Irrigation and the Newlands Reclaimation Act

These 24 federal projects were the first federal irrigation projects and were located in 14 states. The three additional projects were on the Blackfeet, Flathead, and Fork Peck lndian reservations. All of these federal irrigation projects came about as the result of the Newlands Reclamation Act, which became law on June 17, 1902.

The Roosevelt Dam, 260 feet high, was part of the Salt River project in Arizona, and was dedicated by TR on March 18, 1911. The dam, located near Phoenix, has now been officially designated as "Theodore Roosevelt Dam." Adjacent to the dam are Theodore Roosevelt Lake and the town of Roosevelt, Arizona.

Reclaimation Projects
created by Theodore Roosevelt

1. Milk River (Montana) March 14, 1903
2. Newlands (Nevada) March 14, 1903
3. North Platte (Nebraska and Wyoming)
. . . . March 14, 1903
4. Salt River (Arizona) March 14, 1903
5. Uncompahgre (Colorado) March 14, 1903
6. Belle Fourche (South Dakota) May 10, 1904
7. Lower Yellowstone (Montana and N. Dakota)
. . . . .May 10, 1904
8. Minidoka (Idaho) April 23, 1904
9. Shoshone (Wyoming) February 10, 1904
10. Yuma (Arizona and California) May 10, 1904
11. Boise (Idaho and Oregon) March 27, 1905
12. Huntley (Montana) April 18, 1905
13. Klamath (California and Oregon)
. . . . . .May 15, 1905
14. Rio Grande (New Mexico) December 2, 1905
15. Carlsbad (New Mexico) December 2, 1905
16. Okanogan (Washington) December 2, 1905
17. Strawberry Valley (Utah) December 15, 1905
18. Sun River (Montana) February 26, 1906
19. Umatilla (Oregon) December 4, 1905
20. Yakima (Washington) December 12, 1905
21. Orland (California) October 5, 1907
Plus three reclaimation projects for Indian Reservations.

Source: Bureau of Reclamation. Reclaimation Project Data (Washington: U.S. Department of the Interior, 1948). Top

We continuously add links to conservation lands. If you know about a website we should consider for linking, please contact the webmaster at trinfo@cs.com

Note: The status, borders, names, and other details about the projects and areas mentioned in these lists have changed over the years. For instance, some National monuments are now parts of National Parks, while the borders and names of National Forests have been changed in some cases.

Compiled and edited from research done by the National Geographic Society and The Theodore Roosevelt Association staff.
Copyright November 2005 all rights reserved Theodore Roosevelt Association.
Top