The silver state. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1909-1925, 1912-10-05
Gov. oddie Addresses Congress

Governor T. l.. Ode spoke Wednes-
day before the Irrigation Congress on
/ - Irrigation Progress in Nevada. = He
told of the amazing development of
the state during the last few years,
saying in part:
The problem of irrigation, the
reclamation and colonization of our
arid wastes, time has at last crowded
to the foremost place in Nevada. Two
years ago the state legislature awak-
ened to the urgent necessity of con
sidering the ways and means of pro-
noting our agricultural development.
Aud it was time. After fortv-eight
years of statehood, with the great ex-
amples of California and Utah on our
eastern and western borders, with over
70,000,000 acres of land all told, only
little over l per cent of the total area
is under cultivation, about $4,000
acres.
Excluding 100000 acres of al
kali wastes and baTens, and 100000
600 acres of mountainous and rolling
grazing lands, used as stock ranges,
we yet have remaining 100000
acres of arabic valley lands possess
ing a rich soil and fruitful eli
mate, other than in respect to humidi-
tv. Five per cent of this empire of
arabic valley lands are now under eul-
tivation. The reclamation of the re
naming 90 per cent is the present and
the future problem of the state. | can
bring the National Irrigation Congress
this cheerful news, that we have
made more actual progress in state re-
clamation the last twelve months than
in any previous like period in our his
tory.
"The Truekee Carson national irri-
CATION project at Fallon has passed
the stage of skepticism and its ulti
mate success is assured. The great
Lehontan dam, the second unit of this
project, viii be completed in about two
years, adding another 100000 acres to
the reclaimed area.
"'The primary reclamation problem
in Nevada at present is the adjudica-
tioo of water rights on the various
streams. Our state engineer, Mr..
Kearney, has attacked the problem at
its fundamentals. On the Humboldt
river, for example, he has persuaded
the water users on that stream and its
tributaries to have made accurate
cultural maps of their farms, showing
every field, large and small, that is
irrigated, the supply bitches and later
ais; measurements of the water used
on the different fields; the recovery of
waste water and much other perti-
nent data.
"About 175,000 acres of land are
now irrigated from the Humboldt riv-
er stream system. 1t is estimated
that approximately as much again
land could be reclaimed if the flood
waters of the river were impounded
to flow only during the irrigation sea-
son, and the river channel dredged and
straightened at certain points where
it now backs up in immense sloughs,
causing great loss from evaporation
and seepage.'
overnor Oddie took up discussion of
plans of "stream incorporation, sug
gesting such as a means of bringing
order and definition out Of compare
tive chaos.
g Not only would a water user know
what his status was, said the Neva-
da executive, tsbut a definite incentive
would be created for furthering co
operation in conservation enterprises.
Under a carefully drawn statute,
bond issue for conservation works by
stream corporation would be gilt
edged security and investment. More
over. the shareholder would be obli-
gated only to the extent of his assess
ments for which he would be getting
/