WSP11321

• File Number: 7630.285
• Description: Wild and Scenic - General
• State: CO
• Basin: Statewide
• Date: 2/6/1974
• Author: Haskell
• Title: Designating the Weminuche Wilderness - Rio Grande - and San Juan National Forests in the State of Colorado - Report to Accompany S 1863
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

O;Jj933

11

out on hor;,;(',; lIud mules. ;\"OIW of these depo:o;its llpprar:-; to be
Illrge PllOlIgh to hfH"C' cf:onolllie pot.entiuJ.
:\0 indientions Wf're :-:'('('11 elst'\\"here in the primitive llrell
t.hnt point toward (>('ollolllie or ~lIhcron(Jmi('. minertll rcsonrc(\S
in H nCllr-~mrrll('e en\"ironllwnt. Thr po;-,;..;ihilit,y of def'p
metllllic minerlllizlltioIl 11enT some of the \'olcilnic {'pnter...;
1:IlIlIlOL be (lliminated. ho\\"cn~r. !lud oil nnd gas cnllceivnbly
could exist ill hidd('Jl trnp,,; in the sedimcntufY rocks benenth
voJcuuic ('o\"er.(I

3. !Vater

\Vflter ,'icld of the nr('ll is ('stimllted at a minimum of 517,000 acre-
feet in nn~ averagc vellf. There ure 11 number of W'llt('r div{'rsion ditches
and small rc~en';oij.s within the bOlln("uie~ of the propo:-:ed wilderncs~.
1\0 plans for additionnl water resource projects are known at this
time.
Only one watf'r project, the so-called 'Vemiullche TrtlDSmollntain
Ditch, was the subject of di~cussiou during Committeo cOIl~ideration
of S. 1863. Thi~ diteh, built under permit in 1935, divert!'! wnters from
the Him'on nlld La Vacu Rivers Ilt the lVemilluche Pa~~ into the
'VcmiulIche Creek. These ,nttprs, which otherwise would flow sout.h
down the Los Pinos HiveI' into the Vl1.lIecito Resen'oir, flow thl'OH~h
the one and one-hnlC mile ditch ltlld nr eminur:he Creek into tlw Rio
GmndC'. Reservoir, which is locnted on the north of the propo:-;ed
\'i;lderness. In the ~pring, the Witter runs at 40 seconu feet llnd is used
for farming purposes in the Sun Luis VallC'y.
The Dit.ch does not. n''1uire intensive mldntenflll('e. Tn {net, it htls
been IJHtintained only three tinH's since 1935 (in 1950, 19f1:3 tlnd 1970).
The users of the water from the Dit-eh ',",ould like t.o mlliutain the
Ditch by u:;e of heavy equipment, as was done in 1950 and 1963.
However, the Forest Sen'iee (the Ditch also lies 'i\;thin the Senice's
prof'o:;rd ",;!dC'rne~" area) ffinintnins thltt mnint.entUltc by m~~hnnized
eqUipment IS tmm'ccssnry. In fact, uft('r pn&....;nge of the Wllderness
Act, the FOI'C'st Service denied a request for n permit to mnilltnin it
by lu'fi.vy equipment. The denial WllS made not by the rebrionul office
but hv t.he Chief Forrster. In"t-cnd, thl' Porest Service maintained
the Dhch in 1970 by primith"e Ilwuns llUd chnrg-ed the costs to the
water llsers. Thus, the.F'orest Servif'(, cstnhlished that the Dit.ch could
be maintained by other than mechanized mrullS. Furthermore, to
allow mcehnnizNl ('{luipmcut to ('nter the 'Yildernes::i on ll. l'e~ulnr
bll~is would be to pf'rmnnenlly hiflJfcute the area, if the procedures
used in 1950 rUle! 1963 Hlllintennnce efforts Wl.'re followed. In those
two instllnce~ the cfJllipment, which C!lIne from Bnyfield, Colorado,
entered the cputrlll portion of the area from the south llnd proct'cdrd
north t.o the Ditdl, which is locnted netlf the northern ooundar\' of
the nrl'll, ag:dn in the cPlltr:.d portion. ,nH'ther another route which
wOllltlllot cut tlU' nrpfl ill two <:ollld be fOllud is a m:\ttf'r of di~pllte.
'I'hp Fore:-,t ~t'n-i('p rrt.OIltIllf'1l41plltllut no t'x(.pption {tlr IIlt'rllllllil.{,c.l
('qllipnH'llt b(' fll:.ul,.. ""helht.r or IlOt tlIt' :11"1'11S Wert' d('sig'll11tt.'d Ib
wildt.'rul's,-;~ tIll' FoTt,~t St'r\"il't~1 115 It muttt.'!" of policy dedded by thl'
Chief Fon>stC'r, would contiIllw to deny reqll(.:.;t;-; for permits to (,JUplny

I "11'\"l'n. T.'A.. tl al. .\/i1l"'<l1 Rfff1fJTCU of tAt S<ln Juan Prjmiti&~Arf<l. Color<ldo. Ooologicru Surwy Dul-
I..tin 1:.'(;1-1-". 19ti'J. Dp. FI~FZ.