Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada, who later served in the Senate, authored legislation that led to the construction of major dams, reservoirs, and canals for irrigation. Sales of public lands for farming financed the projects. Known as the Newlands Reclamation Act, the legislation brought thousands of acres under cultivation in 16 western states and territories.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
S. 3057, A Bill appropriating the receipts from the sale . . . of public lands . . . for the reclamation of arid lands (Newlands Reclamation Act), February 28, 1902
Reclaiming the West with Water
Some progressives sought to transform the arid West into productive farmland by harnessing rivers for irrigation. The Newlands Reclamation Act of 1902, named for its champion, Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada, was a pioneering environmental law that defined the federal role in western water distribution. The act created the U.S. Reclamation Service, later renamed the Bureau of Reclamation. Elephant Butte Dam, New Mexico, one of its early projects, was the world’s largest irrigation reservoir on its completion in 1916 and the first major effort to control the Rio Grande.
The Government itself must make these waters available; no one else can; for no one else has the capacity to do it.
Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada, Speech to the U.S. House of Representatives, June 13, 1902
Representative Francis G. Newlands of Nevada, who later served in the Senate, authored legislation that led to the construction of major dams, reservoirs, and canals for irrigation. Sales of public lands for farming financed the projects. Known as the Newlands Reclamation Act, the legislation brought thousands of acres under cultivation in 16 western states and territories.
Records of the U.S. Senate, National Archives and Records Administration
