The Bismarck tribune. [volume] (Bismarck, N.D.) 1916-current, 1922-01-14
MUCH LAND IN
n. DAK0TACAN
BE IRRIGATED
George Mcmahon Claims There
Are 100000 Acres Which
Could be Made "Farmable"
YOUNG ASKS FOR DETAILS
Congressman Wants TO Find
Out All About The Bis
marck Project

North Dakota has close to million
acres OF land that can be irrigated,
according 70 George II. Mcmahon, as
slstant state engineer, especially in
charge 'of irrigation projects in the
state offices here. Much OF the land
in the central northern and western
parts of the state has some possibil.
tiles OF being reached by water and
at some points, the amount of land
that might be reached by irrigation is
limited by the amount of water avail
able.
Interest in the irrigation projects in
North Dakota has been increased at
the present time by President Hard
ins's recent address in, which he ad-
vocated the reclamation OF arid lands
as means of finding homes for sol.
diers of the World War who desired
to engage in agriculture. North Da-
kota has a number of irrigation pro-
jects, the most successful one from
the standpoint of large pumping
station being the one at Williston.
This was opened some years ago,
closed for time and then reopened
during the war under a war time act
that compelled all the farms benefited
by the project to become a part of
The irrigation system. Most of the
North Dakota projects are for pump
ing, but a number are for the gravity
distribution of water. "A
Local attention was called to an al.
most forgotten project, known in the
annals of government engineering as
the Bismarck Project, through the re-
ceipt of letter from Congressman
George Young asking for the details Of
the plan. The local project was sur
veyed in 1904 and 1905 and the gov
ernment reports were made at that
time. The plan supported then was
for pumping station near the point
where the Bismarck-Mandan bridge
now stands. The project proposed the
watering the bench of bottom land on
the Bismarck side of the river, the
higher bench known as the, Fort Lin
coin and a still higher elevation
known as the Penitentiary bench. The
first bench, approximately rs feet
above extreme low water is subject
to overflow and contains about 1000
acres. The Fort Lincoln bench has
about $500 acres and the Penitentiary
bench about the same. The report of
the government engineers shows that
of the three benches, about 5000 acres
were considered available for irriga-
ton. The engineers also charted the
grade from the pumping station to
Long Lake, to determine the feasibil-
ity of using that as a holding reservoir
for lands to the south and east Of the
lake.
Not Gamble
In connection with the Bismarck
project, Mr.. Mcmahon points out that
as far as the land is concerned it is
not a gamble. The floods that cover
the bottom lands every few years
when ice sOrges force an overflow
generally result in two good crops.
For the two seasons, wheat yields
from thirty to forty bushels an acre,
potatoes $50 and Dats as high as
ninety. The production of hay is
doubled for the two years.
In the 1904-05 plans Of the govern
ment for this project, the original
cost was placed at $27 an acre and the
yearly operating cost at about 1925
per acre. What this means in the in
crease in value of farm crops and
land as compared to the cost has been
shown in almost every part of the
country where irrigation has been at
tempted according to Mr.. Mcmahon.
CONTINUED on Page 81