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<br />'INTERIOR ~reta'! Man.. .ny Lujan, In ":",,'~;:':;jf;':;''''''''' 'V..), ;': It bad the unanl-!, ,qult~ candidly for a seasoned Western ':.'
<br />an exclusive mteTVlew WIth The Den- \. ,0., .' ,.,,,, '.' " ;:,.,' mous support of all, politician, look the controversy out of its .'
<br />, .' ver Post's Kit Mlniciier. has elevated """I'j~ ", .....'\ "1 \ the Colorado con-; Colorado eorner by saying that the whole
<br />the case of the Colorado squa'l"fish to a'~ :L: " ~l~; gress!C/nal delega-, Endangered Species Act is too tough, On'
<br />Cabinet-level debate. Both the Bush ado' ~C.', . ;~plon, even' Pat a field trip to Mesa Verde Thursday,'Lu-'
<br />ministration and Colorado Senate' cand,i~ :'.!' '::~. ' '1\},Schroeder, who has jan e.xpounded on the squawfish problem.
<br />,dates face enviromnentaI indigestion..' ">",f" .,t1l1fi. never met a water, He stirred our fish in 'with the 'spotted
<br />. If you haven't had squawfish at the cen-';~~j, project sbe really: owls that are holding up logging in, the
<br />ter of your att!9'tlon, 27 of a rare and en- ,., ';; < . .,\ i liked. The Indians Northwest and. the red squirrels that are
<br />dangered SpecIes paddle in the watershed' .:" .i;, ,,;; " l, .j,,,i'lllu had agreecl}o co- delaying b~l1d1Dg,Pf,aDJ'P-PC/rtant ,tele-
<br />of the proposed Animas-La Plata water'" BI ,,' :;\',_'" IRd' ,operate, in an act scope in Arizona. "r'"'' '.
<br />storageproj~tlnsoutbwesternCoIorado.I'''', U1 ,'i,l',' LWI'';',of real statesman- . Lujan said the whole Endangered Spe-
<br />The U.S. FISh and Wildlife Service told ','HORNBY 7", ".: ship. Colorado ,and cles Act Is "too tough" and ought to be.
<br />Lujan in a draft report last week that the"; ., , "New Mexico, Lu-, revisited by Congress. In his thinking, the",
<br />project should not be built under the fed- jan's home base, pungled up state mnney act must be reviSed to permit economic,.,
<br />" . eraI Endangered Species Act. ' ,. Ii' ... 'to pay' for part of the project to satisfy a: as well, as biological criteria to be consid- ..
<br />, Lujan, a longtime congressman from ' , Reagan request that future ,Wl\ler,projects ,ered in jl:'dging .e,ndanl!ered:species pres: .
<br />theprojectregion,toIdthemthisparticu-l'; not be wholly federal.' " ., '"0""": matioD." ,.,1, y" 'co., .,.,
<br />!ar decision was unacceptable and to look ".' '." !.. East and West Slope buslneBB and pout- The EnviromnentalProtection Agency',
<br />for, aIternativeways 'of preserving the '.' ' IcaI interests worked together in unantici- will square off agaInst lJ!terior, potential "
<br />fisb.', ! -, 'pated unity over many, many years of senators 'will have to be counted on the.i
<br />Animas-La Plata, unlike many other, difficult politics. They faced opposition to whole concept of ecological biodiversity, .
<br />proposed water projects, fuIfll1s U,S. trea- . Anlmas,-La Plata from a minority of local and species preservation, not just a few,:
<br />ty rights by bringing water to the Ute ID- ' critics,' from CalUornla congressmen squawfish. And the hitherto-patient Ute,.
<br />dians, who otherwise wlII sue and quite seeking to block any attempt to hold back Indians wlU have to put on the legal war-"'
<br />probably win tremendous federal mone- Colorado River water In the mountains paint that has been effective In recent -'
<br />tary damages. The project also will bring:' and, lukewarmly,: from environmental years. Our state political year is going to
<br />jobs and water to a drought-ridden area. . , groups. But finally Animas-La Plata pre- be wanner than expected. Hank Brown, ;:
<br />For these reasons" and because, Its envi- 'vailed, until this last~mInute squawfish Carlos Lucero and Josie Heath are ahout
<br />ronmentallmpacts admittedly .were mi.'" stew boiled over. . ': ,'," '," ' to learn more about squawlish and Indian
<br />nor, the Animas-La Plata project jwnped, .. .'" There were substantial prospects that lawyers than '~ee,llled,,~e~ary just.a
<br />a number of high hurdles on its way to fi- . this problem could be solved on a BlDgle- week, ago;" '.. '," . ': .;( : .. " ' ,; ,.,
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<br />oal acceptance by "?th Con~i ~ the"" species basIB. There no doubt are ot!ter Bin Hornby, whose column .'pears Tu.sday, Thurs- ;
<br />Ite!1g~(B~ a<jmlnistrations..,~_"", "",,:. ways,Y', s.a,re" the, squawflsh ButLuJIl,D. .daY,8IJd S~ndaY.,!I s.nlor lldl!orOf The. Denver Posl,
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