The most ambitious government programs that Lange photographed entailed the transformation of sagebrush desert into small farms in  eastern Oregon and central Washington. In a wonderful series of photographs and stories, Lange evokes the sense of what it was like to pull up roots, resettle hundreds of miles from family and friends, and learn new methods of farming by irrigation.

The New Deal’s dams and reclamation projects provided water to arid regions and introduced farms into areas that once were deserts. Now expanding cities compete with farms for those water resources.

For more information read:

Columbia Basin Project [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/columbia.html]

Owyhee Project [http://www.usbr.gov/dataweb/html/owyhee.html]

“The Conquest of Arid America”
[http://www.annewhistonspirn.com/pdf/ijla-2007.pdf]