The Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) https://www.usbr.gov/ was established in 1902 and is known for dams, canals, and powerplants constructed in 17 western states.   These projects provide water for western economic development including Hoover Dam and Grand Coulee Dam, bring water to over 31 million people, and provide one out of five western farmers with irrigation water for 10 million farmland acres for farmland producing 60% of U.S. vegetables and 25% of fruit and nuts.  Laws governing BOR can be found at  beginning at 43 USC 371 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/43/chapter-12 and regulations governing this agency can be found in 43 CFR 400-999 https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-43/subtitle-B/chapter-I

Numerous resources on this agency’s historical and contemporary operations can be found at it’s Reclamation Library https://www.usbr.gov/library/ including details on cultural resource management, photographs, podcasts, and environmental policy for the following regions Missouri Basin and Arkansas-Rio Grande-Texas Gulf, Lower Colorado Basin, California-Great Basin, Columbia-Pacific Northwest, and Upper Colorado Basin.  This agency’s Fiscal Year 2027 Congressional Justification Budget Request https://www.usbr.gov/budget/2027/FY-27-BOR-Budget-Justifications.pdf was for $1,274,951 billion (online p. 11) and its workforce was 5,500 employees https://www.usbr.gov/main/about/fact.html as of December 11, 2023.

This blog post was submitted by Bert Chapman, Purdue University.