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<br />Monday. June 17, ~
<br />
<br />~-
<br />
<br />Bureau
<br />shifts
<br />from dam
<br />building
<br />
<br />DAMS lrom Page 1 B
<br />project," K~)., said.. "In ~me ways
<br />!.hat might ha\'~ even ~n true-."
<br />The bureau. be adtwwlt'dges,
<br />had lo ('h~, It is down from ,.
<br />staU of %0,000 ill its heyday 10
<br />5,900 employees ami a buqet of
<br />S851.7 million.
<br />Chris Paulson, a former Colora-
<br />do state reprf"Bell...ti~ and advo-
<br />cate of DeW ..Let projl'lCts. argues
<br />thai Uncle Sam doesn't neC'd 10
<br />subsidize dalJ1l anymore, Agricul-
<br />tu.re is no 100l('r tM prinK' ...ter
<br />CWItomer, Residents are, And local
<br />KoveromeotJ can .Hord to build
<br />dams and chatgl" tbe1r cuslomel"'J
<br />accordingly.
<br />"The crop we're groW'1nI in Colo-
<br />rado is people," bt yid_
<br />Cllifoml. may be the bureau's
<br />be5I. fut.ure euslon'lfor - and a hat-
<br />bingt"r of iu new role Officials
<br />there are undf'r pressure to redU<'e
<br />their use of Colorado River water,
<br />and they're!le('king mol"f' than $100
<br />miUIoo from lhe oort'all to study
<br />future watt't projects. Instead of
<br />pew dams. lMy propow a major
<br />upan.'i.ion of Lake Shasta, the bu.
<br />reau's big Nortbt'rn C4aUrorni. res.
<br />ervnir, Sudl an expami.on. ftmded
<br />by a combination of state and fed-
<br />eral money, could be the ..~ of
<br />the future, W.tIOn said,
<br />While the bureau's future is
<br />cbanging. there is DO doubt it w.u
<br />lbt> premiere dam builder last cen.
<br />tury in Uw I; Western states whe~
<br />It ~rlltes. Its projecl1 - Hoover,
<br />Grand CoUIH acd Glo>n Callyon
<br />dams, among olben - are land-
<br />marks that many beliMe the coun-
<br />try can IIfver duplicate,
<br />Tbey 'll'ere built in "Ule ,lory
<br />~ars,;' Keys wistfully I'<<'alla_
<br />"I 1000ed it, eYery bit of it, ~ said
<br />Ke)'S., .ho joined the bun>au In
<br />1984 as a hydraulic engjDeE'r out of
<br />Georgia Tech, lie itayed 3-1 yeln,
<br />retired in 1911 and "as ('.ailed out
<br />01 rH.Iremellt by President 885b
<br />Durin( the boom days. a frt'E'-
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<br />AMoeliIlIidPress"'pI\OIO
<br />Water shoots from a pjpe at the ba. 01 Glen Can. once was the premier dam builder in the 17 West.
<br />yon Dam. Although the Bureau of Reclamation em states where it operates. its future is changing,
<br />
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<br />-' ...A.t,"
<br />--.!'t:f'e'"j'J.}.!'
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<br />
<br />" think the next 100 years are going to set
<br />the Bureau of Reclamation in an entirely
<br />different direction.'
<br />Dan Beard former chief of the U.S. Bureau at Reclamation
<br />
<br />spendillg Congress 8et!mf'd willing
<br />to build. dam in npl')' bie canyoo
<br />in ~ Wesl. Why oot? Bureau ofl'l-
<br />dab say lberP were vtrtua.lly no
<br />environmental or endarklered.s~
<br />dl'S Ian to slow con&truction 1=:".
<br />eryoM in tM West wanted watf'1',
<br />and lbe big pmjeclS provided work,
<br />a major plus durin& lhe Depres--
<br />.....
<br />0..01 building wu viewed _ n.
<br />titing, even patriotk
<br />Vern Jelley of Monlf'O!l". who
<br />~t 20 yean with the burNU as a
<br />photo,rapber" recall~ his excite-
<br />ment on seeing the fint MUttlp
<br />d1td1 01 water" flow into what bad
<br />bet'II the dw.stI fields o{ Western
<br />Colorado's Uncompah&:re \'alley,
<br />JeUey's rami!,. b.ad fled the dust
<br />bowl LD soulhwl'Sler1l South [)aka-
<br />...
<br />"It ~.lIy Impressed o1p that
<br />bad on our ranch, that water
<br />
<br />would have me-anl so much." be
<br />aaid,
<br />The clIangel thE' dams made
<br />wt!te M dramatie ')'ou !lOtt o{ blfd
<br />a ~liliouI t~lina for it," Jelley
<br />said Even at 71, M (eels pride
<br />wlwn be rides by one of tbe proj-
<br />",,,-
<br />The danu:, most of them de-
<br />liined in the bureau's old We'll.
<br />[)envpr offices, made JUSible Ute
<br />dfoVf'lopment o{ tn&I1y Western cit.
<br />ies. Ke-y said
<br />But on June ~, 1918, Ole bureau
<br />mt-l catutr'OpbP Its Teton Oam in
<br />southern Idabo failE"d, !IeOdtng 110
<br />billlon gallons of wam down tJw
<br />l:pper Snak" River Valley. killing
<br />11 people and ca~ mil!kJos of
<br />dollan in damaie_
<br />'It (".used a lot of outside folu
<br />to take second loots at what ...'e
<br />were &loing and how .e .ere doin,
<br />it:' Ke)'s said. "Jt brought scrutiny
<br />
<br />to our Protrams Ijke we had Df'V('f
<br />>.een before,"
<br />
<br />Congress creah,>d a new safety
<br />program ADd {oreed the bureau to
<br />rPbuild some of ilS projects from
<br />the ground up. That work is ongo-
<br />ing and new COO5lructlon virtually
<br />-
<br />
<br />Today ''we're waler managers."
<br />Keys said. ''How can we lit lod.
<br />ety"s ~ beat with that water
<br />managt'menl? Tbat's what .e're
<br />It}'1ng '" do."
<br />
<br />Beard predicts a busy future for
<br />the agt'llC)', albell outsidt> ne. dam
<br />COMltUeUolI "I think the next 100
<br />~i1n are goin, to set tJw Ikafoau
<br />ol Rel:lamatioo in an entirely dif.
<br />ferent din!ction." he said, .
<br />
<br />He wants U. agt"DrY to sen'e as
<br />an "'honesl broker:' belpinI reo
<br />Dve .ater diapuk's and studyin&
<br />new N!C)'dint; methods,
<br />
<br />"There are selll t!llw in l.br West
<br />wOO 1~ly (tine for the old days
<br />to rt'tur'II. to bwld dams for Iniga.
<br />tioo ~ ..aiD," Beard said. "I've
<br />always felt ULal's w~t UIe buuJ.
<br />wbip manufacturers u~ to say
<br />\l'MO the aulomobilt's arrived
<br />Tbo:.<le dayJ are 10Ill' and will DtWtt
<br />come .."in n
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