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<br />'holOby Duane Howell
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<br />
<br />Mountain
<br />;J At Stake
<br />'1
<br />
<br />By DOUGLAS GILL
<br />Special to Tbe Denver Post
<br />
<br />The future of a prime recreation area
<br />less tban a two-hour drive from Denver is
<br />at stake in dispute between the U,S,
<br />:Forest 'Service and the Denver Water
<br />Department.
<br />The Water Department has plans to ex-
<br />pand one of its . transmountain diversion
<br />systems in tbe Williams Fork River
<br />Valley, If the plans are carried out, about
<br />one-half of an increasingly popular reerea.
<br />tlon area either will be destroyed outright
<br />Dr will lose its present pristine wilderness
<br />character, Forest Service officials say.
<br />. Because of that, the Forest Service,
<br />normally not at odds with the Water
<br />Department, is taking a stand,
<br />
<br />. "THE SITUATION has all the potential
<br />to become another Foothills controversy
<br />wben the public and the interest groups
<br />become aware of what is happening,"
<br />.. said Bob Russell, a Routt National Forest
<br />'I' official who is involved in examining the
<br />city's plans to build diversion conduits,
<br />roads or possibly a reservoir in the South
<br />Fork of the river.
<br />"No other West Slope river in the cen~
<br />tral Front Range flows freely througb a
<br />pristine alpine mountain corridor of such
<br />high scenic quality," a 1975 report
<br />prepared for the Water Department by
<br />DenVer consulting firm CH2M Hill said in
<br />describing the 12.mile.long valley north.
<br />cast of Dillon.
<br />The department's diverSion plans in.
<br />volve two separate South Fork areas: the
<br />upper seven miles of the drainage in a
<br />wide, glaciated valley and the lower five
<br />miles which contain a dense rain forest-
<br />like area of 100,year-old trees,
<br />
<br />THE DEPARTMENT has two plans at
<br />present. One calls for building conduits
<br />and a tunnel in the high country (with an
<br />access road running the length of the
<br />valley) to allow water to flow by gravity
<br />into its existing diversion system high in
<br />the neighboring North Fork valley.
<br />The other would involve building a res,
<br />ervoir below where the tall trees grow.
<br />From there, water would be pumped up
<br />the North Fork to the existing diversions,
<br />With the rele"se this month of the
<br />Forest Service master plan for the area,
<br />events h"ve been set in motion that could
<br />culminate in Forest Service approval of
<br />either of the plans "S early "s next July.
<br />Either way, one of the South Fork areas
<br />would lose its pristine quality.
<br />"The high country here is unique," said
<br />Russell, "because it's wide and offers
<br />grand views everywhere. The Eagles
<br />Nest w!lde~ness everybody's talked so
<br />much about on the other side of Route 9
<br />h~~ n!:lrrnUl"''' ~nrl l",~c:: <::1'",ni,.. r1,'o;>ino:tC"<>""
<br />
<br />Recreation Ar~~ 1
<br />in Water Dispute 11
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<br />OW'"'' E"h"'~'W" ,~"",;~,,",
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<br />
<br />***THE DENVER POST
<br />
<br />Sun., July 23, 1978 35 SECTION D
<br />
<br />"I don't know anywhere else in Colora-
<br />do where trees grow any bigger," Russell
<br />said,
<br />
<br />THE GROVE, 90 miles from Denver
<br />via 1-70, Colorado 9 and the newly
<br />improved Ute Pass road already is popu-
<br />lar with fishermen and campers at south
<br />Fork campground. By starting a hike in
<br />
<br />I
<br />the grove (the aCC<!ss point to lbe soulh.
<br />Fork) and walking the length of the
<br />valley "you pass throUgh every ecosys-'
<br />tern there is in mOlll1tain Colorado," Rus--l
<br />sell said, ' I
<br />"Since the Ute Pass road was improved
<br />by Amax (to allow access to its Hender-'
<br />Continued on poge 36. !
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