The Streamflow Study that Justified the Weeks Act

Presentation by Gordon Stuart. 

By 1900, extensive clearing of forests had changed the flow of Appalachian rivers and disrupted river commerce. Congress responded by drafting the Weeks Act, but those opposed required a streamflow study by the US Geological Survey to prove that cutting trees changed streamflow. This study was conducted in the White Mountains. The study did not find increased flooding or low waters because it was found that logging did not change the hydrologic function of forest soils. However, the results revealed that exposing the snow pack to solar radiation changed the timing of snowmelt runoff, a fact was used to justify the Weeks Act.

Gordon Stuart was involved in water quality issues and multiple use planning while on the WMNF during the 1970s, the pollution prevention programs of State Foresters and the erosion control programs of agriculture while in Washington DC, and with Maine Woodland Owners since moving to Maine in 2000.