The economic aspects of snow

Irrigation in many areas depends largely on water stored in the form of snow. The average precipitation during May to August at Montrose, Colorado is 37% during which period the flow in the Gunnison River is 67.4%. The delay of nearly 33% of the streamflow is attributed to snow accumulation. The result of experimental timber cutting at the Rocky Mountain Forest & Range Experiment Station at Fort Collins indicate that moisture stored can be increased approximately 25% by planned cutting on dense, high altitude forest lands. The Forest Service anticipates that timber cutting experiments may change the early snow melt and increase the streamflow through fall. Snow is an important economic consideration in the generation of power by streams.