Water-Soil-Minerals
- Water - The Sam Houston National Forest is drained through several small creeks into the east and west forks of the San Jacinto River, and a small portion drains into Lake Livingston.
Lake Conroe, on the west fork of the San Jacinto River was dammed in 1972. It is in the southwestern part of the Sam Houston National Forest near Conroe, Texas. Lake Livingston on the Trinity River was dammed in 1968 and is located on the Northeastern side of the Sam Houston National Forest near Coldspring, Texas
- Soil - The Sam Houston National Forest lies within the Gulf Coastal Plains, and the principal soils were developed from unconsolidated beds of clay, sand, sandy clay, or clay shale materials comprising old non-calcareous sediments of the Tertiary and Pleistocene Ages. The soils range from slightly to severely erosive, although any of the soils in the forest will erode if the right conditions such as heavy rains or where concentrations of waterflow are present.
- Minerals - Exploration and drilling for minerals in the Sam Houston National Forest is part of the multiple-use program. Mineral extraction and drilling, allowed under certain conditions, help meet energy needs. Many of the forest minerals belong to private entities who reserved the mineral rights when the lands were purchased during the 1930s, and under the terms of the deed, these outstanding and reserved minerals can be legally explored and removed by the owner.
Where mineral rights are owned by the government, receipts from mineral leases and royalties are paid to the U.S. Treasury and a portion of these receipts are returned to the counties for schools and roads.
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