In the late 19th and well into the 20th centuries, reclamation (the construction of water storage and distribution structures to irrigate farmland) was the subject of a great deal of enthusiasm among a segment of population in the U.S. West. Motivations ranged from notions of “making the desert bloom” to pragmatic ideas of fostering economic development to promoters seeking to add value to lands they had acquired. Francis G. Newlands, at the time a Congressman from Nevada, was one of those enthusiasts and author of the Newlands Reclamation Act. Passed…
