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<br /> <br />pumping and lower water tables will not affect the grasses. In areas where <br />a very high water table does support stands of grass, lowering the water table <br />will result in fewer grass plants. Lower water tables and fewer saltgrass <br />plants will allow other grass species native to the area to increase. Grasses <br />coming into the area will be more valuable to livestock grazing. These grasses <br />will be able to compete because of decreased surface salt accumulations. Less <br />desirable forage plants (saltgrass and wiregrass) will share space with more <br />desirable grasses (alkali sacaton, blue grama, and western wheat). <br /> <br />There will be some reduction in plant vigor in wetland areas as a direct result <br />of project pumping. Federal law requires the replacement of affected wetlands. <br />The project will deliver water to the existing Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area <br />and Alamosa Wildlife Refuge. A new wildlife habitat area will be developed <br />in the Russell Lakes vicinity. A recreation area will be established in the <br />San Luis and Head Lake area. These steps will maintain both the overall quality <br />and extent of wetlands in the San Luis Valley and the Closed Basin sump area. <br />These steps will more than compensate for any wetland vegetation loss resulting <br />from project pumping. <br /> <br />Preliminary studies su~gest that a program of establishing stabilizing vegeta- <br />tion around salvage wells and the main canal should greatly reduce long-term <br />project maintenance costs. Shelter belts of trees and starting stands of <br />native grass in bare areas are being studied for inclusion as part of the <br />project design. Applying small amounts of project salvage water for a short <br />time after planting should allow native plants to get well started. This <br />program should result in a significant increase in vegetation over preproject <br />conditions in the areas of the salvage wells and main canal. <br /> <br />To sum things up, the direct effects of the project operations on plants will <br />be neither widespread nor severe. Vegetation effects will occur only within <br />the project boundaries. Visibly less vegetation may result within 1,000 feet <br />of some salvage wells. At distances farther away from the wells, the change <br />in vegetation (if there is any) will only show up in careful scientific <br />studies. <br /> <br />It may seem contradictory to state that a program designed to salvage water <br />by "taking it away" from existing growing plants will eventually result in <br />an area with more total value to the whole valley. The contradiction is <br />superficial. Any successful San Luis Valley farmer knows that sheer quantity <br />of water is not the only aspect of getting plants to grow and obtaining good <br />production. With careful management and controlled application, more desirable <br />plants can be grown with less water. In this sense the Closed Basin Project <br />can be viewed as a water management program for the Closed Basin sump area. <br /> <br />One could argue that the valley has as much "chico brush" as it needs and that <br />water is more valuable than chico. If this were the case, it would be logical <br />to salvage all the water now being used by the brush in the project area. Even <br />if this were desirable, it is not physically possible to salvage all the water <br />and kill all shrubs. <br /> <br /> <br />Some individuals have suggested that operation of the project will rr:estilO in? <br />1.\,......OC-.,I~ <br />a vast extension of the Great Sand Dunes. In fact, the project will,'to an <br />extent, counteract the environmental damage of 100 years of overgrazing and <br />diversion of salt-laden irrigation runoff into the Closed Basin. Lowering <br />the water table and decreasing the amount of salt in the soil will eventually <br />create an envirOnment closer to what was there 100 years ago. <br />