

Tour Co-chairmen: 

 Wendell Thacker, 

 Area Conservationist 



Lyall Schaefer, 

 ASCS Fieldman 



Tour Guides: 



Al Heckerman, SCS 

 Dave Buchanan, SCS 



...a«i3 8 'little" waste water 



"Water, water, everywhere . . ." could well 

 be the title for the picture series shown on this 

 page. 



"That's good," you say. "No, it isn't" say the 

 soil and water experts for the Fairfield Bench 

 (northwest of Great Falls). They explain further: 



The water shown on this page is irrigation 

 "waste water" — left over after an "order" 

 from a farmer and before the main irrigation 

 source gates can be closed. Water with no place 

 to go — except to deep-cut a ravine in respond- 

 ing to the laws of gravity (upper photo) or to 

 gather top-soil from a fertile valley on its 

 course to, in this case. Muddy Creek and the 

 Sun River. 



Thus has water, the dream and the need of 

 mankind, become a "problem" for those involved 

 in and with the Greenfield Irrigation District 

 of the Fairfield Bench. Irrigation overage, a canal 

 system that delivers little more than half of 

 measured output to its ultimate destination, 

 antiquated control systems and gates, saline seep 

 and swampland invasion of cultivated fields. 



What to do? Ditch lining (as per the pic- 

 ture, lower left), drain tile (note the drain tile 

 inspection well pictured on the cover of this 

 issue), modernized gate control systems, re- 

 located ditch systems, farmer-rancher education 

 on water utilization. 



But they all cost money — lots of it! 



"Water, water, everywhere . . .1" 



goes 



s 



long, 



long 



way. 



• •• 









% 



By 



Marge 



Uhlrich 



There's a whole wonderful world of excit- 

 ing surprises beyond measure available for 

 discovery by everyone with an open, question- 

 ing mind. There's a whole, great universe 

 filled with a multitude of mysteries. Some are 

 within mankind's range of understanding, 

 many are beyond the present mental concept 

 of today's earth inhabitants, impossible 

 yet to understand, even to suspect, but the 

 evidence is that the wonders are there. 



Parallel with the great-sized marvels of 

 creation, is another equally amazing world 

 of tiny things, so small that we are not aware 

 of their existence. These small creatures and 

 plants in their myriads of varieties are uniquely 

 designed as part of a completely balanced 

 environment 



It is in knowing and recognizing this fact, 

 even within mankind's present small capability 

 for comprehension, that one must face the 

 indisputable truth that our Creator is an en- 

 gineer with a scope of knowledge that staggers 

 the imagination. 



Certain kinds of engineers we can under- 

 stand as experts in their respective fields. 

 Mankind has developed extremely able phys- 

 icists, chemists, geologists, scientists of count- 

 less specialized talents, but there is only One 

 who IS equal to all these specialists combined. 

 It IS an awesome concept, to state it mildly. 



The more one realizes the complexity and the 

 vastness of mankind's surroundings, the more 

 urgent becomes the necessity for helping 

 to maintain that natural balance as it was 

 intended, and wilful destruction of natural 

 resources appears as something 'of a sac- 

 rilege. 



This is the basic reason, as seen by this 

 writer, that the need exists for conserva- 

 tion practices Conservation Districts are one 

 effective arm of the ever-increasing group 

 of people who are aware of the many dangers 

 to our environment through wide-spread 

 dissipation of natural resources. Conservation 

 Districts are an effective force m public edu- 

 cation and in services available to the general 

 public. 



The field of conservation is wide open to 

 the influence of women, who often can offer 

 perceptive guidance due to their natural pro- 

 tective attributes. Conservation should be an 

 over-all effort of all citizens regardless of 

 sex or age. combining to maintain the health- 

 ful balance as nearly as possible as it was 

 originally ordained. 



Montana's Conservation Districts, in con- 

 junction with the National Association of 

 Conservation Districts, offer a powerful leader- 

 ship backed by a tremendous store of facts, 

 the results of studies already made, and con- 

 stantly being enlarged 



Women can help by being informed and 

 willing to serve wherever the conservation 

 effort needs the support of their own special 

 viewpoints. A wider participation by women 

 in organized conservation activities can pro- 

 vide a wider over-all view of problems and lead 

 to more lasting and effective solutions. The 

 work IS intensely interesting, and rewarding in 

 many ways 



This writer is proud, and at the same time 

 humble, m being a part of the organized effort 

 to keep our natural resources ever fresh, 

 clean and abundant so that we all can enjoy 

 indefinitely the benefits they can continually 

 produce. 



FAY KUHLMAN. 

 Bearcreek, Montana 



