A series of dams, diversions and canals channel the water to homes, businesses and farms. More than a dozen man-made reservoirs store water for use after the spring thaw and in years when precipitation falls short of normal.

All of it is spoken for, and there isn't more to squeeze from the mountainous sponge.

"We're basically maxed out," he said. "We're using all the water we can get out of the Wasatch Front."

Early settlers were careful to protect the water, but not as conscientious about the land. Miners and pioneers wiped out large stands of fir trees for mine timbers and cabins. Sheep and cattle munched acre upon acre of native grasses.

But over time and with improved management practices, forests in the Wasatch recovered.

"To a great extent, the Wasatch Mountains are a success story," said Jim Seitz, founder of the Ecological Coalition of Students at Utah State University.

Still, he worries about the future when he sees unfettered development and abuse of the land, whether it be from overgrazing or all-terrain vehicles run amok.

"This is something our generation is inheriting," he said. "We have got to get a handle on that if we want to know the Wasatch Mountains in 30 or 40 years as we know them now."

The Wasatch Range isn't packed with natural resources like oil, gas, minerals and precious metals. The Wasatch once was a major source for silver, on which Park City was founded, but not anymore. State officials spend more time sealing off abandoned mines than considering new mining claims. Old mines are now used to store water in the Alta/Snowbird area. Timber harvests are far and few between.

Sand and gravel operations are big business along the Wasatch and often a source of controversy. In addition to eating away hillsides, nearby residents complain about the heavy trucks and dust.

The mountains make possible thousands of jobs in the outdoor recreation, tourism and hospitality industries — which pump billions of dollars into the Utah economy. They provide picturesque as well as lucrative settings for commercial and residential development.

The Wasatch range is one of the state's major attractions.

"It was big before the Olympics," said Spence Kinard, Utah Travel Council administrator. "It's even bigger since the Olympics."

A Travel Council survey of Californians in 2000 asked what came to their minds first about the Beehive state. The typical answer, Kinard said, was the "M and M factor" — mountains and Mormons.