

280 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



June 



obtain incident to building up the town 

 would also be of great assistance in 

 helping them until such time as water 

 can be furnished. 



It is probable that as soon as the 

 necessary preliminaries, such as ap- 

 praising the land, can be completed, 

 the Department will proceed with the 

 disposition of such areas as it is deem- 

 ed advisable to throw open at the pres- 

 ent time. 



State Irrigation riicler National 

 Supervision. 



In certain sections of the west steps 

 are being taken toward inaugurating 

 the plan suggested at the irrigation 

 congress at El Paso, Texas, by the 

 following declaration: 



"We would not have the west de- 

 pend alone upon national aid for the 

 development of its resources, and urge 

 the several Western States and Terri- 

 tories to adopt legislation providing 

 for the formation of irrigation dis- 

 tricts, which shall be able to raise 

 funds by the sale of bonds, said dis- 

 tricts to be organized only upon ap- 

 proval by the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, who shall employ the engineers 

 of the Reclamation Service in the con- 

 struction of district irrigation works. 

 By this means the reclamation fund 

 will be supplemented to the extent of 

 millions of dollars by every state and 

 territory, while the benefits of national 

 administration will be vastly extended. 

 We commend this subject to the ear- 

 nest attention of the Legislatures of 

 our Western States and Territories." 



If legislation by the several arid 

 states and by Congress is enacted to 

 authorize and regulate such opera- 

 tions, there is no doubt that great 

 benefits would accrue to the arid re- 

 gion. This legislation would be in 

 line with the real intent of the Recla- 

 mation Law, which was enacted for 

 the purpose of accomplishing by Fed- 

 eral aid what private capital or the 

 states themselves could not effectual- 

 ly do. 



The limited fund now available for 

 reclamation purposes as compared 

 with the enormous irrigation possi- 



bilities awaiting development under it, 

 makes it highly improbable that many 

 otherwise feasible projects will be 

 undertaken for several years. 



The suggestion is made that the 

 Secretary of the Interior, through the 

 engineers of the Reclamation Service, 

 should make the necessary examina- 

 tions and plans for projects to be con- 

 structed by the irrigation districts ; 

 that contracts for the work should be 

 let through the Secretary of the In- 

 terior, and that the funds be sup- 

 plied by the sale of irrigation district 

 bonds, the same to be expended by the 

 Secretary of the Interior. 



It is believed that legislation of this 

 kind could be drawn so as to pro- 

 perly conserve the interests of the gov- 

 ernment and protect the Reclamation 

 fund, and that it would be of great 

 benefit in the development of the arid 

 region. 



Petition from Smith HLiver Valley, 

 Montana. 



A petition has been received by the 

 Director of the U. S. Geological Sur- 

 vey from residents of Smith River 

 Valley, Meagher County, Montana, 

 asking that a reservoir be constructed 

 by the Reclamation Service on the 

 North Fork of Smith River for the 

 purpose of irrigating lands in that 

 valley. 



The petitioners set forth the excel- 

 lent character of the land and its pos- 

 sibilities under careful cultivation 

 when supplied with an adequate wa- 

 ter supply, and the advantage which 

 will accrue to the residents in the val- 

 ley if the reservoir is constructed. 



An investigation of the conditions 

 will be made at the earliest opportun- 

 ity found for doing so without retard- 

 ing the. work for which plans have 

 been made and which has reached a 

 somewhat advanced stage. 



I 01 nun- a Water Users' Association 

 in ISortli Dakota. 



Preliminary work toward the for- 

 mation of a water users association 

 under the Bismark project, North 

 Dakota, is under way, and the meeting 



