Montana labor news., 1935-10-24
Salvage OF Land In
Eastern Montana

Salvage of a vast area Of abused and
Iunproductive land in eastern Montana
was forecast today when the Resettle-
ment Administration announced inn
pending purchase OF 100000 acres in
Prairie and Fallon counties at a cost
Of $1O82,164.
The acceptance Of options on this
area was disclosed in Denver by Z. A.
Starch, regional director Of the land
utilization division, on the heels Of a
similar approval for $4,000 acres in
|Wyomngs Thunder Basin at a price
Of $634,313
The Montana project Starch declar-
ed, means a complete re-adjustment Of
an area in which farmers have waged
a desperate and losing struggle to sus-
tain themselves on unproductive land.
And when the task is done, the land
will once more be used for its best
purpose - grazing of cattle.
Headquarters for the project are at
Miles City, Montana, with W. H. Jones
as project manager.
Through controlled grazing" Jones
said, I'VE hope to bring back natural
grass coverage. The population in the
area will be thinned out so that those
remaining will be able to ranch on an
economic basis.
AT present there is vital need for
some re-adjustment because most of
the families are on relief. Most OF
them are tenant farmers who, because
Of drouth and crop failures, have been
unable to make a living on the land"
Jones said there were 247 families
living in the area, Of whom 100 will
probably be resettled to other nearby
districts.
Figures submitted from the area
show that the average price per acre
was $2.52. It is expected that a deve-
lopment program for the project in
Guiding work on the land, resettlement
OF families, water problems, building,
and roads, will involve considerable ad-
ditional expenditures, but this phase
has not been definitely completed.
For many years." Jones explained,
This land has been used for a purpose
for which it was not intended The
area should never have been opened
to homesteading, and we have as mute
evidence OF this fact fences piled high
with sandy loan blown from the fields.
wide expanses once covered with
grass are now barren as the result of
constant overgrazing and cultivation.
There are dozens of abandoned farm
houses and shacks, many of them half
buried with loose soil that has been
blown from the ground.
In our plan to save this land, we
are hoping for flood irrigation pro-
jects, construction of dams to check
erosion, and reseeding to restore the
native grasses. The annual spring run
off does almost irreparable damage to
the top soil but this can be controlled
by proper damming.
"In the matter of reseeding, expert
ments have already been made with
crested wheat grass, virile, hardy, and
plant which will flourish
even in a shallow depth. In this man
ner, perhaps, the abused land can be
salvaged and used for its best pur-
pose"
The project has been backed by Mon
tana's leading agricuturalists, as well
as state and county officials in the
project area. It is expected to reduce
public expense and stimulate business.
In discussing approval OF the project
by Resettlement Administration heads
in Washington, Jones added that checks
will not be sent to land owners until
titles are cleared by the legal division.