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<br />"....'?"""""~-. <br /> <br />,. .~. ..---...- ," <br /> <br />00110' <br /> <br />thickly cevered with alka1ai, little useful vegetatien grews" and mest ef the <br />area cannet be preductively farmed. Of the 130,DOO-acre Preject area, enly <br />2,000 acres are irrigated farmland. The rest is poer to. very peer rangeland. <br />Almest half ef the area is in the public demain (State ef Celerade er Bureau <br />ef Land Management). This is because the land is ef such lew value that it was <br />never werthwhile fer anyene to. claim it. There is no. ether part ef the Valley <br />where the Preject ceuld be built and cause so little disruptien ef the private <br />secter (see sectien III-B). <br /> <br />To. summarize the aspects ef the Preject's design which assure that its eperatien <br />will net harm the established ecenemy ef the Valley: <br /> <br />1. The Preject is designed to. salvage water which is net being beneficially <br />used. Without the Preject, a seurce ef water which can benefit the Valley <br />evaperates. <br /> <br />2. The effects ef the Preject are rigereus1y cenfined to. the area within the <br />Preject beundaries. Land and subsurface water eutside these beundaries will net <br />be significantly affected by the operatien ef the Preject. <br /> <br />3. The area within the Preject' beundaries where <br />ene ef the least develeped areas in the Valley. <br />cause Iilinimal disruptien. <br /> <br />seme effects will be visible is <br />These effects will, accerdingly, <br /> <br />The primary purpese ef the Preject is to. previde a seurce ef water which will <br />help Celorade meet its legal ebligatiens to. dewnstream water users and relieve <br />the San Luis Valley frem the annual strain and uncertainty which is the result <br />ef meeting these obligatiens under the current system. Federal law and regula- <br />tiens disceurage single-purpese censtructien prejects. These rules are <br />designed to. make sure that prejects are designed to. achieve all ef their peten- <br />tial benefits. Benefits which can be achieved at little to. no. additienal cest <br />are strengly enceuraged. The Preject's recreatien and fish and wildlife aspects <br />are ef this nature. <br /> <br />The fish and wildlife aspects ef the Project are in part related to. the <br />stringent Federal laws pretecting wetlands and endangered species. The law <br />recegnizes that wetlands are particularly impertant to. wildlife and are eften <br />critical habitat fer rare er endangered species. Projects which des trey er <br />disturb wetland areas are required to. replace the disturbed habitat. The <br />Preject Fish and Wildlife Enhancement Plans are in part a res pense to. these <br />mitigatien requirements. These plans include the delivery ef Preject water to. <br />the Alamosa Wildlife Refuge and the Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area. A waterfewl <br />management area in the Russell Lakes vicinity will also. be established. Russell <br />Lakes will net use Preject salvage water. The Bureau plans to. acquire the land <br />and appurtenant water rights fer Russell Lakes frem willing sellers. This water <br />is fer wildlife enhancement enly and will make no. centributien to. the rest ef <br />the Preject system. <br /> <br />8 <br />