CONTROLLING EROSION

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In other areas of conservation there is pitifully little information. Not so with erosion control. The 1930s were dust bowl years, gully years, and Civilian Conservation Corps years. The CCC, the Forest Service, and the Soil Conservation Service all published loads of erosion-control pamphlets and books. Every field worker who developed a new style of check dam — and there were hundreds — published a description of it. Sometimes the check dams collapsed within a few years, but the publications live on to clog our minds. The problem I've had with erosion-control literature is wading through it all for what seems sound, relevant, trustworthy, and useful. Here are some of the books I have found especially handy for small-scale erosion-control projects.

Handbook of Erosion Control in Mountain Meadows , by Charles J. Kraebel and Arthur F. Pillsbury. California Forest and Range Experimental Station: U.S. Forest Service, 1934.

For most people this is probably an impossible book to get hold of, but by all means try your best. It's the most thoroughly practical book I know, with lots of simple suggestions for controlling gullies. There are excellent diagrams and a strong emphasis on using native materials.

A Study of Early Gully-Control Structures in the Colorado Front Range , by Burchard H. Heede Paper No. 55. Rocky Mountain Forest and Range Experiment Station: U.S. Forest Service, 1960.

This publication is a review of several Civilian Conservation Corps structures, examined 25 years after they were built. It shows which ones stood up, which ones failed, how they failed, and why they failed. It's very instructive. Here is your chance to learn from someone else's mistakes.

Grass in Soil Erosion Control , by Layman Carrier. SCS-TP-4. Washington, D.C.: Conservation Service, 1936.

This pamphlet gives a short list of various grasses and discusses their erosion-fighting values.

Results of and Recommendations for Seeding Grasses and Legumes on TVA-CCC Erosion Control Projects , by J.H. Nicholson and John E. Snyder. Norris, Tennessee: Tennessee Valley Authority, 1938.

This list of grasses and legumes rates them according to where they will grow, what their moisture and soil needs are, how well they bind the soil, and how well they build up soil fertility.

Trees and Shrubs for Erosion Control in Southern California Mountains , by Jerome S. Horton. California Forest and Range Experiment Station: U.S. Forest Service, 1949.

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