262 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



Levee surveys are being made to study 

 the overflow problems near Yuma ; ca- 

 nals are being located in the field and 

 estimates prepared ; diamond borings 

 are being made at Bill Williams dam 

 site ; measurements of river flow ; evap- 

 oration and seepage losses are being 

 carried on in the canals. 



MILK RIVER PROJECT, MONTANA. 



For the completion of the Milk River 

 project in Montana $i ,500,000 has been 

 apportioned. This project in its entirety 

 contemplates the storage in St. Mary 

 Lakes of the flood waters of St. Marys 

 River, a tributary of the Saskatchewan 

 River in Hudson Bay drainage. 



The flood waters are to be diverted 

 either through a canal to Milk River, 

 and allowed to flow down that stream 

 through Canada and again be diverted 

 in Montana above the point where it 

 empties into the Missouri River, or by 

 means of a canal connecting with Cut 

 Bank Creek, a tributary of the Marias 

 River, using the latter stream as a nat- 

 ural channel for 50 miles, and again 

 diverting the water through canals 

 upon the valley of the Lower Milk 

 River. 



Owing to the international complica- 

 tions which it is feared would arise, the 

 Canadians already being users of the 

 waters of the Milk River, it is probable 

 that the plan of keeping the waters 

 wholly within the United States will 

 be adopted. 



Milk River rises in the undulating 

 foothills of the Rocky Mountains near 

 the boundary line of Montana and Can- 

 ada. Its headwaters flow northeasterly 

 into Canada, and the stream continues 

 for about 100 miles entirely parallel with 

 the international boundary, and then 

 turns southeasterly, passing through 

 the northern part of Montana and emp- 

 tying into the Missouri River. The 

 valley through which the stream passes 

 is broad and contains many thousands 

 of acres of excellent arid land. The 

 summer flow is not sufficient for the 

 irrigation of any considerable part of 

 this area, and the reinforcement of the 

 supply by utilizing the stored waters of 

 St. Mary Lakes will add greatly to the 

 productive area of this section of the 



state. It is probable that the first op- 

 erations of the engineers will be con- 

 fined to canal construction in the lower 

 valley to utilize the unappropriated flow 

 of the Milk River. About 250,000 

 acres are involved in the whole project 

 and 68,500 in the first section. 



NEBRASKA IRRIGATION PROJECT. 



When it was determined that the 

 Sweetwater reservoir probably could 

 not be filled, owing to an inadequate 

 water supply, search was made for other 

 reservoir sites, and one was found on 

 the North Platte River, about 3 miles 

 below the mouth of Sweetwater River. 

 This is at the beginning of the canyon 

 through the Rattlesnake range of moun- 

 tains. A dam constructed here will be 

 75 feet in length at the bottom, 200 

 feet high, and about 250 feet long at 

 the top. Surveys show the superficial 

 area of the reservoir thus created to be 

 about 23,000 acres and the capacity 

 i ,080,000 acre-feet. It is probable that 

 it will hold all the flood and surplus 

 water flowing in the North Platte River 

 to this point. The waters thus stored 

 will be used on lands in eastern Wyo- 

 ming, in the Goshen Hole region of 

 the North Platte River, and in western 

 Nebraska. 



HONDO PROJECT, NEW MEXICO. 



The Hondo project in New Mexico 

 is located on Hondo River, a tributary 

 of Pecos River in southeastern New 

 Mexico, about 12 miles southwest from 

 the town of Roswell, in the county 

 of Chaves. The river is torrential in 

 character, and the ordinary summer 

 supply is already appropriated. 



It is proposed to construct a reservoir 

 in a depression near the river, divert 

 the storm or flood waters and unappro- 

 priated waterflow into the reservoir, 

 and hold it for use during the irrigation 

 season to irrigate lands lying east of the 

 reservoir and south and southwest from 

 Roswell. These lands are adjacent to 

 productive fields near Roswell, and with 

 an assured water supply could be put 

 into cultivation at once. The area to 

 be irrigated under this project embraces 

 about 20,000 acres, and the cost will 

 probably be about $300,000. 



