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<br />Among other things, the State Engineer is charged with the duty of
<br />administering five Inter-state River Compaots, or Treaties with sister
<br />States and three decrees of the Supreme Court of the United States, affeot-
<br />ing the use of the waters of the State. He is also an ex-offioio member
<br />of the State ~ater Conservation Board, the State Planning Commiasivn, the
<br />State Irrigation Distriot Commission, the Publio Irrigation Distriot Com-
<br />mission, and the State Board of Registration for Professional Engineers
<br />and Land Surveyors.
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<br />By Aot of the r,egislature in 1950, he is also oharged with the duty
<br />of reporting to the ileather Control Conunission, the results of all Weather
<br />Modification Aotivities in the State.
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<br />It would be diffioult if not impossible, to definitely establish the
<br />date of the first praotioe of irrigation in Colorado. The oonstruotion of
<br />our earliest ditohes are almost coincident .l1th the arrival of the first
<br />pioneers. There are evidenoes which are found in the Mesa Verde area, of
<br />canals or di tohes which were in existenoe prier' to the advent of the white
<br />man in COlorado, and which are said to have been bUilt by Indian tribes
<br />. that ocoupied the southerly and westerly porti,!ns of, the State. Sinoe
<br />Zebulon Pike, in'the history of his expedition into this territory in
<br />1~06, makes no mention of either canale or settlements, it ~ be assumed,
<br />that with the exception of canals which may have been oonstruoted in pre-
<br />historio times, no irrigation ocourred in Colorado prior to 1806.
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<br />Present ,irrigation practices with few exceptions, were initiated
<br />immediately follo>1ing the era of the trappers and fur traders and coin-
<br />cident with the gold, rushes of 1858-5'9. While there is substantial
<br />evidenoe which would indioate that there were instances'of the praotice
<br />of irrigation in a minor IW.Y, on the Purgatoire River and Harc!l;cramble
<br />'Creek in the Arkansas river basin and on St. Vrain Creek in northern
<br />Colorado in the early 18401 s, such were of a temporary nature and re-
<br />sulted in no permanent developments.
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<br />Although three or four ciitches were built in the Arkansas and South
<br />Platte liver valleys ae early as 1859, no fewer than forty ditches were
<br />constructed in the San Luis Valley prior to the latter date, by the early
<br />'Spanish-American emigrants trom the Terri tory of New HeJd.co.
<br />
<br />The ditch which has the earliest priority in this State is the San )
<br />~s Pe~~~,ll,:I,tc:h,. the Centennial celebraj;ibn of whiCh, is the ~
<br />ausprcrous and happy oocasion for this gathering.' This ditch was awarved
<br />a decree out of Culebra Creek for 21 second-feet and one out of Rito Seco
<br />Creek for 2 second-feet, both with dates of priority as of April 10, 1852.
<br />It has been asserted however, that ,",ork on these ditches was initiated
<br />as early as 1849.
<br />
<br />When G. H. Heap rode into this Valley on July 4, 1853, he is <iuoted
<br />as having stated that he arrived at. a small village in Culebra inhabited
<br />by ~!e)dcans where there were "nwnerolls farms" which were skillfully irri-
<br />gated. In his report of December 25, 1895, to State Engineer Sumner,
<br />Franois T. 'Anderson, Superintendent of Irrigation in San Luis Valley,
<br />stated that "for variety of crops and fer-tUity of soU, Water District
<br />No. 24, is unexcelled."
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