This collection is a subgroup (Board) of the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records, RS 496. Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation records.

This collection contains interoffice correspondence (1912-1959) among the Carey Land Act Board, individual Board members, and the State Engineer; and general correspondence (1903-1959) primarily with settlers and lease holders of Carey lands. Financial records include receipts (1910-1959) for assignment fees, entry fees, and leases; a cash book (1910-1959); and financial reports (1906-1918, 1941-1962) by the Board secretary and the State Examiner. There is a minute book (1909-1959) plus a typed transcript of minutes (1903-1909). Originals are in the State Arid Land Grant Commission Records [RS 31]. Reports include biennial reports (1904, 1906, 1910) and a report (1941) to the Governor's Committee on Reorganization and Economy. The bulk of the collection consists of subject files (1903-1958) on Carey irrigation projects around the state. The files are not consistent in documentation. Some of the smaller project files contain only a chronology of the project; others (including the Big Timber Project, the Billings Project, the Bynum Irrigation District, the Dearborn Canal, and the Valier Project) are extensive, including detailed correspondence and reports on the building of the project and its eventual disposition. Best documented is the Valier Project.