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suggested watershed.eatments to improve COnditio.to meet multiple-use objectives; enumerated possible sources of financing the treatments; listed private organizations wh ere support might be obtained for a n intensified management program and listed State and Federal agencies that could partic_ ipate in an expanded program of research and practical application, Following my report, Regional Forester Lindh called the First Brushland Conference in Phoenix on February 17, 1955, Representatives of various private interest groups together with representatives of numerous State and Federal agencies were invited to attend this conference, This conference was called to define the brushland problem and to assess all available infor- mation on po s sible management measures, ., Collaborating in its preparation, a report was presented at this conference by Mr. West proposing a noxious plant control program which enlarged on my initial recommendations to the Regional Forester, This report recommended forming a citizen's committee representing a number of economic interest groups for the purpose of activating a proposed action program, , After a second meeting on February 19, 1956, the Brushland Conference died for lack of support, A possible explanation for the failure of this organiza_ tion was the confounding of legislative and executive functions of our demo- cratic form of Government, Members of the executive agencies could not allow themselves to be identified with resolutions proposed by the private citizens to initiate needed Ie gislation, In other words, membership in the Brushland Conference did not observe the separation of powers between leg- islative and executive branches of Government, Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act Another development stemming from the 1954 meeting of the Tall Pines Farm Bureau was an attempt to apply Public Law 566 to improve watershed condi- tions of the Wet and Dry Beaver watersheds south of Flagstaff, At the joint request of the Verde-Oak Creek and Camp Verde Soil Conservation Districts and the Salt River Project, a field examination was made of the Beaver Creek Watersheds in April of 1955, According to Mr. Robert Boyle, State Conser- vationist, the problem of water losses from worthless vegetation like juniper outweighed any possible losses through floods and erosion, At the request of Mr, Boyle, Mr. Harry Blaney of the Agricultural Research Service was asked to make a reconnaisance of the Beaver Creek Watersheds to estimate possible savings of water that might be gained through a juniper control program, A tour of the Beaver Creek Watersheds was made on Feb- ruary 8, 1956, by Mr. Blaney and Mr, West together with representatives of ... the Tall Pines Farm Bureau, the Soil Conservation Service and the Forest Service, On the basis of this tour, Mr, Blaney submitted a report the end of February which estimated the comparative consumptive uses of water between juniper and grass. The estimated quantities of water that might be saved by converting juniper stands to grass was regarded to be too optimistic byoffi- cials attending an interagency meeting the following May, Several reasons may explain the inability to apply the Watershed Protection and Flood Prevention Act to the Beaver Creek drainages, In the first place, this Act is mainly aimed at the construction of flood and erosion control - 3 -