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003205 Page 2 Memo to Executive Subcommittee, PSIAC April 13, 1981 wildl ife lIabitat Values - Bob Ohmart Dr. Bob Ohmart, Associate Direc tor, Center for Environmental Studies, Arizona State University, reported on a WPRS-funded project on wildlife habitat. The project was prompted by a desire on the part of the U.S. Fish and wildlife Service, the California Department of Fish and Game, and the Arizona Game and Fish Department to modify habitat so as to decrease water consumption but increase the habitat value. Over five years were spent in evaluating the quality of existing habitat at various seasons of the year. It was concluded that the number of species of birds represented was the best indicator of the health of the habitat. In several test areas along the Colorado River Mr. Ohmart's research group obtained astonishing results in revegetating with honey mesquite, willow, and cottonwood. Preliminary indications are that habitat consisting of these species has a foilage volume 80 percent that of saltcedar, with a wildlife value five times as great. Because water consumption is directly related to foilage volume it is quite likely that water savings by a type conversion of saltcedar to honey mesquite / willow / cottolll,ood would be nothing short of phenomenal. (Dr. Lloyd Gay at the University of Arizona has a two-year contract for a study on this evapotranspiration.) CWIC Request for Contact Persons In a letter dated January 22, 1981, Dr. Doug James on behalf of the Consortium of Water Institutes and Centers requested that PSIAC designate a contact person for each of six proposed research projects. The proposals for these projects were developed by each Center with funding from OWRT. (If the budget cuts proposed by the Reagan administration are adopted; the Office of Water Research and Technology would be eliminated, and these projects would quite possibly not receive funding.) The following individuals "volunteered" to be contact persons. Program I Legal/Institutional sapects of Allocation of New and Newly Quantified Water Supplies and Reallocations of Existing Supplies - Vern Valantine Program 2 Conjunctive lUal1i-lgement of Surface \..Jaters ana Ground \vaters - Carl Singerland Program 3 Contamination of Ground Waters and Surface Waters by Heavy Metals, organics, and Other Toxic materials - Bill McDonald Program 4 Processes of Salt Pickup in Surface Waters and Movement through Channels and Reservoirs, for Use in More Effective Water Management and Methods of Salinity Control - Bob McCullough B-7 j',,-,j