8001

• UCREFRP Catalog Number: 8001
• Author: Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• Title: Proceedings, Western Regional Instream Flow Conference.
• USFW Year: 1992.
• USFW - Doc Type: Oct. 2-3, 1992.
• Copyright Material: NO

ECONOMIC REALITIES OF
INSTREAM FLOW--CONSIDERATIONS
OF THE 1991 UTAH INSTREAM FLOW
LEGISLATIVE TASK FORCE
John L. Young, Esquire
Director and Stockholder
Richards, Brandt, Miller & Nelson
50 South Main Street, 7th Floor
Salt Lake City, Utah 84144
[phone]
ABSTRACT
The economic evidence clearly demonstrates that fish and
wildlife-related recreation constitutes an important part of
Utah's economy and contributes significantly to the quality of life
in Utah. The enhancement of a fishery creates economic benefits
for Utah that are now recognized by government officials and
wildlife specialists. Statistical data now exists that confirms the
level of economic benefits that can be generated by such
enhancement. Such data also allows for comparison of the
economic benefits generated from fish and wildlife recreation
with the other significant sections of Utah's economy. The data
establishes that fish and wildlife recreation is more than a leisure
activity-it is a significant economic resource to the state.
I was asked to discuss the economic factors that were
considered by the Legislative Task Force in adoption of
amendments to the Utah Instream-Flow statute.
The 1991 Utah lnstream-Flow Legislative Task Force was
established to review the existing Utah instream-flow law
and analyze the need for, as well as the benefits from,
improvement of the Act. From the outset, opposition to
expansion of the existing instream-flow legislation centered
on the economic interests of owners of vested water rights,
whether agricultural, mining, municipal or otherwise.
Consequently, the Task Force spent considerable time in
discussing and analyzing the existing allocation of surface
waters in the state of Utah, and the economic benefits
derived from those allocations. In the course of considering
the proposed legislative changes, it became clear that a
review of the potential economic benefits that would be
derived from allocation of surface waters to instream-flow
purposes was necessary if changes in existing water law
were to occur.
Economic Benefits of Instream-Flow Allocation
The question was whether it could be clearly demon-
strated that dedication of water to instream-flow purposes
would economically benefit the state.
The best example in Utah of such economic benefits have
been demonstrated by management of the Green River. For
purposes of the analysis, enhancement of a stream fishery
was equated with creation or enhancement of instream
flows.
The United States Forest Service, Ashley National Forest,
issued a report dated April, 1991,' setting forth a history of
management of the Green River below Flaming Gorge
Dam. The character of the river was changed in 1979,
when the Bureau of Reclamation installed selective with-
drawal gates in the dam, allowing an increase in the water
temperatures in the river below. Dramatic improvements in
fishing and the levels of fishing use followed.
As set forth in the report:
The modification allows water to be released from
various lake levels, effectively warming and stabilizing
water temperatures through the growing season. The
resulting benefits ... have elevated the Green River in this
stretch to the status of a nationally recognized premium
trout fishery.
The study shows that, during the period of 1983 through
1990, recreational use of the river increased by 130
percent. The report attributed this increase directly to the
enhancement of the fishery and associated activities. For
the year ending 1990, the study reported that the mean
expenditure per person/per trip was $474. The number of
users in 1990 totalled 115,000 people, with 46 percent of
them being non-residents. In other words, the Green River
fishery below Flaming Gorge Dam contributed $54.51
million to the Utah economy in 1990. Almost half of this
economic stimulus was contributed by non-residents. As
will be demonstrated in the discussion of the future of
recreation in Utah, the economic contributions to Utah's
economy from this single fishery will continue to grow.
At the 1st Western Regional Instream-Flow Conference
held here in October, 1989, Mr. John Turner pointed out
that "high value recreational fisheries ... are now real-
world economic considerations... We [the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service] work for fish and wildlife conservation, for
the sake of the critters, to be sure; for the sake of the
citizens who enjoy them, by all means; but also because the
very existence of these wild resources and their habitats
now represent important economic factors in our society,
important enough that they cannot be summarily reduced
or devalued by other economic pursuits."'
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