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<br />., .: ~~t'b:ff2n <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />;~. :"'~"~""" <br /> <br />pumping and 1ewer water tables will net affect the grasses. In areas where <br />a very high water table dees suppert stands ef grass, lewering the water table <br />will result in fewer grass plants. Lewer water tables and fewer sa1tgrass <br />p~ants will allew ether grass species native to. the area to. increase. Grasses <br />ceming into. the area will be mere valuable to. 1ivesteck grazing. These grasses <br />will be able to. cempete because ef decreased surface salt accumulatiens. Less <br />desirable ferage plants (saltgrass and wiregrass) will share space with more <br />desirable grasses (alkali sacaten, blue grama, and western wheat). <br /> <br />There will be seme reductien in plant viger in wetland areas as a direct result <br />ef preject pumping. Federal law requires the replacement ef affected wetlands. <br />The project will deliver water to. the existing Blanca Wildlife Habitat Area <br />and A1amesa Wildlife Refuge. A new wildlife habitat area will be deve1eped <br />in the Russell Lakes vicinity. A recreatien area will be established in the <br />San Luis and Head Lake area. These steps will maintain beth the ever all quality <br />and e~tent ef wetlands in the San Luis Valley and the Clesed Basin sump area. <br />These steps will mere than cempensate fer any wetland vegetatien less resulting <br />frem preject pumping. <br /> <br />Preliminary studies su~gest that a pregram ef establishing stabilizing vegeta- <br />tien areund salvage wells and the main canal sheuld greatly reduce 1eng-term <br />preject maintenance cests. Shelter belts ef trees and starting stands ef <br />native grass in bare areas are being studied fer inclusien as part ef the <br />preject design. Applying small ameunts ef preject salvage water fer a short <br />time after planting sheuld a1lew native plants to. get well started. This <br />pregram sheuld result in a significant increase in vegetatien ever prepreject <br />cenditiens in the areas ef the salvage wells and main canal. <br /> <br />To. sum things up, the direct effects ef the preject eperatiens en plants will <br />be neither widespread ner severe. Vegetatien effects will eccur en1y within <br />the preject beundaries. Visibly less vegetatien may result within 1,000 feet <br />ef some salvage wells. At distances farther away frem the wells, the change <br />in vegetatien (if there is any) will en1y shew up in careful scientific <br />studies. <br /> <br />It may seem centradictery to. state that a pregram designed to. salvage water <br />by "taking it away" frem existing grewing plants will eventually result in <br />an area with mere tetal value to. the whele valley. The centradictien is <br />superficial. Any successful San Luis Valley farmer knews that sheer quantity <br />ef water is net the enly aspect ef getting plants to. grew and ebtaining geed <br />preductien. With careful management and centrelled applicatien, mere desirable <br />plants can be grewn with less water. In this sense the Clesed Basin Preject <br />can be viewed as a water management pregram fer the C1esed Basin sump area. <br /> <br />One ceuld argue that the valley has as much "chico. brush" as it needs and that <br />water is mere valuable than chico.. If this were the case, it weuld be legical <br />to. salvage all the water new being used by the brush in the preject area. Even <br />if this were desirable, it is net physically pessib1e to. salvage all the water <br />and kill all shrubs. <br /> <br />Seme individuals have suggested that eperatien ef the preject will result in <br />a vast extensien ef the Great Sand Dunes. In fact, the preject will, to. an <br />extent, ceunteract the envirenmental damage ef 100 years ef evergrazing and <br />diversien ef salt-laden irrigatien runeff into. the Clesed Basin. Lewering <br />the water table and decreasing the ameunt ef salt in the seil will eventually <br />create an envirenment cleser to. what was there 100 years age, <br />