OCR Text |
Show 12 Development of a Policy of Regional Colonization/ Water Development As mentioned earlier, during the era of initial settlement, water resources ( which would be sufficient to irrigate crops) appeared to be relatively abundant34 However, pressure and demands on the ( usable) land and water resources quickly increased. These pressures induced changes in Mormon land and water policy at different rates throughout the territory. In Salt Lake Valley in 1848, the policy of no private ownership of water and timber was altered and the policy of restricting the sale of land resources began to give way. Although United States land offices did not exist in the area in 1848 and remained unavailable until 1869, private plots of ground were distributed among the settlers. Water resources were tied to the lands of their use by canal systems which collected them and by prior use commitments. This marked a change in attitude and a change in water resource and land institutions. Land had become a private resource, and since water was tied to either a specific plot of land or to a specific settlement, it became subject to a greater degree of both community and individual control. This change in water and land policy was brought about by the pressures associated with an increasing population in the established regions. Nevertheless, from 1847 to 1870 the technology of water development and use was extensive ( or superficial) in nature. Rather than developing water resources in the established areas to more fully utilize their potential, settlers were directed to new areas where unappropriated water was available and they had relatively easy access to it. Newly settled areas used diversion dams and canal systems when and where irrigation was necessary to raise crops. These structures allowed for only a low level of utilization of the water. Only after the region's population increased and the demand for water resources grew did more intensive ( or exhaustive) investment in water projects become common. To support the extensive type of water use and to secure the Great Basin for the saints, a wide program of exploration and colonization was necessary. Church leaders sent out exploration parties as soon as the settlement process started. Some of the early areas of exploration were Great Salt Lake, Utah Lake area, and the Ogden area. On one such foray in 1847, Parley P. Pratt was sent south to determine the possibilities of settlement in Utah Valley. He returned with information on the lakes and rivers to the south of Great Salt Lake. By 1850, through the use of such exploration, the important or major rivers, lakes, and drainage systems were known to the Mormon leaders. The Jordan, Weber, Bear, Sevier, and the Humbolt rivers had all been explored, and recommendations about the feasibility of locating settlements along the rivers had been made to church leaders. 35 Out of these explorations grew two patterns or types of colonization. First, central church leaders collected information and directed settlers towards key areas. These settlements were made for many reasons. Among them was the desire to physically control the region. 36 But it was also a recognition that natural resources had to be collected from all over the region. Present- day Iron County was settled for the iron deposits found there. The Utah Lake area was initially Leonard J. Arlington, Great Basin Kingdom, p 44. 35Ibid., pp 42- 44. Milton R. Hunter, Brig ham Young: The Colonizer, p 70. Concerning Brigham Young's motivations for stressing colonization Hunter states that: ... the religious motive dominated Brigham's empire building aspirations. He planned to gain control over a vast territory and to hold that territory by right of colonization. His dream of a commonwealth was one wherein the Saints were the original settlers and remained in the majority after the colonies matured. |