BOARD02129

• Board Meeting Date: 10/31/1973
• Description: Agenda or Table of Contents, Minutes, Memos
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

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I would like to speak for a moment about the wilderness bill. I
would like to ask, Do you destroy a wilderness by building a road
and an artificial lake so that an old man like me can ride through
and enjoy it? I and about half the population couldn't hike more
than two miles into this WOnderful wilderness. Do you destroy a
wilderne$s by making a lake? A few projects can be designed to catch
the spr~ng r~noff and still maintain our streams at their minimum
necessary flow. Until the laws of this state are changeq, the senior
rights are certainly not goi~g to be affected by this wise use of
our water.

In summary, I believe that this country is in for a terrible shock.
I feel that our way of life is going to be drastically alter~d in
the near future. ~ do not believe that you nor I are going to be
able to drive our automobiles to a meeting such as this. I believe
that we are going to have to share our food output with the rest of
the world whether We like it or not. And this means, we are:going to
have to provide more food and fiber for all of us to use. I believe
we will have to conserve everyone of our energy sources. Perish
the thought that we will have to become a nation of apart~ent
dwellers simply because we can't afford to be able to irrigate our
,
productive lands.

In closing, let me assure you that I share these thoughts with you
not as a representative of the Central Colorado Water Conservancy
District, and I certainly do not work for Rocky Mountain Power
Company.

Thank you, very much.

Mr. Stapleton: Thank you, Mr. Smee. Would anyone else like to make
any statements on this matter? Val.

Mr. Killin: Mr. Chairman and members of the board, I would like to
make a brief statement on the wilderness area subject in general,
and not specifibally on the Flat Tops.

My name is Val Killin. I am executive director of the Colorado Water
Congress. At its 1973 annual meeting, our membership adopted a
resolution instructing its officers and members to participate fully
at all levels in all agency determinations concerning the designation
of wilderness areas in the state of Colorado. I appear before this
board to call attention to that resolution and also to express the
interest and concern of the Colorado Water Congress in the national
wilderness preservation system. Although we are not opposing a
modest wilderness area designation program, we do strongly support
sound public policies for the wise use and conservation of all natural
values through the encouragement by this multiple qse of public lands

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