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<br />: <br /> <br />.. <br /> <br />A NEt; ERA BEGUN <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />Conserving natural resources-- <br /> <br /> <br />As the modern traveler speeds westward through <br /> <br /> <br />Nebraska, along the route of the old Oregon Trail, tile sage <br /> <br /> <br />and cactus-covered plains suddenly dip into a fresh green <br /> <br /> <br />valley beside the North Platte River. In a magnificent <br /> <br /> <br />setting beneath the shadow of a great pulpit-like escarpment <br /> <br /> <br />known as Scotts Bluff nestles a living example of man's <br /> <br /> <br />ability to rework nature's estate and create a productive <br /> <br /> <br />resource. The fruitful farms and. the bustling tovms vali- <br /> <br /> <br />date the pioneering scheme- to concentrate the erratic <br /> <br /> <br />runoff from 18 million acreo of snowca}lped mountains and <br /> <br /> <br />arid range upon less than 2 percent of that area. <br /> <br /> <br />Here, where stable maturity in an irrigation <br /> <br /> <br />economy has been reached, it seems appropriate to recount <br /> <br /> <br />the accomplishments of nearly 50 yearsa The first settlers <br /> <br /> <br />homesteaded here with a solid faith L~ the soundness of the <br /> <br /> <br />idea of irrigation and with a willingness to contract to <br /> <br /> <br />repay the federal investment. ''The justification of their <br /> <br /> <br />faith is undisputably written in the abundant productivity <br /> <br /> <br />of the farm lands, in the modern farm homes, and in the <br /> <br /> <br />bustling economy of the prosperous valley towns," says Harry <br /> <br /> <br />Bashore, former Commissioner of Reclamation and a lifetime <br /> <br /> <br />resident of the valley. <br /> <br /> <br />Here follows the story of the birth, the growth, and <br /> <br /> <br />the proving of an irrigation project. <br /> <br />,. <br /> <br />4 <br />