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{\025B9 . . J One of the first examples of this work in the Western States is a study right here in Nevada--in the Humboldt River Basin. The headquarters for personnel engaged in the study is in Elko, Nevada, a few blocks from where this meeting is being held. Mr. Cleary, State Conservationist, SCS, Nevada, and others will describe the Humboldt River StUdy immediately following this paper. Although the first River Basins Special Studies were undertaken in the East primarily to coordinate work with the Corps of Engineers, the Western States were the setting for initiation of special studies in cooperation with State Water Resource agencies. When r came to the Pacific Southwest from the Na- tional Office about three and one-half years ago, it was ~ purpose to de- velop a Western States usage of Section 6, P.L. 566. With the good offices of State and Federal public officials and others, r initiated information about, motivated interest in and otherwise developed the present usage of Section 6 Special River Basin Surveys as cooperative efforts with State Water Agencies. The response was excellent, and to coin a trite phrase, "the show is on the road." This is a natural development considering that the West traditionally has ex- erted a strong influence on national policies concerning water conservation, development and use. Such matters as water rights, apportionment of water of inter-state streama, support of reclamation and conservation and strong desire for internal development have long been identified with Western States. Among Western States, Nevada and Oregon were the first to negotiate river basins work plan agreements with USDA. Utah and Colorado soon followed. Studies are underway in all four states, Other Western States are considering such studies. Other states in the United States outside the West are beginning to "catch on." NATIONAL USDA RIVER BASIN ACTIVITIES 11 The Department of Agriculture is cooperating in 16 river basin surveys and investigations with other Federal or State agencies, with overall responsi- bility for these activities assigned to the Soil Conservation Service, one of the principal agencies of U. S. Department of Agriculture, along with the Economic Research Service and the Forest Service. A breakdown of this work reveals that USDA is cooperating with State agencies in eight surveys, with the Corps of Engineers in seven and the Bureau of Reclamation in one survey. Of the eight surveys being conducted in cooperation with State agencies, six are in the four Western States of Colorado, Nevada, Oregon and Utah. 11 As of the date of this paper, the U, S. Congress was considering appro- priations for Section 6 surveys in South Dakota, Nebraska, Florida, Missouri, . New York a.nd those states wholly or partly in the Ohio River Basin.