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<br />00275', <br /> <br />-4- <br /> <br />~rit~ <br /> <br />Intel"'esting enough; Utah has three major drainagebasins of which we are <br />apart. The Colorado'River drainage basin' runs through the southeast. <br />section of the. state.' The Bear. River and. other ,streams are a.part of the <br />ClOsed Great Bas'-in Drainage Dist'rtct which, of course, empties into the <br />Salt Lake. A small northwestern s'ection of Utah is contained in the <br />dr'iliinagebasin'of,a tributary of the Colurnbia'River. <br /> <br />The purpose of the Western States .Water Council is to assume an active <br />role in many areas of water and related land resource development that <br />have not been heretofore undertaken by Western States collectively. A <br />constructive program for the future with an emphasis on a Westwide <br />viewpoint is being undertaken. <br /> <br />Here in Utah we have high hopes for this cooperative effort. <br /> <br />W'.ehope that water problems are accentuatedhere in the West because <br />this area is now experiencing the nation's most rapid population growth. <br />I saw a chart recently showing the position of the states of the United <br />St\3.tes in terins of percentage population growth. Of the top ten, as I <br />recall, seven of them were here in the western states. <br /> <br />'''''W/'Jo; <br /> <br />WVe are alsoexperiep.cing a. revolutionary change in our economy here. <br />W'e musttake'careof tdday's needs and also plan for tomorrow. We <br />rnust not be hasty in'rnaking.decis'ions concerning our natural resources. <br />Many decision-sinthe'pastcould, perhaps, have been bett'er if more <br />study had gone.into.them. Thos.e decisions. we make in.and for the <br />future will be harder to make than.in the past. The stakes grow even <br />higher, and the. r1sk greate'r , and the reward less true. Many of the <br />decisions rega'rding'developmep.t in the past have been taken as a <br />result of the naive belief that dollar figures must be assigned to all of <br />the "benefits"! orral;pirations We s'eek;andthat all of the "costsJl of the <br />water projects can likewise be evalUated in.mdnetary terms. <br /> <br />Economic gd,aHlareirnportant, but they' are,'not the only goals <br />ment and. certainly. are not always the principal goals. <br /> <br />of govern- <br /> <br />Here inthe West we ar'e particularly conceTned with the lack of emphasis <br />on basic resoUrce development.. It is even more distressing when neglect <br />threat'ens to weaken this nation in an' area where it must be strong, if it <br />is to meet the needs'of the futqre. The West contributes very substantially <br />to the economic weU'-'being. of the country. The present healthy economy <br />has been substantially abetted through large investments by the Federal <br /> <br />...,.-......-.." <br /> <br /> <br />I <br /> <br /> <br />"..:..'.,":' <br />:;.--:; :>?:~~~': <br />;:>.~.;::~": ''-~-.. <br /> <br />t~~i~~;~~ <br /> <br /> <br />,<' "-:;:' <br /> <br />'Sf;.iitl <br /> <br />