Calispel Valley Ranchers Move to Dike Out the Pend Oreille

Residents of the Calispel valley have filed a petition with the county commissioners of Stevens county asking that a diking district be formed in that locality. Petitions have been filed before but the matter was not brought up in legal form so the commissioners would not act upon them. The present petition was drawn up by Messrs. Crow & Richardson, of Spokane, and they are assisted in the case by Messrs. Jesseph & Grinstead, of Colville.

The petition sets forth that the object of the organization of the district is to prevent the annual overflow of the lands which overflow is caused by the waters of the Pend Oreille river backing into and overflowing the channel of the Calispel river. A further object of the formation of the district is to put in such dikes, wing dams, embankments, bridge abutments, channels, pumps and power plants, flood gates and other devices and appliances as may be necessary for excluding and removing the surface water from the lands in the district.

The territory to be embraced in the district of diking is bounded as follows: Beginning at a point south of the Town of Usk in section 32, and running thence north in a northwesterly direction across sections 30 and 31 of township 33, range 44 to a point near the town of Cusick and thence north to a point near where the Knapp road intersects the Schultz road; said dike to be parallel to the proposed grade of the Idaho and Washington Northern railway and may be constructed in connection therewith.

It is provided that the dike shall be of sufficient height and width to check the waters of the Pend Oreille river in time of flood and to prevent such waters from flowing into the Calispel river and flooding the Calispel valley. There will be no spurs or branches to the dike. It will be necessary to build a wing dam near the point where the Calispel river intersects the dike. It will also be necessary to construct concrete or masonry abutments to improve and control the channel of the Calispel river; to construct flood gates across the river and to erect a pumping plant to convey the natural flow of Calispel over the dike into that portion of the river not included in the boundaries of the diking district and to obtain permission from the federal government to close the Calispel to navigation and logging during the season of high water in the Pend Oreille.

The petitioners claim that the establishment of the diking system will be conducive to the public health, convenience and welfare and will increase the public revenue and will be of special benefit to the property included therein. It is estimated that the district will embrace in the neighborhood of 11,000 acres a large portion of which is overflowed annually and a small portion of which is submerged land at all seasons of the year.

The commissioners accepted the petition, which was signed by a majority of the property owners in the district to be improved, and set the date for the hearing of the matter at Colville, on Feb. 1, 1909. At this time any objectors may be heard. If the commissioners find that the facts set forth in the petition are correct an election will be held to determine whether the district shall be organized in the manner provided by the laws of the state and for the further purpose of electing three commissioners for the district. The commissioners will appoint the necessary election officials in case the prayer of the petitioners is granted.

The formation of this district and the consummation of the project will mean the reclamation of thousands of acres of land in the Calispel valley. It will add many thousands of dollars to the assessed valuation of the eastern portion of Stevens county and bring many dollars to the pockets of the ranchers residing in the valley. Most of the large property owners in the district, both resident and non-resident, have signed the petition.

The full text of the petition as well as the order of the county commissioners may be found in the advertising columns of the Miner this week.