[1] Completion of the Oregon Short Line Railroad in the early 1880s made possible the construction of farming settlements in the Boise Valley.

The difficulty of work partially accounted for slow progress on the canal, but another factor was the Depression of 1882–85, and some eastern investors had been forced to divest their holdings in the company.

Arthur Foote continued to work with little pay, and the company allowed only a minimum construction effort, this to retain its water rights.

The newspaper found that "maps and profiles" were the only work finished, and the editor projected that the canal would require 500 workers over five years before it was completed.

Another Boise River project undertaken by the company, the Phyllis Canal, named for investors from Philadelphia, also had completed about two miles.

[13] The United States Congress created the U.S. Reclamation Service in 1902, and the bureau gained control of the New York Canal project.