Davis County Experimental Watershed records
Scope and Contents
The Davis County Experimental Watershed records contain mostly scientific material from the Davis County Experimental Watershed (DCEW) retained by the United State Forest Service’s Intermountain Research Station (now known as the Rocky Mountain Research Station) headquarters in Ogden, Utah. These documents record the efforts taken by the Forest Service to repair and rehabilitate the watersheds above Davis County from the 1930s to the late 1960s.
The majority of the collection consists of action plans, progress reports, maps, geographical, botanical, and climate surveys, streamflow data, and academic publications. In addition to the scientific materials, this collection contains several historical documents, including: newspapers articles, histories written by members of the DCEW task force, and financial reports on early 20th century flood damages. The collection is organized first by general material from the DCEW and then by documents from each particular drainage of the DCEW.
The Davis County Experimental Watershed records have a wide variety of uses for researchers. Those interested in pioneering watershed rehabilitation work, Forest Service projects in Utah, Utah Civilian Conservation Corps projects, and the history of Davis County will find this collection particularly useful. The vegetation, climate and streamflow data may also be valuable to those who want to compare the current state of the Davis County watershed to past conditions.
Dates
- Creation: 1923-1986
Language of Materials
Material in English
Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on use, except: not available through interlibrary loan.
Conditions Governing Use
It is the responsibility of the researcher to obtain any necessary copyright clearances.
Permission to publish material from the Davis County Experimental Watershed records must be obtained from the Special Collections and Archives manuscript curator and/or the Special Collections and Archives department head.
Historical Note
Decades of sustained overgrazing in Utah mountain watersheds caused a series of devastating and deadly mud-rock floods along the Wasatch Front in the early 20th century. The most disastrous of these floods occurred in 1912 and 1923 in Davis County. These floods resulted in the deaths of several individuals and hundreds of thousands of dollars in damages to both public and private buildings, lands and infrastructure. In response to the natural disasters, Utah Governor Dern appointed a committee to examine the cause of the floods and organize a plant to prevent future flooding. At the recommendation of environmental advisors, the Forest Service and several Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) began work on Davis County flood prevention in 1933.
The joint CCC and Forest Service flood control program became known as the Davis County Experimental Watershed (DCEW). In 1934, the CCC began to dig contour trenches along the mountainsides to help prevent the denuded hillsides from eroding away during rainstorms and spring runoff. For the next thirty years, Forest Service employees of the Intermountain Research Station continued to restore the watershed and conduct experiments and surveys regarding vegetation, streamflow, and climate in the drainages. Their work eventually received international recognition due to its unprecedented scope and success.
Extent
33 boxes (16 linear feet)
Abstract
This collection contains the records of the Davis County Experimental Watershed restoration project, an effort to repair and rehabilitate the watersheds above Davis County from the 1930s to the late 1960s.
Arrangement
This collection is organized by material type and watershed.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
This collection was donated to USU Special Collections and Archives by Norbert V. DeByle in 1986. Norbert DeByle worked as a plant ecologist for the Intermountain Research Station and most likely obtained these records through his connections at the station. The origin of material listed under the title “Davis County Watershed Rehabilitation and Management Articles and Reports” was initially unknown, and it was processed separately in 2014 as Coll Mss 479. However, after processing the DeByle’s donation in 2016, it become apparent that the material in “Davis County Watershed Rehabilitating and Management Articles and Reports” was likely part of the material donated by DeByle in 1986. These materials were added to the end of this collection and the call number "Coll Mss 479" was made available for another use.
Separated Materials
The photographs and federal publications in this collection have been transferred the photograph curator and Government Documents, respectively.
Bibliography
- Croft, A.R. History of Development of the Davis County Experimental Watershed. Ogden, UT: USDA Forest Service Region 4, 1981.
Processing Information
Processed in March of 2017.
Geographic
Topical
- Environmental Conditions
- Experimental watershed areas--Utah.
- Flood control--Utah--Davis County Experimental Watershed.
- Flood control--Utah--Great Salt Lake Watershed.
- Flood control--Wasatch Range (Utah and Idaho)
- Forestry and Forestry Products
- Land Use
- Public Works
- Science
- Utah
- Water and Water Rigths
- Watershed management--Utah--Davis County Experimental Watershed.
- Watershed management--Utah--Great Salt Lake Watershed.
- Watershed management--Wasatch Range (Utah and Idaho)
- Wildlife management areas--Utah--Davis County Experimental Watershed.
- Wildlife management areas--Wasatch Range (Utah and Idaho)
- Title
- Guide to the Davis County Experimental Watershed records 1923-1986
- Author
- Finding aid/Register created by Cody Patton and Clint Pumphrey
- Date
- © 2017
- Description rules
- Finding Aid Based On Dacs (Describing Archives: A Content Standard, 2nd Edition)
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
- Language of description note
- Finding aid encoded in English.
Revision Statements
- 2009: Template information was updated to reflect Archives West best practice guidelines.
Repository Details
Part of the Utah State University, Merrill-Cazier Library, Special Collections & Archives Repository
Merrill-Cazier Library
Utah State University
3000 Old Main Hill
Logan Utah 84322-3000 United States
435 797-8248
435 797-2880 (Fax)
scweb@usu.edu