|
<br /> Table 5.-Salinity control unit ceiling allocations by year
<br /> (Unit: $1,000's)
<br /> Expenditures
<br /> through
<br />Unit FY93 FY94 FY95 FY96 FY97 FY98 FY99
<br />Lower Gunnison 18,413 4,770 698 938 0 0 0
<br />Grand Valley 123,139 16,150 6,019 5,368 4,653 3,787
<br />Paradox Valley 62,425 2,500 2,500 0 0 0 0
<br />McElmo/Dolores 29,290 8,326 277 413 218 0 0
<br />Crystal Geyser 106 0 0 0 0 0 0
<br />Las Vegas Wash 8,240 0 0 0 0 0 0
<br />Total 241,613 31,746 9,494 6,719 4,871 3,787 0
<br />Ceiling 300,961 59,348 27,602 18,108 11 ,389 6,518 2,731
<br />Ceiling remaining 59,348 27,602 18,108 11 ,389 6,518 2,731 2,731
<br />(ceiling - total)
<br />
<br />Salts enter tributaries of the Colorado River from ground-water flows, surface runoff
<br />and erosion and sedimentation processes (non point sources), and from point sources
<br />such as saline springs, mining spoils, and oil and gas production sites. Indications are
<br />that, for BLM-administered lands, these nonpoint source processes are responsible for
<br />the greatest share of salt contributions to the Colorado River System.
<br />
<br />The Bureau of Land Management has traditionally used its land management
<br />planning process as the vehicle for carrying forward solutions to salinity problems,
<br />with consideration to all resource values. For example, during the last decade,
<br />BLM Resource Management Plans have been implemented through various activity
<br />plans, consisting of site-specific projects or land use adjustments for reduction of salt
<br />yields. However, in a 1990-91 collaborative effort between Reclamation and other
<br />agencies, and with the support of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Forum,
<br />concurrence from Federal and State representatives was reached on a somewhat
<br />modified, tiered approach for ranking rangeland salinity control opportunities.
<br />
<br />Over the last year or so, significant resource management policy re-direction has been
<br />provided to BLM's field managers by the new headquarters management team. As a
<br />result, BLM has adopted the principles of ecosystem management to guide its
<br />management of the public's land and resources. In BLM, ecosystem management
<br />means the integration of ecological, economic, and social principles to manage bio-
<br />physical systems in a manner that safeguards the long-term ecological sustainability,
<br />natural diversity, and productivity of the landscape. Some cornerstones to this new
<br />way of doing business are: interdisciplinary analysis of the best available scientific
<br />information; public involvement and coordination with other Federal, State, and
<br />private landowners; watershed rehabilitation; and the natural interconnectedness
<br />between uplands, riparian areas, and ground water.
<br />
<br />51
<br />
|