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<br />,~ <br /> <br />(Jl <br />:..:l <br />~ <br /> <br />;.a... .au."",... <br /> <br />~s on th~ table: thf' draining of tf'ser_ <br />Its, the ('onn(>{'ting of national parh <br />d wildf'roess an'as so that SPf'CJt:'s may <br />we among Iht'm. tht' crt><l!ion of land <br />J~ls to pror.ect undeveloped fanch lands <br />Id th(' Tt';nlroduClion of f'xtinguished <br /><>C'i(>s intolh('irforrnprhabilats, <br />TIll' {act that environmentalists have <br />Ie field to thf'rnselvf's carriE's opportuni_ <br />land~rjJ. <br />\\lhen dt'vl'lopm('nt interests dominatl'd <br />he T('gion after World War n, they disre- <br />{ardt'd aU values hut thf'ir own, and <br />,hen'by set the stage for th(' reaclion that <br />i~J (Olh(>en\'jronmenlal ('ra. <br />H('OVironmpntali.'ltsaretoavOidasim_ <br />Bar mislakl', th(>y must r('Spec! every_ <br />one's values. By doing so, they will not <br />only impro\'(. thl:' W('sl ('coJogicalJy, hut <br />will give Iht' region SOmething it desper_ <br />ately nE'f'ds: grl'atl'r ability to govern <br />it!l(>lf. <br />Ell MIl'~loO 's pub"~hfrr 01 HlrJh Count')' New.. a <br />IIllrlOl1a1 l.l,weekly. PUbliShed III P800111. Ih8lCOve,s <br />,Western etlvl'Ol1l?1eflllll BOd Olllur81 relO<.lrce is. <br />.ue., <br /> <br />.J.(lver WUJ conquer dam <br /> <br />ERODE from Page 1G <br />who Want (0 drain fht> water h('ld baC'k <br />by the darn and people who Use this <br />same Lake Powell for rt'{'r('afion and <br />deetridt),. <br />In this fight, humans are thinking in <br />the short time (rames by which they <br />measuretheirlivesandch'i!izations_ <br />not thf' millions of years that tht>rivf'r's <br />history has unfoldi'd. <br />Peopll' who doubt the long.term r",. <br />suit need only look at the miJe.det'p <br />gorge that geological forces sculpted <br />just downstr('am of Glen Canyon, <br />For Glen Canyon Dam, the most <br />prohable long.term sC'enario is that the <br />river wilj eat away at the natural slone- <br />walls fhat hold lhe man-made structure <br />in place, geologists predict. Watt'r will <br />shoot around thf'concrete barri('r, tem. <br />porarHy leaVing it as a useless if in. <br />triguing monument to human hubris. <br />True, modern engineers know how to <br /> <br />dred,ll'e silt from man-made resf'rvoirs, <br />and they've designed spilJways to COn- <br />trol the riVer's forcf'. So for a time Glen <br />Canyon Dam might escape the fate that <br />greeted thf' obstacles nature OCcasion. <br />ally has CTeated. <br />As long as Lake POwell just sits <br />there, as long as the riVer isn't flOWing <br />over, under or around the dam, the <br />man-marJe structure isn't in danger, ge- <br />olo~ists s&'m tu agree. <br />But the Grand Canyon's silent rocks <br />and roaring ri\Jpr argue against Ihis <br />pquilihrium ('nt/uring for long. <br />In the early 19BOs, heavy snow runoff <br />triggered spring and summer flOOds <br />throughout the Colorado Hiver basin. <br />Lake Powell was so fuJ! that the <br />dam's managers had to let Water pour <br />out of the stru('ture. Within wt'('ks_ <br />just wt't'b - thf' river had chewf'd at <br />the stolle Walls holding the dam in <br />place, gnawing ol)('n holes the Sile of <br />bUildings. It took engineers years to rl'- <br />pair the damage. <br /> <br />Moreover, thf' riVer eVen tOday is <br />dumping silt into the rpservoir. De. <br />pf'nding on whose estimates art' used, <br />silt will tUrn Lake Powell into a vast <br />mud flat in 400 years at tb(' earliest, <br />700 Jean; at tbe most. Once Ihat hap_ <br />pens, the riw'r likt'ly will start to flow <br />over tbe dam. <br />The dam is made of concrpte, and <br />COncrete is madf' with limestone, and <br />downstream the Grand Canyon's walls <br />show wher(' the rh'{'f ball sawed <br />through Iimf'stonf' layers hundreds of <br />f('('lthick. <br />Anyone who doubts Ihf' POwer of this <br />suppo.~edly tame river should stand at <br />the Grand Canyon',!; brink and listen 10 <br />thr great stream roar. Yes, a mile <br />abow' the canvon's floor, it's still possi. <br />blf' to hear the Colorado thunder _ <br />which giv('s pause to anyone who <br />knows SOmt'lhing about riVers. <br />Perlefope PUrdy Is IllTl!tn'!lJer 01 The Dell""'r <br />POSledjlOfiar board <br />