OCR Text |
Show Range Improvement Work Is Suggested Investigation of possibilities of a proposed FERA project for an ex-j tensive program of sinking wells, de-i veloping springs, constructing reser- voir tanks, stock watering troughs and roads on the western ranges of Utah was initiated by the state F Ej R A forces Monday. i Plea for the project was presented! by James A. Hooper, secretary of the Utah Wool Growers' association; Irwin Ir-win Jacob of the Wasatch Livestock Loan company, and A. L. Ryan, engi-l neer for the bureau of investiga- tions, United States department of. the interior. I Data in support of the project was; presented. It had been prepared in advocacy of an extensive C C. C program pro-gram some months ago. That planj Failed because Secretary of the In-terior In-terior Harold L. Ickes, refused to: permit use of P W A funds, which j finance C C C undertakings, on public pub-lic lands not under some immediate; government control. ! Since that time certain lands in the ( western desert range country were( withdrawn from entry, and Mr. Ryan ' A'as assigned to make a study of the esources from a geological stand-1 point . He found that a crying needj for the proper utilization of thej; range was a well-planned program: for developing water. It was argued that, since the land was withdrawn from entry, and since the Taylor grazing act is now law, the secretary might withdraw his objections ob-jections to the project. The land, however, has not been divided into grazing districts under the Taylor act as yet. The area withdrawn comprises only a fraction of the area covered by the C C C project which was formerly presented by Mr. Hooper and others, and which failed of consummation. con-summation. It lies in Tooele, Millard and Beaver counties, south of the Great Salt Lake desert, and extend- ; ing to near the Nevada line. ' H. C. Jessen, engineer of the works division of the FERA, was told by the delegation that application will he made soon for the withdrawal from entry of the entire unreserved area in Utah lying west of the Wasatch Wa-satch mountains. The C C C project, which covered both the eastern and western deserts in fact, practically all the vacant range lands in the state, called for the sinking of 107 wells, the construction con-struction of 394 reservoirs, the laying lay-ing of 219 miles of pipe and the building of 33,600 feet of trough, "as well as many miles of road. It was expected to require about $1,300,000 to complete, and to furnish fur-nish 18,863 man-months of work. 1 Mr. Jessen was instructed by FERA officials to initiate an investigation inves-tigation as to the possibilities of developing de-veloping water in the area now withdrawn with-drawn from entry, and, as a first step, immediately called for reports on all wells sunk by the drouth relief re-lief committee and other agencies within the withdrawn area. By the time this data is assembled, and possible some field report made, it was thought possible that instructions instruc-tions from Washington as to the future fu-ture of the project might be received. |