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<br />2 <br /> <br />Water is intimately related to the public lands, partic- <br /> <br />ularly in the West. While the Commission's charter to study <br /> <br />water as a resource of the public lands is broad enough to <br /> <br />encompass all development, management, and use of water <br /> <br />originating on or flowing across the public lands concerning <br /> <br />which the Commission is to make reccmmendaticns, the essential <br /> <br />requirements of the Commission can be fulfilled by two rather <br /> <br />limited studies. <br /> <br />The first relates to the role of the public lands as a <br /> <br />source of water. The major water producing lnnds in the <br /> <br />~estern public land states are lands at high elevations, most <br /> <br />of which are in federal owner.'ship. In addition, great quantities <br /> <br />of water flow across or underlie other public lands... The econ- <br /> <br />omies of the western states are dependent upon the water <br /> <br />produced from these sources. There are other public lands <br /> <br />which are not of great importance as water sources, but which <br /> <br />by reason of scant vegetation and unstable soils and contribute <br /> <br />to economic losses through sedimentation and erosion. Moreover, <br /> <br />other land uses bear intimate relationships with water yields <br /> <br />and flows and especially to damage from floods and erosion. <br /> <br />t)'11 <br />'?> ., <br />