SUPERVISOR LOSES LIFE 



Ernest Lauffef , Supervisor from the Pondera Soil 

 and Water Conservation District lost his life in 

 the Birch Creek flood on June 8, 1964. 



Hisbattered 4-wheel drive pickup was fould several 

 hundred feet below the highway crossing on Route 89. 



Lauffer has been a supervisor with the Pondera District 

 for more than two terms. He was a strong supporter 

 of the Soil & Water Conservation District work and 

 had a special interest in the Pondera Canal and 

 Irrigation Company's plans for a small watershed 

 project on Birch Creek or on some offstream 

 storage. 



Reports were that Lauffer was up in the Birch 

 Creek drain age doing what he could to protect 

 some irrigation headgates against oncommg high 

 water. It is also thought he was on his way to 

 notify and assist a rancher who lived upstream. 

 Exact details of how he was trapped by the flood 

 water is unknown. 



TEMPORARY INJUNCTION GRANTED LOWER 

 WILLOW CREEK DRAINAGE DISTRICT 



A temporary injuncion was granted the Lower Willow 

 Creek Drainage District against the Granite County 

 Commissioners and Assessor by Judge Stewart on 

 July 21, which means that further action is delayed 

 for a month or so when a hearing will be scheduled 

 to determine whether this can be made a permanent 

 injunction. 



Lower Willow Creek has been assessed property 

 taxes on their dam which is an irrigation 

 facility. They contend that the facility should not 

 be taxed as it is in effect state property, that 

 the land which the dam serves is reclassified 

 and paying higher taxes, and that it is uncon- 

 stitutional. 



If the action of the county commissioners in 

 Granite County is upheld, then all private 

 irrigation developments of irrigation districts 

 and others, would be subject to taxation. This 

 would also impede further irrigation water 

 development as the cost-benefit ratio would be 

 lessened. Much importance rides on the eventual 

 outcome of this case. 



THE MARIAS RIVER FLOODING THE MELVIN 

 UNDERDAHL RANCH LANDS, SOUTHEAST 

 OF SHELBY, MONTANA 



As shown above, the irrigation pump house was 

 set in at 40 feet above normal river level. 

 Surges of flood water reached heights up to 50 

 feet above normal. 



Along the Marias, as elsewhere on flood torn 

 rivers and streams from this June 8 & 9, 1964 

 flood, thousands of dollars worth of damage to 

 crop and hay fields occurred. Underdahl a 

 Great Plains Program producer got severe 

 damage to over 200 acres of cropland which had bee 

 leveled and on which revised irrigation system 

 had been installed. Work under the emergency 

 repair program cost shared at 80% by A.C.P. 

 and carried out under technical field direction of 

 S. C,S. , is now underway to repair damage on 

 these formerly high producin g acres. 



Work now facing farmers and ranchers consists 

 of clearing of thousands of acres of trash, litter, 

 trees, gravel and silt. Much fence repair has 

 already been done - it was needed first. 



Right now most farmers and ranchers are working 

 long hours to salvage what hay they can from 

 damaged meadows. On top of this, they are 

 pressed hard to harvest the fast turning grain 

 crops. S.C.S. estimates the heavy activity 

 on flood repair work will get in full swing late 

 mid-August and through all of this fall. 



Help in flood stricken areas to restore public 

 utilities came from the State of Montana disaster 

 funds. Irrigation companies not in this category 

 can receive help from A.C. P. pooling agreements. 

 In dividual land owners, in addition to the 

 A.C.P. emergency repair cost sharing, are 

 helped technically by S.C.S. technicians and 

 County Agents. F.H.A. has made available 

 low cost, long term loans to help those who aren't 

 eligible from other loaning sources. This in- 

 cludes operating and property loans. Revising 

 or planning the future development work by 

 working out a basic conservation plan is one 

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