Area benefited: 7,200 acres.

Number of beneficiaries: Owners and operators of 61 farms.

! This is primarily the cost of applying land treatment measurers by landowners. Cost sharing from Federal funds appropriated for the agricultural conservation program may be available if included in the county program developed each year in consideration of approved State and National programs and the annual authorization by the Congress.

2 Consisting of construction costs for irrigation, $600,800; land, easements, and rights-of-way, $47,500; administration of contracts, $26,500; water rights, $6,000.

3 The value of measures already installed ($247,323) increases this to 66 percent.

Prorated P.L. 566 structural cost per acre benefited: $113.

Carrying out the project.-The Trail Creek Sprinkler Irrigation Company assumes all local responsibilities for the installation, operation and maintenance of the structural measures.

The estimated annual cost of operation and maintenance is $14,400.

The CHAIRMAN. You may proceed, Mr. Lane.

Mr. LANE. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee.

This 58,000-acre watershed is located in northeast Idaho and in northwest Wyoming. It is about equally divided between the two States. The town of Victor, Idaho, population 240, is located near the lower end of the watershed. Trail Creek is tributary to the Teton, the Snake, and the Columbia Rivers.

About one-half of the watershed in Idaho and all of the watershed in Wyoming is in the Tarkhee National Forest. The topography is mountainous with the elevation ranging up to 11,000 feet, and, as in the case of the Dry Creek watershed, which was testified on yesterday, much of the precipitation occurs as snowfall in the upper portion of the watershed. This is the source of irrigation water for the cropland in Idaho.

The agricultural area of the watershed lies entirely in Idaho.

It has an elevation of about 6,200 feet, and a growing season of about 95 days. The principal crops are hay and small grain principally for livestock, and seed potatoes.

All of the cropland is irrigated.

Precipitation varies from 17 inches in the lower portion of the watershed to more than 70 inches, mostly as snow, in the high elevations.

The soils in the agricultural area range from 20 to 30 inches in depth overlying sand and gravel.

Streamflow reaches an annual peak early in June and rapidly declines to its minimum in late summer.

Eleven thousand acres are privately owned in the watershed; 4.000 acres are administered by BLM, and 43,000 by the FS in the Targhee National Forest.

There are 68 farms in the watershed, averaging 151 acres in size, of which 108 acres are irrigated. One-half the farms have gross sales

of less than $2,500. The opportunity for off-farm employment to supplement farm income is limited.

Trail Creek floods about 300 acres of land north and west of Victor every 3 years on the average. Most of the flooding occurs in June during the snow-melt runoff. The runoff from many summer storms does not reach the valley. However, these summer storms do considerable damage within Targhee National Forest.

More than 1,300 acres of critical sediment source areas still remain active. The summer storms carry the erosion debris to the stream channels. The snow-melt runoff carries the debris down the canyons to be deposited in the irrigation systems, stream channels and farmland. Mud-rock flows are common. In 1954, 50 separate mud-rock flows occurred from a single storm. These flows not only cause great erosion damage but also seriously damage improvements installed by the Forest Service for the enjoyment of the public.

One picnic area was buried under 6 to 8 feet of mud and rock. The water supply system for Victor is also damaged.

Total flood damage amounts to about $3,350 annually.

Because of the wide variation in streamflow available for irrigation, irrigators tend to overirrigate in the spring, hoping that the soil will retain enough water for the late summer when the streamflow decreases. Generally, this adversely affects plant growth by keeping the soil cold and leaching plant nutrients.

Over 15 percent of the water diverted from Trail Creek is lost in the distribution system because of porous soils.

Irrigation efficiencies are low on farms because of shallow soils and uneven topography.

Land leveling is not feasible because of shallow soils.

Almost all of the crops suffer from lack of water late in season. The plan provides for the installation of land treatment measures on the watershed by landowners, Forest Service, and BLM. These measures will reduce erosion and retard runoff.

These measures consist principally of stabilization measures, contour trenching and gully stabilization and revegetation.

Flooding will be reduced by cleaning out about 1,600 feet of channel near the lower end of the watershed.

Improvements to the irrigation system include two diversion dams, settling basins, and a pipeline distribution system for delivery of water to each farm under gravity pressure for sprinkler irrigation. The pipeline will vary from 6 to 42 inches in diameter.

The estimated cost of land treatment amounts to $1,271,000. This is an extremely costly program for a watershed of this size, and it is dictated by the serious condition of the upper watershed. It is only by the application of needed land treatment measures that the upper watershed will be adequately protected and the amount of sediment and runoff be reduced.

Of the total estimated cost, about $1,100,000 will come from Public Law 566 funds, or 36 percent, and $1,927,000 from other funds, or 64 percent.

The project will reduce sediment delivery to the agricultural area by 32 percent. All of the agricultural land will have an adequate water supply 8 years out of 10.

Irrigation efficiency will increase from about 20 percent to about 62 percent, a threefold increase.

Benefits are estimated to be $303,000 annually, distributed among 61 farm operators.

The benefit-cost ratio is 3.6 to 1, and 2.9 to 1 without redevelopment and secondary benefits.

The estimated cost per benefited acre is $113.

Operation and maintenance, a local cost, is estimated at $14,400 annually.

The CHAIRMAN. This is almost exactly the same as the one that we have been discussing?

Mr. LANE. That is correct. It is actually right close to the other project, geographically.

The CHAIRMAN. I was just noticing that. About 89 percent of the total Federal expense is for irrigation, and only about 11 percent for flood prevention.

Mr. LANE. We do not want to quarrel with your arithmetic. Your arithmetic is correct there.

The land treatment measures, which in the aggregate constitute over one and a quarter million dollars, are also for watershed protection and flood prevention, you see, even though they are not for structural measures.

The CHAIRMAN. I see that.

I said as to the expenditures. There is 89 percent of the total Federal expenditure for irrigation. That is what I said.

It is true that of the land treatment measures, there is more spent for land treatment than there is for irrigation by non-Federal funds. You are spending, well, roughly, two-thirds of the non-Federal expenditures for other than irrigation. Irrigation accounts for about one-third of the non-Federal expenditure but it accounts for about 89 percent of the Federal expenditure.

Mr. LANE. Yes, sir.

The CHAIRMAN. It seems to me that this is of the same character as the Wyoming project. It would seem to me that it is a question as to whether they fall within the Federal flood prevention program or not. And that applies to both of these projects with about the same force. You can hardly say that one meets the criteria and that the other one does not.

Mr. HANSEN. I was born and raised in this area, in fact, 17 miles from where this is.

I have a statement that I would like to present for the record. The CHAIRMAN. We will be delighted to include your statement in the record, or are you going to make the statement?

Mr. HANSEN. I should like to make it.

The CHAIRMAN. Very well, we will be glad to have you proceed. STATEMENT OF HON. GEORGE V. HANSEN, A REPRESENTATIVE IN CONGRESS FROM THE STATE OF IDAHO

Mr. HANSEN. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I want to say that this project is in the Teton Range, which mountains are considered the alps of America. This is a very rugged, high group of mountains with extremely narrow, rugged canyons. And as the gentleman pointed out this water comes down in a real fury. After it is gone it is completely lost, and as it goes (particularly in times of flood), it

brings a tremendous amount of debris, rock, and mud down, and deposits it all over the campgrounds and the irrigated land adjacent to the streams. It also dirties up the domestic water supply. I really do not think that you can separate, in this type situation, what is actually flood damage control and what is an expenditure for irrigation and other factors, such as helping a city or village to take care of its water supply. Everything is interrelated and intertwined. It may be that when you lay down the figures on paper-so much is for irrigation and so much for something else, that everything seems relatively simple. But until you get into the area and gain a real comprehension of the situation, and understand how much damage can be done from a small stream due to rain and the melting of snows, I do not think that you can really state in dollars and cents the separate costs as have been done in these figures.

I have never seen a watershed or a conservation measure that is any more deserving of support than this type of project, regardless of philosophy.

It seems again that you cannot compare two watersheds any more than you can compare two people. They are different in character and physical appearances. I really feel that this a very justified

venture.

If I may, I will now go to my prepared statement.

Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I certainly appreciate this opportunity to request support for the watershed work plan for Trail Creek watershed, Teton County, Idaho, and Teton County, Wyo.

The Department of Agriculture has recommended that the Congress adopt resolutions approving the plan since the play involves an estimated Federal contribution to construction costs in excess of $250,000. It is my understanding that this recommendation from the executive agency was received just prior to the adjournment of the last Congress. Also, I understand that the Senate has already approved this project and that as soon as this committee takes favorable action, the project which is urgently needed can go forward.

The Trail Creek watershed is located in southeastern Teton County, Idaho, and western Teton County, Wyo. It consists of 58,083 acres in the Teton River drainage.

The work plan was prepared by the Teton Soil Conservation District, Trail Creek Sprinkler Irrigation Co.; Village of Victor, and Board of County Commissioners, Teton County, Idaho.

Annual flooding from snowmelt occurs on Trial Creek near the lower end of the irrigated land. Accumulations of silt, gravel, and debris have blocked the channel and force the water onto adjacent farmland. Sediment and erosion damages on the cropland result.

Floods also occur on the upper watershed from both snowmelt and summer thunderstorms. Erosion and sediment damages are affecting roads, channels, and recreation values within the Targhee National Forest.

Present irrigation methods require large streamflows to torce the water across fingers of coarse-textured soils interspersed with mediumtextured soils. Irrigation with large heads of water causes serious erosion of much of the cropland.

There are inadequate water supplies for current irrigation methods and delivery systems, particularly during July and August.

Works of improvement included in the plan are designed to reduce floodwater and sediment damage to agricultural properties, and reduce erosion on range, forest, and croplands improving their productive capacity and to improve the irrigation distribution system and to increase onfarm irrigation efficiencies.

Funds for payment of the non-Federal share of the installation costs, including repayment of the proposed FHA loan by the Trail Creek Sprinkler Irrigation Co., will be provided through assessments of water users. Legal authority for contractual arrangements by the sponsors is adequate to meet their financial responsibilities.

The mountains rise abruptly from the valley floor of 6,200 elevation at Victor to nearly 11,000 feet. The mountainous watershed lands are very rugged and lie principally within the Targhee National Forest. Canyon walls are very steep, often precipitous. Canyon bottoms are generally narrow. Ridges are broad at the base and narrow to knife edges and peaks at higher elevations. Lodgepole pine, Douglasfir, spruce, and aspen of marginal timber quality extend over much of the lower and midelevations. The higher elevations are characterized by alpine meadows and open alpine forest types.

Trail Creek proper rises high on the slopes of the Teton Mountains in the southeastern part of the watershed at about 8,500 feet elevation. It flows northwesterly for some 9 miles through a relatively narrow, steep-sided canyon, thence across a broad gently sloping alluvial fan to join the Teton River at an elevation of about 6,000 feet. In crossing the fan, Trail Creek occupies a narrow flood plain ranging from 100 to 500 feet in width incised slightly below the general level of the alluvial fan where the croplands are located.

There are 42,900 acres of the Targhee National Forest in the south and east portion of the watershed. There are 11,125 acres of privately owned land in the northwestern portion of the watershed. Between the national forest and private lands are 4,058 acres of public lands administered by the Bureau of Land Management.

Trail Creek floods 305 acres of private lands about 3 years out of every 10. The narrow incised flood plain along Trail Creek contains 240 acres of the flooded area. This land is used principally for pasture. Another area consisting of 65 acres lies 111⁄2 miles northwest of Victor on the north side of Trail Creek. This cropland is flooded by water diverted from Trail Creek by a gravel plug deposited in the channel. The floodwater moves on across cropland for a mile before returning to the creek channel.

Flooding is caused principally from snowmelt runoff in June. The size of the area flooded increases very little with frequency due to the incised flood plain and discharge-frequency relationships. The 1-in100-year daily discharge is only 112 times the 1-in-2-year discharge.

Summer storms occur several times annually in the upper watershed but generally cause no damage to croplands. Channel storage and beaver ponds usually absorb the flood peaks. The major damages from summer storms occur within the Targhee National Forest to watershed lands, roads, stream channels, and recreational areas impairing the beauty and productivity.

The greatest flood of record occurred on July 15, 1954. During the storm, there were 50 separate mud-rock flows. Ten miles of perennial stream channels were seriously scoured and changed with deposits