The Spanish Fork press. [volume] (Spanish Fork, Utah) 1902-current, 1909-07-08
WATER POWERSAVED
Secretary of Interior Takes Posi-
ton in Favor Of Conservation.
Hundreds Of Thousands OF Acres Are
Saved to People In Utah, Colo
rado, Wyoming, Montana,
Idaho and Washington.

Washington.-Secr Ballinger. OF
the interior department, has taken
an open and avowed stand in
favor of the conservation of the
water power Of the country remaining
on the public domain. In conformity
with the policy of the Taft admins.
tration he has withheld the announce.
ment of his position pending the ac.
complishment of something definite
and tangible Secretary Ballinger's
order was issued on April 23 last and
he has accepted the recommendation
for eleven temporary Withdrawals of
water power sites. These withdraw.
ais aggregate 236,365 acres of land in
the states of Utah, Colorado, Wyom.
ing, Montana, Idaho and Washington
where the railroads and electrical
power companies of the country. as
well as spectators, have been at work
in recent years grabbing up all the
water power in sight. This policy
will be the policy of the new secre
tary.
The director of the geological sur
vey has assured the secretary that
the temporary Withdrawals of water
power sites already made from data
in the possession of the survey, to
gether with such as will be hereafter
be made prior to the converting OF
congress. will be ample to protect all
the more important water-power sites
undisposed of on the public domain
and enable congress to legislate intel.
ligently for their disposition
Five of the eleven Withdrawals al.
ready made include all the power sites
available in the areas that were with
drawn by Secretary Garfield and re.
stored to entry by Secretary Balling.
ers. The present Withdrawals, how.
ever, constitute a much smaller acre.
age, one-sixth or less of the areas OF
the corresponding earlier withdraw.
ais. This reduction has been made
possible in part by omission of lands
patented or reserved prior to the
original Withdrawals, but more largely
by the exclusion of land in no wise
essential or useful to power develop
ment. The vacated Withdrawals in.
cluded such large areas of public land
Of possible agricultural or mineral
value at such distances from the riv-
ers as to have absolutely no connec.
tion with the future development of
the water resources On the other
hand, the revised Withdrawals in the
same regions in some instances cover
| powersites missed by the earlier ac-
| tion Thus in the case of the Salmon
river in Idaho, where the original
withdrawal totaled 322,560 acres, that
| based upon the recent recommenda-
tion of the geological survey includes
$500 acres. similar reduction
holds for the Owyhee river in Oregon,
and in even greater measure for the
Flathead and the Missouri and tribu.
: taries in Montana.
All the recommendations by the ge.
illogical survey have been based upon
official data already on file. The
streams in these states having been
maintained for series of years for
the purpose of determining the water
available for irrigation. The topo
graphic surveys which have been con.
Quoted by the geological survey for
| 80 years also furnish means of select
| ing without delay the sections of the
rivers important for power purposes.