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<br />3605 <br /> <br />1 4 <br /> <br />It may seem contradictory to state' that a program designed to salvage <br />water by "takinp, it away" from existing groving plants will eventually <br />result in an area with more total value to the whole valley. rhe <br />contradiotion is superficial. Any successful San Luis Valley farmer <br />knows that sheer quantity of water is not the only aspect of getting <br />?lants to grow and obtaining good production. With careful management <br />and controlled application, more desirable plants can be grown with <br />less water. In this sense the Closed Basin Project can be viewed as a <br />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 <br />and that water is more valuable than chico. If this were the case, it <br />would be logical to salvage all the water now being used by the brush <br />in the project area. Even if this were desirable, it is not physically <br />possi~le to salvage all the water and kill all shrubs. <br /> <br />Some individuals have suggested that operation of the project will <br />reault in a vast extension of the Great Sand Dunes. In fact, the pro- <br />ject will, to an extent, counteract the environmental damage of 100 <br />years of overgrazinR and diversion of salt-laden irrigation runoff into <br />the Closed Basin. Lowering the water table and decreasing the amount <br />of salt in the soil will eventually create an environment closer to <br />what was there 100 years ago. <br />