OCR Text |
Show PART IV MEANS FOR MEETING NEEDS In addition to technical services, funds are sometimes provided on a limited basis for the installation of physical structures. Funds for special projects such as the Navajo Indian Irrigation Project are acquired from Congress and administered by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. The Bureau of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife and the National Park Service provide technical services under memorandums of understanding with the Bureau of Indian Affairs for individual tribal governing organizations. The Soil Conservation Service provides assistance in determining compliance with the Agricultural Conservation Program on Indian lands and renders specialized technical assistance upon request. The Bureau of Reclamation also undertakes studies and supervises the construction of projects within Indian trust areas on a specific request basis. The coordination of their project planning with that of the Bureau of Indian Affairs is vital to the development of Indian lands. The United States Geological Survey maintains stream gaging stations which provide runoff and silt load data essential to Bureau of Indian Affairs planning. Information supplied on water yields and water bearing strata is essential in locating wells and earthen tanks. Federal and non-federal assistance programs Public Law 566 Program Public Law 566, 83d Congress 1954, provides federal assistance to sponsoring organizations for planning and installing watershed projects. Watershed protection and flood prevention work is one of the programs carried on by the USDA through the administrative leadership of the Soil Conservation Service. This work combines soil and water conservation treatment on the land with control and use of runoff by means of upstream structural measures. Projects are planned for multiple use and conser- vation of all water and related land resources in a watershed. The SCS assists sponsoring agencies, such as soil conservation districts, and State or local governments in planning and executing the upstream water- shed protection measures. The Forest Service, Farmers Home Administration, Bureau of Land Management, and other federal, state, and local agencies also give assistance in developing these projects. The land administering agencies are responsible for planning and applying treatment on federal lands within the watershed project. Cooperative USDA contributions to these projects are of three kinds: (1) Technical assistance in planning, designing, and installing works of improvement and land treatment measures, (2) Sharing costs of flood prevention and agricultural water management, public recreation or fish and wildlife developments, and (3) Extending long-term credit to help local interests with their share of costs, including costs of developing industrial or municipal water supplies. |