78 

 MONTANA. 



Wliile Montana has a State engineer, he has nothing to do with the 

 control of the water supply of the State. The office was created in 

 1903 in connection with the acceptance of the Carey Act. The State 

 has a Carey land act board, composed of the State engineer, the secre- 

 tary of state, and the State examiner, the State engineer being chair- 

 man. His duties are to examine State lands to determine their irriga- 

 bility, examine and measure the streams of the State, and serve on 

 the State board of health. In addition to the above, all applications 

 to the Carey land act board to reclaim land under that law are sub- 

 mitted to the State engineer, and he is required to examine the land 

 applied for and determine the feasibility of its reclamation. If he 

 approves the project, he is to cause the reservation to be made and 

 notify the applicants of his action in the matter. The law further 

 provides that anyone wishing a reconnaissance for a proposed Carey 

 Act project may apply to the board, depositing the money to cover 

 the expense, and have the examination made by the State engineer. 

 It is further provided that parties wishing to reclaim land under the 

 Carey Act may organize cooperative associations for the purpose of 

 reclaiming by their own labor lands subject to reservation. For such 

 associations the State engineer is required to investigate the proposed 

 project, and if he finds it feasible he is to prepare the maps and data 

 required for having the land segregated under the Carey Act and pre- 

 pare the engineering plans necessary for the reclamation of the land 

 and exercise general supervision over the carrying out of the plans. 

 No applications for work under this provision have been made. 



The Carey land act board succeeded the arid land grant commission, 

 which was created by the original law accepting the conditions of the 

 Carey Act. The commission has entered into contracts for the recla- 

 mation and settlement of three tracts. Work under all these was 

 incomplete at the time of the creation of the new board, and the first 

 work of the engineer was to examine into the condition of these tliree 

 projects. One of them, at Billings, has been completed, examined by 

 the engineer, and approved by him. The other two have been exam- 

 ined by him and found in very imsatisfactory condition. The board 

 is attempting to straighten out their affairs so that work can proceed 

 and the j)rojects be carried out. 



Aside from the examination of these tliree Carey Act projects, the 

 work of the engineer's office has been confined almost exclusively to 

 examining State lands to determine their irrigability. In some in- 

 stances the work has included the making of plans for works to reclaim 

 the lands, but at present there is no authority to reclaim any land. 

 The plans are being made in the hope that the State will be able by 

 showing the feasibility of plans to induce some one to take up the con- 

 struction of the works to reclaim the lands. 



