RIVER BASIN SURVEYS — F. H. H. ROBERTS 353 



presented the case for tlie Missouri Basin to the Bureau of Reclama- 

 tion. A preliminary allotment of funds to begin the work was made 

 by that agency and was transferred through the National Park Serv- 

 ice to the Smithsonian Institution. The funds were for use in both 

 Bureau of Reclamation and Corps of Engineers projects. 



BEGINNING OF THE WORK 



The first actual field work got under way in July 1946, when a field 

 office was established at Lincoln, Nebr., in quarters provided by the 

 University of Nebraska, and three parties of two men each made a 

 rapid reconnaissance covering more than 13,000 miles, visiting 28 top- 

 priority Bureau of Reclamation projects and 5 Corps of Engineers 

 reservoirs. In September of the same year the Corps of Engineers 

 transferred funds through the National Park Service for surveys to 

 be made outside the Missouri Basin, and field parties were started in 

 Georgia, Virginia, Texas, and California. The money provided by 

 the Corps of Engineers was for use in their projects only. The Bu- 

 reau of Reclamation supplied additional funds in March 1947 for 

 surveys at its projects in the Columbia-Snake Basin, and work got 

 under way there the following June. In addition, both agencies 

 contributed in no small degree to the successful start of the surveys 

 through their cooperation in other ways. Bureau of Reclamation 

 personnel and division and district engineers did much to facilitate 

 the work of the men in the field. In some areas transportation was 

 provided, in others necessary labor was furnished to aid in emergency 

 excavations, and elsewhere temporary office space and storage facili- 

 ties were made available at project headquarters. In the fall of 1947 

 the Bureau of the Budget ruled that thereafter all requests for ap- 

 propriations for the archeological and paleontological program should 

 appear in the Interior Department budget. As a consequence, Mis- 

 souri Basin funds for all types of projects are carried in the Bureau 

 of Reclamation item, while those for other areas are provided by the 

 National Park Service. Furthermore, it was stipulated that the in- 

 vestigations need not be restricted to Bureau of Reclamation and 

 Corps of Engineers projects but could also be carried on in those 

 sponsoi^d by other Federal agencies and by the several States. Even 

 after it was decided that all the necessary funds were to be provided 

 through the Interior Department, the Corps of Engineers continued 

 to contribute to the effort through the loan of equipment, office space, 

 and transportation. 



In subsequent years the program was expanded to cover more and 

 more areas throughout the country. Field headquartei-s for the Pa- 

 cific coast region were set up at Eugene, Oreg., in space made available 

 by the University of Oregon, and at Austin, Tex., where the Univer- 



