WSP04893

• File Number: 8143
• Description: John Martin Reservoir
• State: CO
• Basin: Arkansas
• Water Division: 2
• Date: 9/27/1963
• Title: News Articles/Press Releases -- September 27 1963 - April 4 1985
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: News Article/Press Release

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,some of those boulders un-
doubtedly weigh several tons
and it doesn't look POssible
that they could be pushed down
stream as they were. .
John Martin Reservoir is
a beautiful sight now with
over 371,000 acre feet of wa-
ter in it, and if Frank Evans'
bill could be passed in the
house, H7162, there might be
an, excellent chance to es-
tablish a permanent pool, as
over 15,000 acres of the Game
and Fish Departments water
washed out of Setchfield Lake
south of Las Animas.
They should at least be able
to claim the water as their
own. That has been one of
the prOblems in setting up
a permanent pool _ where
the water was coming from.
The water' from that lake
should furnish almost enough,
water to keep up the evap-
oration on a 10,000 foot pool.
outside the damage that the
floods did coming in below
John Martin Dam, the water
stored there should make the
farmers happy for some time
to come, prOviding they take
care of it.
Unfortunately we do not be-
lieve that will be the case as
we saw a good example of
wasted irrigation water last
Sunday. Driving down a cer-
tain road, we noticed a gOod
sized stream coming down.
through a furrow in a field
and running down the barrow
pit and then to a, drainage
dUch leading to the river,
and the man who was sup-
posed to be looking after the
water was nowhere in sight.
Now that the John Martin
Reservoir has oyer 16,000
acre feet of water above lhe
conservation, or iri'igat on

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on,
We have a bulletin at hand
stating that efforts are being
made to build a dam' in the
Flat Tops Wilderness, areas
In Southwest Colorado by the
Rocky Mountain Power Com~
pany. This area was estab-
lished in 1932 and consists'
of 117,BOO acres and is being
considered for the National
Wilderness System. There are
twelve units in Colorado that
are under consideration for
the Wilderness plan.
Two big dams are being con-
sidered for the Grand Canyon
even when there is not enough
water now to fill downstream
committments.
1'1 give my pledge as an Amer-
ican to faithfully delend from
waste the natural resources of
my Country, its soils, mineralsl
forests, water and wildlife.'
That 1s the pledge adopted by
the Colorado and NatiOnal Wnd~
life Federation~ There are two
items that this pledge mentions
that do-not apply toourvlcinity,
that is forests and minerals,
but soils, waters and wildlife
do have definite meaning in the
Tri-state area~
What a waste of waters and
soils we had in our recent
floods - a great deal of which
could have been prevented by
dams on tributaries of the Ar~
kansas River below the John
Martin Dam, but even the
Soil Conservation Service has
been unable to get permission
from the Kansas-Colorado
Compact to build such dams,
and we wonder if even the U. S. I,!
Corps of Engineers will fare
any better after they spend a
lot of their time and the pUblic
money to recommend such
dams. ",,"
We are rather disappointed in
the verdict, of the Kansas-
Colorado _Cohtpact a few days
ago in deciding to remain neu-
tral on a permanent pool in the
John Martin Reservoir, es-
pecially as the flood control
pool was invaded by over 17,000
acre feet above the conservation
'or irrigators pool level. The
bad part of this matter is that
the Game and Fish Department
lost almost that niu'ch or more
water that 'legally belongs to
them as coming from Setchfield
Lake south of Las Animas and
they should be -able to retain
this water in the 10,000 acre
foot pool that they are asking
for even if the flood control
pool had not been invaded. We
cannot understand the attitude of
Robert Smhra of Wichita In
doubting the word of Felix
Sparks, Director of the state
Water Conse,rvation Board, as
well as that of the Corps of
Engineers that the flood con-
trol pOol had been invaded. It
just looks like some members
of the Compact do not want
to see the public attitude on a
permanent pool in John Martin
Reservoir in which very close
to 4.8 million acre feet of water
has been impounded at pUblic
expense since it was completed
in 1948. Thj:l very fact that it
has taken thousands of acre feet
of water to soak up the dried
up lake bed as has happened
so often in the past should give
them something to think about.
The Sears-Roebuck Founda-
tion, in cooperation with the
Colorado and National Wildlife
Federation has announced a

Conservation AWards program;
in which each state winner will
be given a grant of $1,000,
and an expense paid trip to
Washington, D. C. next year to
compete for the National Award
of $2,000. IndividUals or groups
may be entered but only <me
member of a group will have
his expenses paid to the Na~
ttonal A wards meeting.
State categories will I>easfol-
lows: State Conservatlonist~
Wildlife Conservationist, SoU
Conservationist, Water Con-
servationist, Forest Conserva- "
tionist, Conservation Educator.
Youth Conservationist, Legis-
lative Conservationist, Conser~.
vation Communications, Con-
servation Organization.
Watch your Lamar Trt-state
Daily News for further details
on 1:l11s subject, and inquiries
may be sent to lIColorado Wild-
life Federation, P.O.Box22193
Denver, Coloraf1o a0222."Duck
p,unters wiShing to take advan~ "
!age of the teal season in Sep~
tember must have apermitfrom
the-state Game, Fish and Parks '
Department, plus a Duck stamp
and reA"ular huntiult license: the
permits cost nothing and can
t>e secured at any sporting
goods' store.