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Utah area where we had better photo coverage, salt cedar appears <br />to have spread rapidly in the early 1970's. <br />1987 (15 September). Water levels in the wetland were <br />similar to those observed on this date during 1993. Irrigation <br />was fully developed by this time. The vegetation has a modern <br />aspect, most likely due to the spread of tali whitetop and salt <br />cedar. The floods of 1983 and 1984 broke through the Green River <br />dike and spread into the wetland. Sediment deposited may have <br />provided a suitable seedbed for the germination and establishment <br />of these two adventives. <br />Mr. Healy feels that his irrigation return flows (as <br />groundwater) create the springs that feed and create the wetlands <br />as they occur today. Clearly, these springs have supported <br />intermittent flows for many centuries,~but most likely they were <br />insufficient to create the perennial flows that support the marsh <br />ecosystems that occur today. Since these flows are based on <br />pumping from the Green River, there most likely is little annual <br />variability in the flow from these springs. The overall <br />character of the vegetation in these wetlands indicates a <br />somewhat saline marsh system, which appears typical for Colorado <br />River floodplain marshes. <br />6 <br />