The Department of Interior is one of the executive departments of the U.S. Federal government. It is headed by the Secretary of the Interior, a member of the President’s cabinet. Created in 1849, the department focuses on domestic concerns and manages America’s natural and cultural resources. It oversees multiple areas including public lands stewardship, the pursuit of environmental justice and environmental protections, protection of natural resources and cultural heritage, and nation-to-nation relationships with Tribes. Within the department, there are eleven specialized bureaus, including the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Bureau of Indian Education, Bureau of Land Management, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Bureau of Reclamation, Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Bureau of Trust Funds Administration, National Park Service, Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey.
Organized into 2 accessions.
Letters, meeting minutes, monthly progress reports from Joint Investigations of Columbia River Basin Irrigation project from the United States Department of the Interior. Also includes a letter to A.H. Cole appointing him Commissioner to examine 25 miles of the Northern Pacific Railroad line running east from Tacoma, Washington Territory.
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Public Records—not subject to copyright. Copying, quotation, publication and other uses are unrestricted if records are open for public release.
In the early 1900s, those living on the surrounding dry plateaus struggled with dryland farming due to the area’s climate, leading to an interest in irrigation from the Columbia River. In 1902 the idea was brought to the newly established Bureau of Reclamation, then called the Reclamation Service, leading to investigations in 1904 but the project was too large for the bureau at the time. Local interests reinitiated the proposal for irrigation in the area in 1918. Proposals included a high dam on the Columbia River at the head of the upper grand coulee through which irrigation water could be made available to lands 50 miles to the south, or the construction of a canal to convey water from the Pend Oreille River in Northern Idaho. Engineering and economic studies were conducted, and a conclusive study was prepared by the Corps of Engineers in 1932, recommending construction of the project. The Bureau of Reclamation, along with 45 other organizations undertook a program of nonengineering studies on the settlement and development of the project in 1939. The program was titled the Columbia Basin Joint Investigations and consisted of 28 problem studies. Reports were published during WWII and their conclusions informed the drafting of the Columbia Basin Project Act of 1943. Through the late 1930s landowners in the area worked to organize irrigation districts before construction began. These districts, formed by 1940, were the Quincy-Columbia Basin Irrigation District, the East Columbia Basin Irrigation District, and the South Columbia Basin Irrigation District.
Source: https://www.doi.gov/, https://www.usbr.gov/projects/index.php?id=438