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J~ ,dJ ~t; Se--r'--e~ "Ie':< -</9'1 /1 if Endangered fish plan may imp~ril Redlands Co., junior w-ater rights c. Patrick Cleary Dally Senhnel Preserving habitat for endan. gered fish while maintaining irri. gation nows conceivably could cost Redlands Water & Power Co, more than $700,000 a year during dry years, water officials say, Other water companies that have diversion dams on the Gunni- son and Colorado rivers also face increased costs and, potentially, less water as the federal govern. mentlooks to find enough water to protect the Colorado squawfish, razorback sucker, humpback ehub and the bony tail chub, federal and state officials told some 300 peo- ple at Mesa State College on Toesday, The turnout was much larger than expected, and the meeting had 10 be moved from a small meeting room at the college slu. denl center to Liff Audilorium, Dave Buchanan/Dally Sentinel Endangered fish, such as this Colorado squawfish, will benefit from a fish ladder around the Redlands roller dam but will require Redlands Co, to sacrifice up to 16,600 acre. feet of water per year. "You are not being singled out," U S, Bureau of Reclamation plan- ner Brent Uilenberg told the crowd, most of whom came to objecl 10 any federal intervention in the operation of the irrigation-water company. The Colorado Water Conserva- lion Board is Irying 10 write an interim contract so the tost of r~placing lost natural streamtlow with fcdcc"ll}' owned water . behind dams could be spread among the users. Whatever the government was discussing Tuesday, though, did not sit well wilh members of the audience, most of whom identified themselves as residents of the Redlands, The public meeting, one of three conducted in the past lwo weeks, explained lhe proposal to deliver water from Ihe Wayne N, Aspinall unit west of Gunnison 10 protect the endangered fish under the Endangered Species Act "We all care about lhe fish," said Redlands properly oWn~r Ruthann Gunderson, "We just don't know lhe impacts, I don't trust the government." Gunderson said Ihat while her fields tould hecome brown and dry from lack of waleI', the govern- menL focus appe<Jrs to be on nsh See Fisb, page SA .