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<br />programs and state actions to resolve the le-
<br />gal status and occupancy of lands along rhe
<br />Colorado River and use of water therefrom
<br />be reviewed and revised as appropriate and
<br />vigorously pursued to final resolution, At the
<br />first meeting of the LCRMPCC on May 3,
<br />1971, the Chief Engineer requested the Bu-
<br />reau of Land Management (BLM) to provide
<br />a progress report on its trespass abatement
<br />program. BLM reported it has taken action
<br />against 1,295 illegal occupiers on about 37,-
<br />400 acres of federal lands along the Colorado
<br />River in Arizona and California. As of May
<br />1971, 1,176 cases involving 27,600 acres of
<br />land were satisfactorily resolved, 806 occupi-
<br />ers were removed from about 22,000 acres,
<br />370 occupiers have received temporary use
<br />permits to use about 5,650 acres of land, and
<br />119 cases involving about 9,850 acres re-
<br />mained to be resolved of which 5,500 acres
<br />are in California.
<br />
<br />Topock Marsh
<br />
<br />One of the objecti ves of the action program
<br />set forth in California's September 1970 re-
<br />port on the Lower Colorado River Manage-
<br />ment Program was to develop a plan for the
<br />Topock Gorge area, including a program to
<br />resolve operational problems at Topock
<br />Marsh. Those operational problems were de-
<br />scribed in the Board's 1970 Annual Report,
<br />During 1971, the Bureau of Sport Fisheries
<br />and Wildlife, assisted by the Bureau of Recla-
<br />mation, worked on plans for construction of
<br />interior diking for Topock Marsh to restrict
<br />the water surface to a manageable size. Areas
<br />outside the dike would be flooded during
<br />winter waterfowl utilization periods and
<br />dewatered during nonuse periods, thus mak-
<br />ing optimum use of water allocated to Hava-
<br />su National Wildlife Refuge. An
<br />environmental impact statement on the plans
<br />was under preparation at the close of 1971.
<br />
<br />Needles Wild erne.. Proposal
<br />On December 10 and II, 1971, the Bureau
<br />of Sport Fisheries and Wildlife held public
<br />hearings on a plan to incorporate most of the
<br />
<br />Topock Gorge area of the Colorado River
<br />into a "Needles Wilderness" as part of the
<br />National Wilderness Preservation System.
<br />This proposal comprises 17,116 acres, 2,510
<br />acres in California and the remaining 14,606
<br />acres in Arizona within the Havasu National
<br />Wildlife Refuge,
<br />The Board's staff participated in review of
<br />the proposal through the LCRCG. Com-
<br />ments were forwarded to the Bureau of Sport
<br />Fisheries and Wildlife, stating that California
<br />had no objection provided the proposal is
<br />clarified to clearly exclude the backwaters
<br />from the wilderness area,
<br />
<br />Proposed Chemehuevi Indian Lease of Lake
<br />Havasu Shoreline
<br />
<br />When Parker Dam was constructed, a por-
<br />tion of the required right-of-way for the en-
<br />suing Lake Havasu was purchased from the
<br />Chemehuevi Indian Tribe, including 7,800
<br />acres in a 20-mile strip below contour eleva-
<br />tion 465. In July of 1941, The Metropolitan
<br />Water District of Southern California paid
<br />approximately $108,000 to the Secretary of
<br />the Interior as compensation for lands ac-
<br />quired by the federal government from the
<br />Chemehuevis, However, title to the lands is
<br />held in the federal government. Since the
<br />normal operating elevation of Lake Havasu
<br />does not exceed elevation 450 feet, a corridor
<br />of approximately 700 acres of federal land
<br />remains and forms a buffer between the Cali-
<br />fornia shore of Lake Havasu and the present
<br />Chemehuevi lands,
<br />In 1971, the Tribe began negotiations for a
<br />50-year lease agreement with the Depart-
<br />ment of the Interior to obtain rights to the
<br />use of the shoreline lands for development of
<br />recreational facilities and production of in-
<br />come for the Tribe. The Colorado River
<br />Board, The Department of Fish and Game
<br />and other affected state agencies participated
<br />in review of the proposed lease. Areas of con-
<br />cern upon which the lease will be evaluated
<br />include:
<br />(I) maintenance of the existing fish, wild-
<br />life, and other environmental values at
<br />
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