During the early years of the New Deal in the 1930s, water conservation funds became available to the states from the federal government. To take advantage of this opportunity, a special session of the Montana Legislative Assembly convened in late 1933 and created the State Water Conservation Board to channel both state and federal money into small irrigation projects. An individual farmer who wanted to build an irrigation facility petitioned the Board and, if his proposal was accepted, the Board built the project and the farmer reimbursed the state. By 1952, the State Water Conservation Board had built 173 projects throughout the state.
In 1965, the Board assumed the functions of the State Engineer and the Carey Land Act Board. In 1967, the Montana Water Resources Board was created to assume the duties of the State Water Conservation Board, and to coordinate all water resource development programs around the state. Other duties included the administration of weather modification laws and the preparation of a comprehensive inventory of the state's water resources and a multiple use water plan for the state. In 1971, as part of the general reorganization of state government, the Water Resources Board was abolished, and its functions taken over by the Water Resources Division of the Department of Natural Resources and by the Board of Natural Resources and Conservation.
Records consist of correspondence, some with the U.S. Soil Conservation Service; a master list of projects; a report giving the historical background of the Board, an organizational chart, budget information, and a listing of goals.
The collection is arranged by series.
This collection is open for research.
Researchers must use collection in accordance with the policies of the Montana Historical Society Library & Archives. The Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all materials in the collection. In some cases permission for use may require additional authorization from the copyright owners. For more information contact an archivist.
In 2024, the various collections of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 496, in order to help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation's various
Divisions and Bureaus that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated
into
For minutes and resolutions of the Board, see S1998-2 or State Microfiche 2. For records of
the Board's predecessor, the State Water Conservation Board, see former Records Series 37.
Please see the primary finding aid for more
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers. Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places should search under these terms.