OCR Text |
Show fire prevention and control, brush eradication and control, and the development of water facilities. The construction of small ponds and reservoirs as sources of stock water for better range utilization is a continuing program of the Bureau of Land Management. Well drilling and spring develop- ment are other methods looking toward the same objective. The Bureau also engages in forestry through administering the Oregon and California revested lands and Coos Bay Wagon Road revested land grant areas. The Bureau does some land classification work, but budget limitations make it inadequate for regional needs. A small program of cadastral sur- veys on Federal lands is financed by Bureau funds. Soil conservation programs on Indian lands are carried forward by the Bureau of Indian Affairs. All such programs except one have originated in the last 4 years, and it is estimated that only 13 per- cent of the needed work is completed. Related land programs on private lands are aided by the Department of Agriculture and cooperating State agencies by: (1) technical assistance, (2) educational services, (3) incentive payments and other material aids, (4) fire control and other forest protection programs, and (5) credit. In many cases, farmers and ranchers take advantage of more tlnan one type of service. One hundred and ten soil conservation districts have been organized within the Columbia Basin. These districts are receiving technical assistance from the Soil Conservation Service. Conservation treatment has been completed on roughly 5 percent of the lands within the districts, and conservation plans have been completed for another 10 percent. These two items include about 10 million acres. Private forest owners receive technical assistance from a cooperative program involving State agen- cies and the Federal Forest Service. ThrougJi the Agricultural Conservation Program of the Production and Marketing Administration, incentive payments are made available to farmers and ranchers to encourage increased performance of needed soil conservation and improvement prac- tices. Th_e cost of this program in the Columbia Basin aver-ages 7 million dollars annually. Some of the payments are for permanent changes, such as establishnxent of permanent cover on steep slopes, land leveling, and terracing. Other payments are made for practices of a recurring nature-weed control, phosphate application, and contour farming. Federal financial aid for forest fire protection is made available to the States on a matching basis. In the Columbia Basin the annual Federal contribution amounts to 1.6 million dollars; not enough to match the State expenditures, which total 2.9 million dollars annually. At the present time 149 agricultural agents and their assistants and 45 agricultural specialists in the State land-grant colleges carry forward the standard program for the extension of education to farm people through the Cooperative Extension Service. Agriculture has been further assisted by the Farmers' Home Administration, which has loaned 105 million dollars in Oregon, Washington, Idaho, and Montana for production, rehabilitation, farm purchase and development, water facilities, and similar activities. Farm Credit Administration in- stitutions have been active in the basin since 1917, and during 1949 loaned over 116 million dollars. Special Developments for Other Purposes Special developments for recreational purposes closely associated with water are very rudimentary, but some are now under construction in the Wil- lamette Valley, as at Fern Ridge or Cottage Grove Reservoirs. Simple camp grounds in the national forests are usually associated with water, and in- clude fishing and swimming among the activities available. These facilities are largely to concen- trate recreational use, and thereby minimize the hazards of forest fires and stream pollution. Four major national parks, Mt. Rainier, Glacier, Grand Teton, and Yellowstone, lie partly within the basin. Small boat harbors on the lower Columbia and at Roosevelt Lake also are well-used water recreation facilities. The most comprehensive special developments within the basin are those associated with the heavy runs of the migratory salmon. With the construc- tion of dams and other man-made improvements in the basin, the runs of salmon have been im- peded or stopped. To minimize this damage, several projects have been authorized or are under construction. Tributary streams in the lower Co- lumbia, like the Cowlitz, are being cleared of old logging dams and debris. Eleven fish hatcheries costing 4 million dollars have been installed by the 14 |