Evening capital news. (Boise, Idaho) 1901-1927, 1919-12-28
J. @. Blanchard, Statistician Of
the Reclamation Service
Gives Interesting Informa-
ton on Subject.

ton on Subject.
That the proposed attempt to irri-
gate the vast stretches of arid lands
in southern and eastern Idaho, Is one
OF the greatest engineering feats ever
attempted. is the opinion of J. g..
Blanchard. statistician of the Idaho
Reclamation service. Relative to the
| plan he says:
The Harvesting of the Snake river
is the huge engineering feat which
today IL absorbing the attention of
state and federal engineers and the
population of the great valley Of the
Snake river in Idaho. 1t is feat
which Secretary Lane would describe
as a challenge to the Capacity Of de-
mocracy Its successful consummation
means the control of a tubulent riv-
er, the reclamation OF 100000. 900 acres
of dusty desert and "a guarantee of an
abundant supply to the 1,500000 acres
now under ditch in this drainage ba-
sin.
| To carry out the plans as roughly
SIX etched by the engineers from pre-
liminary studies and surveys will call
for an estimated expenditure of $780,
100000. In magnitude and cost of con-
/ stTuCtiou anu area OI Iduu the pTOJect
falls Into class by itself as one Oh
the greatesS irrigation works in the
world 1t will rank the tremendous
achievements of English engineers in
! Egypt and India. For the first time
since cur national irrigation was writ
ten in our statutes. here Is a plan af-
tordirg the engineers Of the service
an opportunity &c consider irrigation
developments from the standpoint OF q
whole drainage basin rather than from
;har o. single small unit.
COOPERATE WITH STATE.
The fact that the plans are being
worked or In cooperation with the
state authorities. the Carey act PEG
rlo and with ali the private compan-
les whose interests ere important In
thc valley Is Interesting as indicating
the pronounced change in public SEN
tin,pt toward the federal service. The
sentiment Of the land owners as re-
Gently expressed Ia Iubh* meeting Is
that the reclamation service shall con-
stru:t tbs larger works which are to
act as conserves of the floods and to
administer such works In distributing
the stored waters equitably All in
forests are to share proportionately
in the cost
The plans outlined as briefly as
possible, are to begin at the head
waters of the Snake river in Wyo-
ming, and by constructing necessary
reservoirs in high attitudes In that
state and also at advantageous points
in the valley in Idaho to store approx
imately 100000 acre feet of water
which now flows over Miner dam and
is wasted forever.
4 ADDITIONAL STORAGE.
i Additional storage is to be provided
! by tapping lakes whose waters now
belong to the Atlantic drainage and
bringing these waters through tun-
neled mountains into Pacific drain
age. These stored waters are to be
released In the summer to irrigate
lands in Wyoming and the vast fertile
areas OF desert in Idaho. A real be-
| ginning has been made already
Through cooperation of wyoming state
authorities the government has Great
cd in Jackson lake storage reservoir
| holding 100000 acre feet of water
Part Of the expense of this work was
borne by the south and north side Twin
| Falls propects and contracts have been
made also by other canal systems In
the valley to share in the surplus
ever has been the draft upon the
| present normal and stored flow of
this stream duo to unprecedented de-
velopment, that serious shortage of
water was narrowly averted the past
season only by the most careful and
intelligent distribution of the water.
Late crops under many irrigation
rsystems in the upper and lower val
leys were short. and the losses to the
farmers ran into millions OF dollars.
| Within the past few years the de-
velopment in the valley has been
large. II has focused the attention of
the whole country. From the wonder
full subirrigated Egin bench above st.
Anthony and Rexburg down to Idaho
| Fails and Blackfoot Yeast areas have
been transformed from sagebrush to
prosperous ranches whose owners are
talking values OF 5000 and 5000 per
acre.
! CLEANS LIKE A STAR.
Minidoka. the electric project. CLEANS
IKE d star amid the desert waste
which lies around II. One hundred
thousand acres. producing crops val
ued at $50 per acre, have sprung from
J the desert III less than q ooxen years.
The handsome farm homes and COM
modious farm buildings, the progress
I've and up-to-date towns, attest the
sound ana substantial foundation upon
which the new empire IL created.
The Twin Falls south and North
Side Carey Act projects. "A little farther
down the valley, embracing nearly
100000 acres, are the best examples
OF the law which bears the name OF
Wyoming's chief executive. On these
projects the best lands have attained
values one expects to find only In re-
gions Of sub tropical vegetation.
ranches are passing into hands of ex-
perienced Mississippi valley farmers at
from 1850 to $500 per acre and the de-
mand exceeds the supply at even these
! towering figures.
4 100000 ACRES OF oEsERT.
Joining the Twin Falls country on
the west extending down the valley
almost to Mountain Home IL an enorm-
GUS area Of virgin desert containing
e0o.000 acres: on the south of the
Minidoka project are 10000 acres OF
Fertile as can be found In the valley
and now withdrawn for future inclu-
SION In this project. In the upper val
leys extension Of present canals and
some new construction will bring many
thousands Of acres into cultivation. In
me surprising valleys OF the Payette,