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Miller, Steve <br />From: Loretta Lohman [lorettalohman @comcast.net] <br />Sent: Monday, August 23, 2004 7:45 AM <br />To: Miller, Steve; Dave Merritt; John Shields; Laurie Fisher <br />Subject: CO River drought <br />,v't 1 c `....L(... _. <br />August 23, 2004 <br />Western Drought Is Grounding Boaters <br />By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS <br />Filed at 3:04 a.m. ET <br />Page 1 of 3 <br />? F#F. Ft FRIiN i't F08MAT EN STATE <br />aF.2,vsau:7 Ea NMPLAYNGINTHUMS. <br />ROOSEVELT LAKE, Ariz. (AP) -- Sarah Huston and her husband, Tom, spend their afternoons <br />catching catfish and bass on Roosevelt Lake. When it gets too hot, they cast their lines off a shaded <br />dock or relax inside their air - conditioned boat. <br />The couple considers the central Arizona lake a slice of paradise. But they feel they may not be able <br />to enjoy it much longer. <br />"This lake is dropping rapidly," said Tom Huston, 72. "The sad part is, there is no place to go. All <br />lakes in the Southwest are dry." <br />The drought that geologists say could be the worst in 500 years is grounding boaters, creating <br />hazards for water enthusiasts across the West and costing the boating industry and states millions to <br />revamp ramps and move marinas to entice visitors. <br />Roosevelt Lake, about 110 miles northeast of Phoenix, is 30 percent full and only three of the lake's <br />nine ramps are operating, said Quentin Johnson, recreation specialist for the Tonto Basin Ranger <br />District, which manages the lake. <br />The drought also is hurting business at Roosevelt Marina. Only 30 percent of the slips are full, said <br />Shane Cooper, who works at the dock. <br />At Lake Mead, on the Arizona- Nevada line, about 200 miles of shoreline have disappeared, leaving <br />a white bathtub ring on the surrounding rocks, signs of where the lake used to be. <br />The lake, which was created by the construction of Hoover Dam, has dropped 80 feet to its lowest <br />level since the 1960s, said Roxanne Dey, spokeswoman for Lake Mead National Recreation Area. <br />One marina operation had to be uprooted from its home of more than 40 years and moved to a <br />8/23/2004 <br />