HEPPWEK GAZETTE-TIMES. Thuredar. rbruarf 1. 1969 8
Power-IrrigaJion-Iiitlusiry
Br KEN TURNER
Knt until California onenlv
told us they wanted the Col
umbia Rlvpr did Morrow court'
ty cases the value of this re
source in regard to irrigation
and industry.
Rut rallfnrnlnns aren't the
only competitors. The Grand
Coulee-Columbia Basin protect
of Washington, a success story
lor two aecaacs, is increasing
Its use of the river quite fast.
Idaho U doubling its pumping
from the Snake River every few
years.
Even our neighboring coun
ties have bis plans to pump
from the Columbia. Add to this
the volume river needs of the
existing hydro-electric Mams,
commercial and sports fishing
claims, water quality control,
and navigation requirements
and you find the mighty Col
umbla shrinking to a stream.
The idea that surplus water
exists for diversion to the
Southwest after the ultimate
needs are met in the Northwest
i i.. .i.t rilirnlniia hv manv au
thorities. And at the same time
it Is going to be tougn lor Mor
row county to get a piece of
the Die. too.
Local people will need to
What Difference Does
Water Make? 17 to I
The following study 6hould
answer many questions about
Irrigations vast potential, with
less than 13 of Morrow high
school graduates being able to
find employment in the county
this mav be the avenue for
growth we need.
A studv by the extension
service of Washington State
University completed recently
compared 10,000 acres of irri
gated cropland in the Colum
bia Basin to 10.000 acres of
neighboring dry land.
It showed about 17 times as
many people supported from
the same area of cropland In
the Irrigated regions as in the
dryland wheat-summer fallow
region.
The charts reproduced here
show several other comparisons.
IRRIGATION. WVO XSTSW- S
Herald).
Conservation Problems Changing;
Resource Planning Need Emphasized
By DICK McELLIGOTT
When soil conservation dis
tricts were being formed more
than thirty years ago vast ar
eas were in danger from wind
and water erosion.
These problems still remain
with us but to a much lesser
degree. We have come to real
ize that we must also consider
our water supplies, not just as
a local concern, but also as a
regional and a national concern.
Now, as we attempt to look
into the future and consider the
effect of population pressures
upon our environment, we are
to the point where we must at-
tempt some guidelines for the
use of all our resources.
Year after year we see many
thousands oi productive am cul
tural lands being diverted from
agricultural use. witn a sieauy
growth of our national and
world populations we must
question the wisdom of a tax
policy that encourages or forces
this diversion from agricultural
use.
We see too many areas being
turned into sprawling subdivis
ions and too much land being
cut up by highways. With the
increas e d population there
comes great pressure for the cre
ation of parks and recreational
areas, but perhaps the saddest
waste of all is the spawning
of eyesore regions around our
towns and cities.
These are the areas where
high property taxes and desire
for land leads to the fragmen
tation of productive farms. Here
we see unzoned and unplanned
growth, shanties, wrecking
yards, abandoned junk, etc.
The need is for resource plan
ning to attempt to determine
best long term use for all our
natural resources. This is, of
course, too ambitious a program
for our local SWCD's, but we
certainly ought to work with our
county court, the port commis
sion, our planning boards and
our neighboring districts and
governmental agencies.
I think that the work of the
Columbia Blue Mountain Re
source Conservation and Devel
opment Project is a step in the
right direction and worthy of
the support of everyone in our
area.
THE FOLLOWING IONE SPONSORS URGE YOUR SUPPORT
OF GOOD CONSERVATION PRACTICES:
DOBYNS PEST CONTROL
BRISTOW'S MARKET
CHARLES O'CONNOR T Cr C STORAGE
BANK of EASTERN OREGON RIETMANN'S HARDWARE
EKSTROM FARM CHEMICALS STONE MACHINERY
BI-COUNTY CHEMICAL
Comparison ,.
Indicator Project Area Area Ratio
Per 10,009 Acre3 of Cropland
Population 1,900 110 17 to 1
Business establishments 48.1 2.8 17 to 1
Workers 1 480 22 22 to 1
Wages $2.17 Mill. $.11 Mill. 20 to 1
Property tax base 2 $2.57 Mill. $.40 Mill. 6 to 1
Postal Receipts $16,700 $9G0 17 to 1
Federal Income Tax Payments $714,400 $41,300 17 to 1
1 Does not include farm operators
2 Data for 1962
work hard to bring outside in
vestment for development of ir
rigation and industry. Study
thus far has shown that we need
a marriage of a local power
generator, some large electric
consuming Industries with irri
gation pumping sandwiched In
Thon tn fullv de
velop Irrigable lands of North
Morrow county, a large nevia
matlon project would probably
be needed. This is the formula
that developed such areas in the
Southwest and the state to our
North.
cwn uu still have the un
claimed water with its poten-
tlal power ana industrial siu.-a
we must stake our claim and
n tntmlvorl This nresents an
awesome challenge when you
weigh the political reanues ana
consider our sparce population
competing with the big going
establishments.
An irrigation Impoundment
on the Rhea Creek watershed
la ennnsnrort hv the HeDPner
SWCD. But it has only progres
sed to tne point tnui an appli
cation has been filed. No feas
ibility survey or planning nas
been done, though it is felt that
Rhea Creek will provide a
...nrihv nrnlprt. Here again
sharp competition for funds will
require concerted effort by lo
cal people. The following BOX
SCORE shows this.
BOX SCOPE ON
PUBLIC LAW 566
The West Sunnyside Wa
tershed Project, comprising
5,450 acres in Plymouth
County, Iowa, has been ap
proved for operations under
P. L. 566, the Watershed Pro
tection and Flood Prevention
Act. Here is the current sta
tus of all projects:
Total applications
to date -2.689
Authorized for
planning 1.348
Approved for
operations 827
Under construction 402
Construction
completed 191
Projects completed 165
J
., r
h. . . .
on'f Let If Get a Gri
Your
Farm
and Your Future . . .
Erosion, the greedy grabber, snatches more than soil. This common threat
to land reaches out to destroy farm productivity, and thereby gets a grip
on your farming future. Both your personal prosperity and your communi
ty's growth can depend on sound soil conservation practices. Tested tech
niques to conserve, maintain and improve your soil make a big difference.
Fight erosion now!