64 Proceedings oi^ the 



protect the head waters of the Missouri and Yellow- 

 stone, the head waters of the Platte and all of the innu- 

 merable streams which flow, not only to the East, but 

 also into the Snake and into the Green Rivers to the 

 South. 



In each of these States is a great irrigation project 

 under construction or under consideration. In Wyo- 

 ming is a large reservoir on the North Platte River — 

 the Pathfinder. The contract for the outlet tunnel will 

 be let in a few days. And in the northern part of Wyo- 

 ming is a project on the Shoshone River with the 

 object of reclaiming vast tracts of arid land. 



I have cited these cases to illustrate the fact that 

 forest protection has an important practical and defi- 

 nite value, not only to the people of the West, but to 

 the people of the whole country in the upbuilding and 

 making of homes and the creation of a large population 

 which will support itself from the soil. And which will 

 be drawing upon the East for its manufactures and 

 drawing upon all the transportation interests to carry 

 these manufactures backward and forward. 



Those of you who are interested in the details of this 

 great work of reclamation are cordially invited to go 

 into the details with the engineers of the Reclamation 

 Service who represent the different States and who are 

 now holding a conference to consider some of the 

 larger problems of construction and of management. 

 These works are not built as are those constructed 

 under such appropriations as that provided for in the 

 River and Harbor Bill. They must be built, on the 

 contrary, with the idea of repaying to the government 

 the cost of construction. This involves a financial 

 problem — that of getting back into the reclamation 

 fund the amount which each project has cost. If it 

 has cost $3,000,000 dollars and will reclaim 100,000 



