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urs ay. ugusl ;>1. 19. Page a The new politics of water , , (Continued from Page-l) we were descending. She spoke with the certaint). of one .....ho had seen it many times and lo\'ed what she saw. Chuck Wanner. head ol the Colorado Open Space Coun- cil Wilderness Committee and a man deep!)' concerned about the environmental eflects of the proposed Dolores Project, also questioned its benelit to the people of the dr)' lands we were passing through. Wanner wanted to KnOw .....ho .....ould actuall)' be helped by the project. He wondered whether the most Successlul farmers would not benefit most .....ith the small ones being left oul. Wanner .....as particularly concerned about the cost to small farmers of the sprinkler systems .....hich .....ould carr)' water to crops and of paying for the water itse1l. Reclama. tion projects such as the Dolores must pay for themselves over the long run. Power generation in other projects, irri- gation assessmlc'nts, municipal and industrial assessments are among the ways of making pa)'ment. The picnic spot was a beautiful wide spot in the can)'on floor cut off lrom the overcast sky by a roof of boxelder boughs. The Dolores itseU was bone dry. Here were the people of drylands. Hospitable, gracious and open. There were moments of uneasiness as sophi.stj. cated Sierra Clubbers struck up con\'ersation with men and women of the fields, The talk .....as of the drought. Ol the overcast sky that was overcast ever)' day in a cruel eHort to make the farmers be- lieve the rain.~ would come. They hadn't. Our hosts talked of the histor)' of the bean countf')'. Their fathers had come in the early part of the century to clear the land. Their fathers had been tbe first planners of the Do- lores Project. They knew .....hat water would do for the fertile plateau soils, Water. Water, Water. One man told of his pride in his lawn. of ho..... much labor and mone)' had gone into the lawn in June and July. In August the wat..r ran out and the lawn \Va~ brown and dying. People think we don't care here, he said. that that's why we don't have lawns and nice gardens. , .~ woman, weathered and shy, looked at the ground as she spoke of what the project would mean to her and her family. A lifetime she had dreamed. Her working life .....as almost gone. I asked her what she would do if the .....ater didn't come, Her anSwer was to silenU)' raise her twistl"d hands upward and drop them then to her side. The river bed is dry, If the project goes through there will at least be a stream flowing throughout the year to make fresh pools. In that isolated spot one thought of deer and cat coming to drink, of blue herons guarding their nests and rising to fl)" across the dying day, ol laughing birds and chattering squirrels come back. Of lile come back with the assurance of water. People talked to one another there. But as the tour moved on the questions and doubts descended like the sky itself. Someone will win this struggle and someone lose. It is not an easy thing to think of those who have waited so long for water being told the)" will never have it. It's .....orth working for to see that the)' will.