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<br />. <br /> <br />Fish <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />c2~~ <br /> <br />From Page ODe <br /> <br />tbat federal officials aren't com- <br />pletely certain would use higher <br />fibws and fisb ladders to return to <br />wbat are considered former <br />breeding grounds, <br />During the next nine months, <br />tbe Bureau of Reclamation will try <br />to determine the effects of diver- <br />sions on fisb populations, Recla- <br />mation officials bave decided to <br />build an estimated $1.5 million <br />fisb ladder around the Redlands <br />roller dam to open more tban 50 <br />miles of Gunnison River habitat to <br />tbe endangered fisb. Uilenberg said, <br />Tbe laqder would require a <br />water flow of lOO cubic feet per <br />second. and there must be 300 cfs <br />below tbe roller dam to pro,'ide <br />sufficient babitat for the fisb. <br />Uilenberg said, <br />, lftbose flows were to come Crom <br />the Redlands Co" the power and <br />irrigation agency would bave to <br />sacrifice up to l6,8oo acre-Ceet oC <br />water per year. Uilenberg said, <br />Redlands Co, has tbe second- <br />oldest rigbt on the river. so its call <br />Cor that sbortage would prevent <br />upstream users from utilizing jun- <br />ior rights, Redlands also could <br />pure base - at $43 an acre-foot - <br />tbe water from tbe Aspinall unit, <br />Uilenberg said, which would cost <br />more than $700.000, <br />Reduced water fiows also could <br />affect the ability of Redlands Co, <br /> <br />to make money througb power gen- <br />eration, which Redlands omcials , <br />say pays halC oC tbeir operational <br />costs, ." - ., I <br />The bureau sai'd tner.; is about, ' <br />152,000 acre-feet of available Ced- ' <br />erally owned water in the Aspinall ' <br />unit, wbicb could be sold to offset,. <br />requirements for in-stream tlows, <br />"We're trying a different, <br />approach," said Peter Evans, an <br />aUorney with the Colorado', <br />Department of Natural Resources, <br />whicb is working on the fish- <br />recovery program, Rather than <br />pouring money into lawyers' pock- <br />ets, be said. this gives Coloradans <br />a better deal. <br />Redlands Co, President Louis <br />Brach said the U,S, Fish and Wild- <br />life Service has repeatedly lied to <br />Redlands omcials and has devel- <br />oped a relationsbip with the com. <br />pany that is defined by a long bis- <br />tory oC broken promises and <br />mistrust. <br />"We don't oppose the fisb lad- <br />der." Brach said, "We just don.t <br />know iC thel' will take us to court <br />to fight our ;".ter right." ' <br />The Bureau of Reclamation is <br />collecting comments on its <br />proposal. <br />"The Endangered Species Act <br />will fit into every aspect of the way <br />we live and do business in this <br />section of the country," Evans <br />said, <br /> <br /><f <br />, '-d,{i <br />,( ('_-r..;)' <br />, ;';~iJl V"O, , <br />/, J' ",io1ifBl.. <br />a; V"I <br />, Of {I. fA I 'eC <br />c: j"'e11...-- I..L <br />\))tll~ <br />I/f- ,. L- <br />