The Idaho Republican. [volume] (Blackfoot, Idaho) 1904-1932, 1920-08-13
IGNORANCE PUTS
RECLAMATION BACK
Opposition to Yellow
stone by uniformed
Eastern Folks

LdSlCIll ! OlkS
Some months ago congress turned
down the proposition to issue per-
NIT to build dam that would turn
the Fall river meadows and swamps
into a lake and thus store water for
irrigation. 1t was due to the hula
ballo raised by lot Of sentimental
folks down in Boston who did not
understand western matters and
rushed around with petitions to stop
action on the bill. The signers
probably knew about as much re-
garding the Yellowstone park as did
Miss Anna A. Gordon, secretary to
Frances E. Willard during her best
years. who. in writing the book en-
titled THE Beautiful Life of Frances
e. Willard was telling of how busy
Miss Willard always was and how lit
tie time she took for pleasure and
recreation for herself, and stated
that during one of her western tours,
away back in the days Of staging
thru the park from Beaver Canyon,
she was in the Snake river valley
and wanted to see the park, but de-
MED herself the pleasure because it
would take her away from her work
for a whole day.
1t was nothing against Miss Cor
don that she knew so little about the
park, but II these folks who signed
the petition down in Boston knew
no more about it than she did when
she wrote the book referred to, they
are in no position to be listened to
at all.
Here is the article that appeared
in the Literary Digest in answer to
what was said by some naturalists
against the bill. Mr.. Bickel is a
Boise man, and owns the famous
ranch of the Hagerman valley now
being used by the Idaho Game
Breeders. He designed the proposed
canal to run from Shelley to Ameri-
can Falls and Minidoka for irriga-
ton and power. He refused to have
anything to do with the Sunnyside
project as originally designed, be-
cause he did not believe 1t would
De a success, and it was not. He
designed the Bruneau canal now I'M
der consideration, after other engi-
neers said it was impractical, and
when they saw his plans they said
he had solved the problems which
they considered insurmountable. He
knows more about how to conserve
all the waters of the Snake river
drainage basin than most engineers
of the age do, and he probably turn
ed from his task not more than q
few minutes when he wrote the fol-
lowing article:
Yellowstone Not Endangered, Says
Irrigation Engineer
Our readers will remember we
recently quoted the argument of a
wellknown naturalist against the
bill introduced into congress for the
construction of reservoirs and can
ais in the Fall River district in the
southwest corner Of Yellowstone
park. The other side of the con-
troversy is, presented in a letter to
the Literary Digest by Paul A. Bick-
ell of Boise, Idaho, chief engineer of
the Fall River reservoir and Bru-
neau Twin Falls Land and Water
company. We quote his defense in
full:
Your article of June S, 1920, I'M
der Birds, Beasts and Trees page
90, by George Bald Grinnel, has
prompted me to answer same and at
the same time give some insight in
to the matter.
Evidently the writer has only had
an opr0 -tunity to see and study the
subject from one position and in a
place where the surroundings have
only enabled him to know part of
the conditions.
The Fall River bill, which asks
for the right to store and conserve
waters to irrigate about one hun
dred thousand acres of land which
will be the means of earning So
100000 worth of food products, will
support ten thousand people on the
Snake river, Idaho.
The land in the Yellowstone Ma
tional park required for storage
purposes covers about. six thousand
acres of swamp land which Is re-
mote from travel and never visited
I~xx -