Tall Timbers, Mountain Streams, and Desert Rivers
p r o m any point above the canyons of San Juan County, one can spy a large mountain poking its peaks aloft, standing in sharp contrast to the red rock, high plateau desert below. Strikingly beautiful, the Abajos, or Blue Mountain, as well as the La Sals and Navajo Mountain have reaped praise through song, prose, and poetry forged by the pens of skillful wordsmiths. But for the pragmatic residents who live at their bases, these heights figure significantly in the daily economic issues that concern survival. The mountains, and the streams and rivers fed by them, are directly tied to the land's inhabitants' struggle to wrest a living in an austere, sometimes harsh environment. From the beginning, wood, water, and grass, found in abundance on the mountains and near the rivers, have dominated the economic and social life of the people. They still play an important part today. Forest and water management are two complex and broad topics that encapsulate some of the county's major past and present issues. A recent book, Look to the Mountains by Charles S. Peterson, discusses the importance of the mountains' resources and how local views, eco-
