142 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



March 



party will be engaged upon the loca- 

 tion of main canal lines between Sun 

 and Teton rivers, another will make 

 preliminary surveys on the south side 

 of Sun river, completing work in the 

 vicinity of the canyon and thence 

 working across the divide into Mis- 

 souri Valley, near Ulm and Cascade, 

 and a third party will make a detailed 

 survey of the proposed dam and reser- 

 voir sites in the mountain on the forks 

 of the North Fork and Sun River, 

 later engaging in the survey of irri- 

 gable lands. 



A fourth party will make a recon- 

 naissance of the country lying between 

 the Teton and Marias drainage. The 

 withdrawal of lands in connection with 

 the Sun River project in this section 

 has resulted in holding up a small pro- 

 ject which was undertaken by private 

 enterprise. This plan includes the 

 storage of the flood waters of Teton 

 River in what is known as the old 

 Wilson reservoir No. 29, the summer 

 flow being entirely utilized by irriga- 

 tors along the stream. It is believed 

 that about 30,000 acres can be easily 

 and cheaply supplied. A thorough in- 

 vestigation will be made of all the ir- 

 rigation possibilities .between Teton 

 and Marias headwaters in this vicin- 

 ity, that the best development of the 

 country by the available water supply 

 may be decided upon. 



As a result of the preliminary sur- 

 veys made in 1904 it is estimated that 

 over 200,000 acres of bench land be- 

 tween Sun and Teton Rivers are ca- 

 pable of reclamation, a large percen- 

 tage being vacant land. It is also be- 

 lieved to be practicable to irrigate 100,- 

 ooo acres lying south of Sun River 

 and between that stream and the Mis- 

 souri, if water can be had in sufficient 

 volume. 



SURVEYS IN NORTH DAKOTA. 



The plans of the Reclamation Ser- 

 vice for the season 1905 in North 

 Dakota contemplate very careful sur- 

 veys of the valley of the Missouri, 

 with a view to presenting definite plans 

 for a number of irrigation projects 

 to the settlers residing in the valley. 



Last year the preliminary surveys 

 were made of the Buford-Trenton and 

 Nesson projects, and the plans for the 

 former have been approved. This sea- 

 son it is expected to make a complete 

 topographic survey of the Buford- 

 Trenton project, to lay out the canal 

 lines, to make surveys and complete 

 plans for the power plant and all other 

 necessary works, including dams in 

 the various coulees and surveys of any 

 reservoirs which these coulees may of- 

 fer. A drill party will make borings 

 at the site of the power house, and at 

 sites which are selected to supply coal 

 for this project. 



If it appears that the Government's 

 plans will have the approval of the set- 

 tlers, it is possible that the work can 

 be pushed far enough this season to 

 completely construct the main canal at 

 least, and to erect and equip the power 

 plant. Early in the spring a careful 

 study will be made of the run-off of 

 various coulees in order to determine 

 how much water they will supply for 

 the system. As the work is now 

 planned, at least two topographic par- 

 ties will be needed continuously, and 

 at the beginning of the season it is 

 expected to add other parties and later 

 use them on the different projects 

 which are being developed in this sec- 

 tion. 



A reconnaissance and preliminary 

 survey of the Williston project will be 

 made this year, and if the data devel- 

 oped are favorable it may be possible 

 to do some of the permanent topo- 

 graphic work. 



On the Nesson project the work will 

 be similar to that on the Buford-Tren- 

 ton. The coulees must be studied and 

 a topographic map of the district 

 made. Plans and borings will be re- 

 quired for the power plant location, 

 and plans for any reservoir and dam 

 sites which the coulees may offer. The 

 local coal conditions must also be in- 

 vestigated, and the canal line run. It 

 is doubtful if construction can be be- 

 gun on this project this season. 



On the Cherry Creek project work 

 will probably be confined to recon- 

 naissance and preliminary surveys, a 



