344 



FORESTRY AND IRRIGATION 



a short cut from the river to their main 

 canal. Xo headgates were provided, 

 and during the high water period of 

 the past winter the banks of the canal 

 eroded and the ditch deepened until 

 over 50 per cent, of the flow of the 

 river was running through the canal 

 into Salton Sink. Unsuccessful at- 

 tempts were made to shut off the flow 

 into the canal, and there is a grave pos- 

 sibility of the river abandoning its 

 present channel to the Gulf of Cali- 

 fornia and forming an inland sea in 

 Salton Basin. 



The flooding of this basin means the 

 possible submergence of the Imperial 

 Valley with the farms, homes, and 

 other improvements of nearly 8,000 

 people in California, also of settle- 

 ments on the Mexican side, and the 

 destruction of 120 miles of the South- 

 ern Pacific Railroad, a transcontinental 

 line. 



Opposite the heading of the canal 

 through which the water is now rush- 

 ing lies a long island, and an attempt 

 is being made to divert the river to the 

 east channel arovnd this island by a 

 dike about 3,000 feet up stream from 

 the canal heading. This diversion, if 

 successful, may work serious injury to 

 the Yuma irrigation project as now 

 planned by the engineers of the U. S. 

 Reclamation Service, but if the river 

 is properly handled it is believed the 

 damage will be slight compared with 

 the greater evil of allowing it to flow 

 into the Sink. 



As the greater part of the danger 

 and loss will occur in the United 

 States, steps are being taken to perfect 

 protective measures immediately. 



The Secretary of the Interior has 

 authorized the purchase of the Little 

 Klamath Water Ditch Company's 

 rights and property, known generally 

 as the Adams Ditch, for use in connec- 

 tion with the Klamath Falls irrigation 

 project. This ditch system is to be 

 used as a part of the project and the 

 agreement to sell includes also certain 

 color of right to lands now under 

 water, and wihch are to be drained 

 and used for irrigation purposes. 



The Secretary has also approved the 

 purchase of certain rights and prop- 

 erty of the Jesse D. Carr Land and 

 Live Stock Company from Mr. S. L. 

 Akins. This purchase involves a large 

 area of land for the Clear Lake reser- 

 voir site also rights of way for ditches 

 to be constructed by the United States 

 over these lands and certain color to 

 right of lands now under water which 

 will be drained and irrigated. 



The former purchase is to be made 

 for the sum of $100,000 less certain 

 deductions stipulated in the agreement, 

 and the latter for the sum of $187,500. 



Michigan 



Forestry 



Association 



Purchase 

 Irrigation 

 Works 



The Secretary of the In- 

 terior has approved the 

 option to purchase the 

 property of the Klamath Falls Irrigat- 

 ing Company, known as the Ankeny 

 Ditch, for the sum of $50,000. 



This ditch will be enlarged and im- 

 proved by the government, and a large 

 part of it ultimately will be used as the 

 upper end of the main canal of the 

 Klamath project. 



The organization meet- 

 j of the Michigan 

 -,-v \ ? 



r orestry Association 



will be held at Grand Rapids, Mich., 

 August 29 and 30. Preliminary or- 

 ganization of the association was ef- 

 fected some months ago, through the 

 efforts of a number of those interested 

 in forestry in the state, and the work 

 of the association has been carried on 

 by provisional officers. The coming 

 meeting is arranged primarily to affect 

 a permanent organization, and it is 

 intended that its sessions shall be of 

 particular interest to the Michigan 

 business man. The topics for discus- 

 sion have been selected with a view to 

 this, and all speeches will be limited to 

 five or ten minutes, in order that as 

 many opinions as possible may be 

 heard. A large number of those in 

 the state interested in forestry, lum- 

 bering, railroading, etc., will be pres- 

 ent, and the indications are that the 

 meeting will be a successful one in 

 every respect. 









