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As early as 1867, bills were introduced in Congress to encourage irrigation and reclamation of unproductive land and, in 1877, the Desert Land Act linked irrigation to grants of public land. Congress also authorized studies of the Westâs geology and water supply, which culminated in comprehensive reports.
1 Flood Control Act of 1944. 2  Also known as the Pick-Sloan Flood Control Act of 1944, FCA 1944 transferred ownership of large parcels of land from around the Missouri River, more than 20% of which was owned by Native Americans, to the Corps of Engineers. 3  The Lakota, Dakota and Nakota tribes lost 202,000 acres (820 km 2).here are multiple laws known as the Flood Control Act (FCA). Typically, they are administered by the United States Army Corps of Engineers. There were several major floods between 1849 and 1936 that moved Congress to pass legislation.