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~ , Page 3 WRW washn x x x rivers AR WESTERN WATER PROGRAM WRW asked Pontius about AR's initiative relative to the West. Be- cause of the perennial shortage of water in the 17 Western reclamation states, river systems in the West are even more critical to the survival of man and our animal, aquatic and plant neighbors than elsewhere, he stressed. "Like man, the overwhelming percentage of fish and wildlife, especially endangered species, live close to rivers," Pontius told WRW. That means man and other types of ,life are even more competitive for space along river systems in the West than elsewhere, he observed. The AR Western water program is Pontius' responsibility. He has the help of three field staffers in the Northwest and Southwest. He relishes the assignment, which includes reform of the Central Arizona project (CAP) and of the Bureau of Reclamation (Bu/Rec), virgin River protection, and Rio Grande restoration. But he says it is tough to raise $$$ for this type of effort, meaning few contributors are willing to pony up dough for such prosaic issues as CAP and Bu/Rec reforms. But protection of the Virgin River is a fascinating subject, as the Virgin is one of the last of the free-flowing rivers in the West and one of the few rivers flowing interstate still without a compact, or a determination as to how its waters are to be apportioned among utah, Arizona and Nevada thru which the Virgin flows before entering the Colorado River at Lake Mead in Nevada. AR says "competition is intense" over the waters of the Virgin, "especially between Las Vegas," one of the fastest growing areas of the country, "and Southern utah." Gail Peters, AR Southwestern representative, told WRW on Jan. 10 that "St. George, utah, is the fastest growing city in the West, and utah wants to dam the virgin" to assure water for St. George and to reserve as much water as possible for utah, one of the fastest growing states in the country. AR appears to be leaning toward Las Vegas in this interstate water dispute primarily over the utah dam issue. WRW asked Ms. Peters whether she had raised the question of unbridled growth at meetings on the Virgin River. Yes, she replied, but she had been given short shift; local representatives questioned her credibility "because I have lived only 15 years in the West." A native of Michigan, Ms. Peters is a self- confessed "desert rat" who has lived in Arizona since 1978. Control of growth is a local responsibility, and the subject isn't even on the radar screen in her part of the world, Ms. Peters told WRW. Cleaning up the Rio Grande will be a huge undertaking. River clean-up is linked to the new NAFTA trade treaty for North America, both Pontius and Ms. Peters observed. This clean-up package is in the pro- cess of being put together. When it is ready to go, it will be top priority with AR, which listed the Rio Grande as "the most endangered river in North America for 1993." Relative to CAP, AR is concentrating on the conservation aspects of this $4.7 billion Bu/Rec project and is highly cr i tical of both the Bu/Rec and the state of Arizona for their failure to pay much, if any, attention to fish and wildlife enhancement. In his testimony on CAP on Dec. 10 at the Congressional oversight hearing, Pontius stated, "One of the (CAP) project purposes set forth" in the 1968 Colorado River Basin Project Act (P.L. 90-537) authorizing CAP was" I the conservation and development of fish and wildlife purposes.' Yet 25 years and $4 billion later, not a dime has been spent to carry out that express purpose...No thought was given and no money directed to alleviating and redressing the impacts of the state I s depleted water resources," he stated. (more)