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, , ,'>' !,"~~~ WESTERN RESOURCES W2RAP~_u{f...",,;~,,~~:~ Series XXXII, No. ,~ Date: 1-13-94 . ~. 0' American Rivers env. lob.b:y._ spreads wings, gains infI' Glen Canyon dam draft EIS, p. 5 Washington, D.C.--A tiny group organized in Denver in March 1973 by 33 activists to preserve American rivers is blossoming into a high-pow- ered lobby here that is having an impact on all aspects of water policy. Many of us know American Rivers (AR) as the non-profit group back- ed by river runners and river lovers that sends out stunning photographs of wild and free-flowing American rivers that we put on our walls. But now AR has experts here and in the West who show up at all types of key water meetings and hearings. It is still the prime lobby for authorizing wild and scenic river segments thru federal legislation. But its agenda has broadened to include major hydropower policy reform, new types of flood mitigation and control, endangered species--anything that relates to rivers, their watersheds and ecosystems. Elizabeth Norcross, AR's director of legislation, says simply, "We have exploded!" AR riveted the attention of this Western Resources Wrap-up (WRW) editor at a seminar that the American Water Resources Association held here on Sept. 29 to discuss the Big Flood of 1993 that caused $15 bil- lion damage in the Missouri and Mississippi Basins. The speakers in- cluded high-level officials from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Federal Emergency Management Agency and a recent addition to the AR staff named Scott Faber, who spoke for environmental groups. Faber has the dynamism of youth. He spoke with author i ty on his subject. He candidly told his sophisticated audience of water experts that AR was not there to trash the Corps; that his father had worked for the Corps. AR is not looking for scapegoats; it is looking for long-range solutions to the 1993 Big Flood that devastated thousands of citizens in the mid- continent from the headwaters of this great river system near the U.S.- Canadian border to Missouri, Faber said. He gave out an AR backgrounder that stated, "The people of the Midwest need real choices, including relocation of both towns and homes, wetlands restoration and other non- structural solutions," in addition to the usual rebuilding of flood levees. Faber made a memorable impression. It is obvious AR is being heard from as the feds and states work out a new flood control strategy for the future. Later Faber told WRW about the plan of the residents of Grafton, Ill., a hamlet of 918, to relocate their town to higher ground, following repeated flooding because the community is on a flood plain. He said he hoped to help them relocate. When WRW asked Faber's boss Dale pontius, AR vice president for conservation, about this new AR staffer, Pontius replied that Faber was a quick learner; that Faber has had several years' experience as an environmental reporter for Gannett newspapers, had recently completed a fellowship in environmental jour- nalism at the University of Michigan, and had put himself thru a crash course on the Big Flood so that he could go toe to toe with experienced experts. Pontius explained, "We encourage our new staffers to go at their own pace." A gallop in Faber's case. I Thru Pontius, AR was the only water/environmental lobby here asked to testify at the Congressional oversight hearing on the Central Arizona Project (CAP) held in phoenix on Dec. 10. And Reclamation Commissioner Daniel P. Beard interrupted his news conference on Glen Canyon dam on Jan. 6 to introduce Pontius when the latter arrived a bit late. (more) f "-' f SC ;_-~".--- '\ ,'\ ,,- '..-J,--- ;:...-c , From:1Helene C. Monberg xth ST Southeast ashington, D.C., 20003 Area Code 202-546-1350-1 "'- .