's life is a lonely one just a sheepdog and about 2000 sheep for company all what this looks like tourists in trouble just a family from Kansas trying to find a good camping ground for the night they shouldn't have much of a problem though plenty of places to stay in the Rockies campgrounds hotels motels guest ranchers take your choice we have to be prepared to take care of the thousands of visitors who come here each year tourists are a big source of income in the Rocky Mountains some of them come to fish the lakes and streams others to take trips on horseback or hike or climb some just to enjoy the natural beauty and wildlife of our national forests and national parks throughout the rockies in addition to national forests the government has set up national parks for the benefit and enjoyment of the people places like Glacier National Park in Montana Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons then wild Rocky Mountain National Park and Mesa Verde in Colorado Bryce and Zion parks in Utah and the Grand Canyon in Arizona these parks are very different from national forests in that no cattle or sheep grazing is allowed no hunting or lumbering is permitted the national parks are to be looked at and enjoyed in their natural views some like Bryce Canyon have unusual rock formations to attract sightseers many people say that the most spectacular of them all is the Grand Canyon with its sheer rock walls carved by the Colorado River Yellowstone National Park has amazing geysers mineral springs and mud pops the Grand Canyon of the Yellowstone has been photographed painted and just looked at by millions of visitors our national parks and forests must be well taken care of because they belong to all the people [Music] Jax like this one are strung out all over the mountains and the western desert they are old deserted miners cabins built in the days of gold and silver mining in the Rockies in the late 1800s mines and mining towns from here to Nevada were alive with activity but the gold ran out and the miners left with the miners gone there was much reason for the storekeepers and saloon owners to stay so the town's just died ghost towns we call them but that was before the mining man found that gold and silver weren't the only important minerals around today at places like Bingham Canyon Utah many different minerals are mines including most of America's copper lead zinc and uranium as well as gold and silver the copper mines at Bingham Canyon and Butte Montana are two of the biggest in the world there are many other mining centres in the western states mineral refining is one of the most important industries in the Rocky Mountain States and many people say that we have only begun to tap our mineral resources it's taken less than a hundred years to jump from this little miner Shack to the big industry that mining is today minerals from the Rockies will keep on playing a big part in America's economy up there is barker dan it's one of many dams in the rockies the water that is stored behind the dam will play an important part in the lives of many people it will be used to irrigate the dry mountain valleys so that farmers can grow fruit vegetables wheat even more important some of the water will be turned to hydroelectric power to provide electricity for the big cities you see not everybody in this area lives in the mountains there are also cities like Denver Colorado which serve the surrounding countryside in many ways Denver is a center of trading and transportation for the Rockies and the Great Plains it is a clearinghouse for agricultural products it has packing plants or cattle and sheep and stores that supply machines that we'll need in our life and work standing on the shores of Utah Great Salt Lake Salt Lake City is another important trading center one that has grown right out of the desert to become queen of the Intermountain region Salt Lake City is the state capital of Utah and the world capital of the Mormon Church Mormons were the earliest settlers of this dry land they came from the east to find a place where they could worship in their own way using water from the Rocky Mountains they turned the desert to green feed on their irrigated land the farmers of Utah and now lays potatoes sugar beets vegetables wait in Salt Lake City the laws of parks are green the public drinking fountains bubble all day long and water still runs in the gutters to help keep the city clean [Music] and all of this because of water from the Rocky Mountains [Music] it wasn't so long ago that people look to the Rockies only as a barrier that had to be crossed but over the years what was considered a barrier has become a goal with mineral wealth thick forests rich pasture for cattle and sheep with beautiful parks and forests for tourists to visit and rivers and streams give water to those who need the Rocky Mountain area serves and will keep on serving the nation in many ways there's a great amount of wild unspoiled territory in the Rockies with mineral forest water resources that haven't been touched so long as these resources are here and so long as they are wisely used people will keep coming to meet the challenge of the Rockies [Music] [Applause]