Mountain Home maverick. [volume] (Mountain Home, Idaho) 1906-1911, 1910-12-29
IDAHO RESOURCES
TOLD in FIGURES
5000. 600 ACRES WATERED BY
10000 MILES OF
CANALS
Total Cost of the Work is Estimated
at 500, 200, OOO.-Idaho Leads the
World as An Irrigation State..-
Has Made Wonderful Progress.

Heber O. Hale, chilli clerk of the
state land department gave out an
interview to the Statesman last
week which is eloquent, in fncts
and figures, of the marvellous irriga-
ton resources and accomplishments
Of Idaho. setting forth especially /
the enormous amount of work done
in the last year Mr.. Hale said in
part:
Idaho leads the world as an ir
rigation state. No other state in the
American union can boast of such
an irrigated area as Idaho contains;
no other state has expended so many
mill'crs in the reclamation OF arid
lands. and no other state has so many
acres available for public entry.
"Icaho's canals arc The longest,
her engineering feats the most
wonderful. and her water supply the
most inexhaustable, No other state
has been more active in securing
the benefits Of the Carey act than
Idaho. and, with possibly one excep-
ton. no other state has benefited
so much from the United States rec
lamation act And furthermore, no
other state has done so much and
made such progress in irrigation
through individual efforts and pri-
vate enterprises.
s1daho's irrigation history does
not date back over four decades.
From a beginning so insignificant as
to consist Of a simple pillow furrow
extending from a rivulet to gar
den spot a few rods away practical
ly irrigation in this state has devel-
oped to embrace 5.O08,S3S acres
with canals eggregating 1O,491 miles
in length. constructed at a cost of
S9O.0OO.OOO.
THE most stupenduous PROPOSE
ton thus far undertaken in Idaho,
if not in the world, is that Of the
Twin Calls Land & Water company,
who propose to irrigate about $780,
OO0 acres of land in Owyhee coun-
ty at an expenditure of $17,OOO,O0
To accomplish this end, it will re-
quire the construction of a main can
al over 14O miles in length, besides
hundreds Of miles Of laterals, and
the building of dam across Snake
river just above American Falls.
This dam will be 80 feet high and
5000 feet long, forming a great
reservoir with a capacity to store
3,O36.OOO acre feet Of water, cover
ing 10000 acres of land, constitut.
ing the largest artificial reservoir in
the world The entire townsite OF
American Falls will be submerged
besides thousands of acres of In
dian lands. The intake of the grea
canal which will be 200 feet wide
on the bottom. will be at the Milne
dam. The huge American Falls res
ervoir is 10 store water during thu
flood season and supply the demand
of the canal flow during the irriga
ting season. The lands have beef
withdrawn from the public domain
and the company is engaged in run
ming its surveys and doing prelimin
airy work The -Milner-Kimber
~ interests are back Of this scheme
They successfully completed the OF
iginal Twin Falls project of 244,OO
acres.
There are under the AZ differer
Carey act projects in this state. .
63O.S33.43 acres of land which
now being or is designed in IN
near future to be. supplied with WI
ter. Add thereto $4,000 acres una,
United reclamation projects and n
100000 acres of private lands. an
we have a grand total of 5,OO3, $50
acres of land situated under irrig
ton canals.
THE estimated cost of constru
ton of the Carey act projects so II
undertaken in this state aggregat
the enormous total of SIS, 667.5
of which amount $175625S ha
been expended to date OF Il
2,63O.S3O acres under these projeC
1884 acres have been sold; of 4
unsolI acreage 27O.1S4 acres a
now open to public entry
The aggregate length of the ma
canals is 1858 miles; length of t
Iaterals 3,l2S miles, making a tot
Of ADJ miles of canals under ID
hos Carey act projects.
1.-The aggregate length of all otf
irrigation canals in the state is
proximately 5000 miles. this add
to the mileage Of the Carey act C,