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<br />.j J 1,,87
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<br />ErO~Nn introduces I
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<br />compromise bin ,-
<br />on' Pouch"e- "River
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<br />." By MIKE PETERS '~ ' blU. year ago. bUt It bogged down in
<br />. Ttlllv..... SI.!! w..,.... \\. Congr~... This time, the negotia.
<br />," ~~~.:.,' LOVEU:\'D -: A ~e ...Cache I~. lions weN!\,very frwUul, and they.
<br />....~;.:~t!J Poudre comprauuse bill. hOped to be 1 represent a UDique area where water
<br />~: "'.;:.~, ."~ better than the bill that laileda year ';users and environmenlalists got
<br />ago. has been I.ntroduced by. U.s. together," '. "
<br />Rep. Hank B~wn. R-Colo. '\. . .The bill would designate 31 miles
<br />~ The bill ....,U designate 75 miles of of the river as "wild" and 44 miles
<br />the Poudre River as the state's fIrst as..recreational.". .
<br />WIld ::.nd scenic river and marl two. The "wiJd" designation. which is
<br />areas for dams in the lower basin the most restrictive and means
<br />near fort Collins. -\ mueh of the river is inaccessible
<br />\ Brown. of Gr~ley. announced the except by trail. would apply to three
<br />~ proposed legislation at a telephone alUS:
<br />jnews coruerence in LOveland today . Beginnlni at Poucfrt. Lake and is
<br />~;.at the offices of the Northern miles downstream to the confluence
<br />~ Colorado Water Conservancy Dis- of Joe Wright Creek. This area will
<br />'-: ~.',:;.; mct.. It be designated the Peter H. Dominick
<br />. ~-.: _-',:~.. Saying the bill was a product of Wild River Area, in honor of the late
<br />.' dedicated work on both sides - Colorado senator who sponsored
<br />water users and conservationists - legislation authorizing a federal
<br />Brown said the poudre will "be study of Colorado river5 in 1973;
<br />better off in terms of scenic designa- . The South Fork of the river, from
<br />tion, water storage and water use." its source, four miles to the Com-
<br />Designation of the poudre has mAncbe Peak Wilderness boundary;
<br />been a hot topic in northern Colorado . The South Fork: of the river from
<br />Cor several years. The Preserve Our an ana north of Pingree Park eight
<br />Poodre group supported the wild and miles to the main slem oCtbe river.
<br />scenic designation for the entire The "recreational" designation is
<br />river in Poudre Canron. while Coo- Jes!; restrictive and applies to areas
<br />serve Our Poudre, a-group based in of the river that an readily ae-
<br />~ Greeley, urged caution and didn't cessible and may bave shoreline
<br />:::;:::-:;'(:." want to restrict the river from water development. impoundments and
<br />._....... users. diftnioos. Designated as ''recre--
<br />.'. The new bill satisfies both sides, atioaal" an:
<br />according to Brown and repre- . Thirty-seven miles downstream
<br />sentatives of the two groups who from whert! Joe Wright Creek meets
<br />~:ere present at the conference. the Poudre to a point east of Poudre
<br />. .., : I Chuck WaMer. leader of POP, Park;
<br />said: uToday is quite a day for us. . From the Commanche Peak
<br />We are quite satisfied with the Wilderness boundary, seven miles to
<br />...;.. compromise, because this is the first a point on the South Fori. of the
<br />eh.a.nC'e lot a wild and scenic river in river.
<br />."_." tnestate." ,
<br />. urry Simpson. general manager
<br />of the NCWCO. said: "We actueved
<br />~'h.1t we thought was a compromise
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<br />The designations involve :4.360
<br />acres of land. including 19,720 acreas
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<br />See POUORE. Page A12
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<br />* Poudre
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<br />of federal land, 1,360 acres of stale'
<br />land, m acres owned by the city of
<br />Fort Collins and 2,560 acres of
<br />pri\'ate land. Brown said the ac-
<br />quisition of private land will be
<br />handled later, if the owners want to
<br />seU or trade it.
<br />In addition to designating the
<br />recreational and ~i.ld areas of the
<br />river. two dam sites are recoglUzed
<br />.J~'_......~ in the ctlmpromise. Both the Grey 1 . .' .
<br />. ~'"":'~~ Mountain Reservoir and Glade Res.- ~~;:;::.....~
<br />ervol%' would be located in the lower
<br />reaches of the river basin, clo:ser to
<br />Fort CoI1in5, Grey Mountain would
<br />include a possible hydroeleetric
<br />plant. plus a divenion to carry
<br />water 10 nearby Glade Reservoir,
<br />which would be located oorth of
<br />Ted's Place on Colo. 287.
<br />W.D. FafT of Greeley, who was
<br />celebrating his 30th year as a Weld
<br />County director for the Nc\VCD,
<br />attended the announcement and said
<br />it was "wonderful. It gives us the
<br />'.' storage possibilities for water users
<br />and the river designations for the
<br />environmental groups. 'That's the
<br />key."
<br />Brown said the major difference ,
<br />between the new bill and the one that
<br />died a year ago is "this provides a:~)
<br />greater designation oC the river and
<br />. gives us more .wate~ options. We also \
<br />hope the maJOr diflerence is that
<br />we'U h.1ve the national conservation
<br />'.:.. groups behind the new bill."
<br />,~:'-:'~: National groups such as the Sierra >-t";:.,,...:.::
<br />Club ",ere accused of killing last ,-,.....
<br />year'l bill. But Tim Johnson. a
<br />representative of the Sierra Club at
<br />the conferenee. said: "'X'be major
<br />difference lin this bill) is that we aU
<br />agree."
<br />U HR 3547 - the number of the bill
<br />- is passed. the PO\1C!rt! wiU be the
<br />flnt wild aDd scenic river in Col.
<br />orado. and Brown said he hopes the
<br />bill .....ould set a precedent for
<br />settling state water disputes. This
<br />type of compromis.e can apply to a
<br />vanety of water conflicU in Col.
<br />orado. Brov.-ll said.
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