REPORT ON THE EMERGENCY ACPROGRAIl IN FLOOD 

 DISASTER COUNTIES IN 196U 



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.Immediately after the flood struck in Jiine, 

 I96U, the Montana USIA. Disaster Coiranittee, com. 

 posed of Mrs. J. Viola Herak, Chairman of the ASC 

 State Coiranittee, Torlief Aasheim, Director of 

 Extension Service, and George Lackman, State Dir- 

 iector of the Fanners Home Administration asked 

 their counterparts at the county level to assess 

 the damage done by the flood to agricultural 

 lands. and attached facilities. 



Preliminary reports from the nine disaster 

 [counties, Cascade, Chouteau, Flathead, Glacier, 

 iLewis & Clark, Pondera, Powell, Teton, and Toole 

 Ishowed that tU, 355*000 would be needed to. help 

 repair the flood damage to farmland. The immedi- 

 late needs were $1,629,600, That much money 

 jwas not available, but as soon as the President 

 of the United States declared the nine counties 

 jag disaster areas, they made available $500,000 

 iOr about 305? of the needed, funds. Perhaps you 

 recall that shortly before the June flood in 

 Montana, Alaska suffered massive damage when an 

 earthquake struck along the coast and this had 

 just about exhausted the funds. 

 I Since the funds were short, the State Disaster 

 Committee divided the fimds between counties so 

 that each county was proportionately short. 



Emergency allocations to counties were as 

 follows: 



Cascade |17U,58U 



, Chouteau 51,367 



' Flathead 26,562 



Glacier 15,836 



Lewis & Clartc 27,680 



Pondera 69,238 



I Powell 21,777 



i Teton 93,li90 



Toole 19,U66 



TOTAL $500,000 



Under the emergency ACProgram, practices were 

 made available for rebuilding and repair of fence; 

 destroyed in the flood; removal of debris on 

 cropland and hayland; reseeding of p^mianent veg' 

 etative cover; releveling land; repair of irriga^ 

 tion or livestock water dams. The emergency pro' 

 gram has a $2,500 per person limitation similar t( 

 regular ACProgram that has been in effect for 

 many years. 



The limited funds were soon obligated in all 

 counties. A waiting list developed immediately. 



ASC County Committees and the ASC State Comm- 

 ittee asked permission to use regular program 

 funds for flood repair woik, where available, to 

 help relieve the shortage. Approval was received 

 and in addition to the regular program funds 

 obligatfed by county committees in these counties, 

 the State Comrdttee diverted an additional 

 $17U,723 into these counties. These funds would 

 have normally been used in all counties in the 

 State. 



In September, an additional allocation of 

 v500,000 emergency AGP funds was received. This 

 increase relieved all of the immediate needs for 

 emergency cost-sharing funds until sometime in 

 the future when the work'catches up with the 

 available funds. Winter stopped -all work in 

 December with pro.lects in every state of comple- 

 tion. The ASC State Committee has requested that 

 the emergency program be extended through 1965 to 

 begin to restore the agricultural plant in the 

 flood disaster counties to something like It was 

 before the floods struck, 



- Curing the first few weeks after the flood, 

 haying and grazing on Conservation Reserve divert- 

 ed acreage was authorized in Flathead, Glacier, 

 Teton, and Toole Counties for flood d.saster vic- 

 tims. In all, 1,71U acres were hayed and 556 

 were grazed in these four counties. 



Now that it»s winter and we look back over- the 

 past few months to last June, considerable pro- 

 gress has been made in restoration work. While 

 we did have a shortage of funds for cost-sharing 

 for awhile, we were able to move ahead in one way 

 or another. We are looking forward to having 

 these projects far enough along by high water next 

 spring so we do obt lose what we have gained so 

 far, 



•mJEE PLANTINQ IN RUSSEA" 



A report from Russia shows they have been do- 

 ing considerable tree planting the past 30 years 

 or more. The report coft tains the following 

 statements : 



1. Tree belts reduce wind velocity on sheltered 

 fields by as much as 30? to UO^ on an average, 



2. Soil moisture is conserved because of less 

 evaporation from the surface and because of 

 reduced transpiration by plants. 



3. Tree belts are economically justified by the 

 increase of crop yield alone, to say nothing 

 of other benefits. 



CONSERVATION WEEK 



Conservation Week will be obseived the week of 

 April 25 and Arbor Ifey, the last Friday in April, 

 Teachers should remember these dates when planning 

 Consejrvation Programs. 



Conservation Teaching" Material is available 

 from a number of Federal and State Agencies, 



Temper — Something that spoils 

 children, ruins men and streniith- 

 ens steel. 



Theory — A hunch with a col- 

 lege education. 



Upper Berth — lOiere you rise 

 to retire and get down to get up. 



