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<br />"""""".,..", <br /> <br />-.~-,- <br /> <br />,--~....,.~_. ,..'. <br /> <br />.c__',._._. <br /> <br />" <br /> <br />o.Q <br /> <br /> <br />f) <br /> <br />,-\ <br />\ , <br /> <br />- " <br /> <br />\-lith the State ef Co1er,de, the Bureau plans to. deve1ep Head and San Luis Lakes <br />into. a recreation and w~ld1ife area. Befere San Luis Lake silted up and became <br />feul smelling and brackish in the late 1950's, it was a very pepular recreatien <br />area. The plans call fer the delivery ef eneugh ~ater to. stablize a higher <br />water level in the lakes. 1{ater will be periodically p~mped through the system <br />so. that the lakes will net stagnate. <br /> <br />There are ether Preject benefits which are net fermally identified as purposes <br />justifying the Preject. These "spin eff" benefits are roostly related to. <br />require'l.nehts .of Federal lav.~s. Extensive studies of the Closed Basin's ecology, <br />archeelegy, and hist:ery have been dene (see sectien III). These studies are <br />required to. identify pessible Preject effects to. these reseurces and to. develop <br />mitigatien plans. The results ef these studies are available to. the public. <br />Scientists a!ld interested local residents .c.an use this information to learn <br />abeut these unique and interesting aspects ef the San Luis Valley. <br /> <br />Perhaps the mest impertant ef the "spin eff" benefits are the engineering, water <br />table, and geelegical studies which are required for the Preject to. be designed <br />preperty. The results ef these studies (sectien III) are also. available to. the <br />public. Radesevich a~d Rutz' report, which was cited at the beginning ef the <br />section, cencludes with seme advice. The Valley's ecenemic/water interest <br />greups are ceunciled te"negetiate with each ether rather than hale each ether <br />befere ceurts ef law. The purpose ef such negetiatien weuld be to. develep a <br />Valley-wide system ef water allecatien which weuld be beth fair and clearly <br />understeed. No. restraint en individual censtitutienal rightst:e seek redress <br />in the ceurts is intended. The peint is, quite simply, that the Valley's <br />present 'ceurse ef defining a system ef water rights piecemeal, individual ceurt <br />case by ceurt case, will have negative results. Defining the relatienship ef <br />Valley water rights to. each ether in the ceurts will result in a huge bedy ef <br />individual rulings and decrees. Seme rulings will prebably becentradictery. <br />Regardless ef the eutceme, legal fees will be enermeus. <br /> <br />It will net be easy to. negetiate a fair and legally binding system eutside ef <br />the courts. The werk sheuld be dene by peeple whose vital ecenomic interests <br />are directly invelved. The infermatien the'Bureau has cellected sheuld help. <br />No. ene can be expected to. make a decisien which may directly affect his liveli- <br />heed witheut seme solid facts abeut what the results ef that decision will be. <br />Infermatien has been cellected by the Preject en how water tables are related, <br />what happens with different kinds ef water-pumping eperatiens, and en hew these <br />things affect vegetatien. These data sheuld help individuals make infermed <br />decisiens. <br /> <br />In the leng run, the infermatien provided by the Preject may be a greater bene- <br />fit than the water it is being built to. salvage. The cempleted Preject can be <br />legically viewed as a clesely watched gage en the terminal end ef the whele <br />nerthern Valley's greund water system. Like a measuring instrument, the Preject <br />will net directly affect the rest: ef the system. The Preject's netwerk ef <br />observatien wells will show whether er net the nerthern Valley's water supplies <br /> <br />9 <br />