80 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



February 



water. Here it is necessary to deter- 

 mine whether the bottom is imperme- 

 able or whether it has a subterranean 

 outlet which would let the water out 

 after it had been stored. 



Unconipahgre Bids Rejected. 



The bids received by the Depart- 

 ment of the Interior in response to 

 advertisement of November 28, 1904, 

 for the construction of a frame build- 

 ing at Montrose, Colorado, for the use 

 of the Reclamation Service, have been 

 rejected by the Secretary of the In- 

 terior. The bids were as follows: 



Hansen & Nissen, Denver, Colo., 

 $7,969.00; E. B. Johnson, Denver, 

 Colo., $6,782.00; J. H. Antrobus, 

 Montrose, Colo., $6,223.20; M. A. 

 Masters, Montrose, Colo., $6,043.26; 

 H. A. Meredith, Montrose, Colo., $5,- 

 690.00. 



In view of the fact that the lowest 

 bid was in excess of the amount set 

 aside or believed to be necessary for 

 the construction of the building, the 

 Secretary has ordered that new plans 

 and specifications be prepared and new 

 proposals advertised for. 



Contracts Awarded In Arizona. 



The Secretary of the Interior has 

 awarded contracts for furnishing 50,- 

 ooo barrels of fuel oil, and hauling 

 same and miscellaneous freight from 

 Mesa to Roosevelt, Arizona, in con- 

 nection with the Salt River project, in 

 that territory. 



The contracts were awarded to the 

 lowest bidders, as follows : C. R. Eager 

 & Co., of Los Angeles, Cal., for fur- 

 nishing and delivering oil at Roose- 

 velt, Ariz., at $3.98 per barrel; Wolf 

 Sachs, of Tempe, Ariz., for hauling 

 miscellaneous freight from Mesa to 

 Roosevelt, Ariz., at $13.60 per ton. 

 The Secretary fixed the amount of 

 bond to be supplied under the oil con- 

 tract at $15,000, and under the hauling 

 contract at $5,000. 



on Oregon Reclamation 

 \Vork. 



Land owners under the Malheur 

 project in eastern Oregon are becom- 

 ing each day more desirous of early 

 action by the Government on this 



work. The Water Users' Association 

 has worked out a form a agreement 

 to arbitrate the value of present ditch- 

 es and water rights, but much yet 

 remains to be done to insure early 

 construction. 



Field work under the direction of 

 Engineer J. T. Whistler was completed 

 during November, and the force is 

 now busily engaged in making draw- 

 ings and computations. Work with 

 diamond drill at diversion dam site 

 was completed December 24. 



Work on the Carty reservoir site, in 

 connection with the Umatilla project, 

 was completed during November. It 

 is estimated that over 200,000 acre feet 

 can be stored at a cost which will prob- 

 ably not exceed $10 pejr acre foot. 



A preliminary canal line was sur- 

 veyed from this new reservoir site to 

 John Day River, and levels carried 

 some distance up the river. The river 

 runs in a more or less abrupt canyon 

 from 500 to 1,000 feet deep. In the 

 lower part of its course the canyon is 

 not so precipitous, and it is possible a 

 project may be evolved at a cost of 

 from $30 to $40 per acre irrigated. 



The feed canal line will be 75 to 100 

 miles long, but with the water supply 

 from this source all the land which 

 falls below the canal can be easily 

 watered. While under this scheme 

 there will be from 25 to 50 miles of 

 heavy rock work, it is desirable if pos- 

 sible to utilize this source of water 

 supply, that the waters of Umatilla 

 River may be left for lands to the east 

 and north of the stream at some later 

 period when they have become more 

 valuable. 



Several gaging stations were estab- 

 lished in the State of Oregon during 

 the month of December for the pur- 

 pose of securing data as to stream flow 

 in connection with projects investi- 

 gated last season in the interior of the 

 state. 



i.iiml Withdrawals. 



Pending further investigation, the 

 Secretary of the Interior has tempo- 

 rarily withdrawn from any form of 

 disposition whatever the following de- 



