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<br />!':'J <br />... L":) <br /> <br />STATEMENT - COLORAD~ATER CONSERVATION BOARD .-iage 3 <br />March 21, 1973, . . <br /> <br />- <br /> <br />FORESIGHT," ORGANIZED A STUDY OF THE AREA. A COPY OF THE RESULTS OF <br />THIS STUDY, ENTITLED "ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMS FOR <br />THE SAN MIGUEL BASIN," IS IN YOUR HANDS. WE HAVE LEARNED FROM THIS <br />VERY DETAILED STUDY OF OUR AREA THAT OUR FUTURE IS RATHER BLEAK UNLESS <br />WE CHANGE OUR SITUATION FROM A DEPENDENCE ON THE HISTORICAL "BOOM AND <br />BUST" CYCLES OF MINING AND A WATER-SHORT AGRICULTURE TO A BROADER- <br />BASED ECONOMY. WE HAVE STUDIED ALL THE ALTERNATIVES--RECREATION, <br />AGRICULTURE, INDUSTRY AND MINERALS--AND WE MUST DEVELOP ALL OF THESE. <br />THE SAN MIGUEL PROJECT IS THE ~OST IMPORTANT TOOL THAT WE NEED TO GET <br />THIS JOB DONE. WITHOUT THE SAN MIGUEL PROJECT, WE WILL CONTINUF TO <br />BE AT THE MERCY OF THE "BOOM AND- BUST" OF MINING A~D SUBJECTED TO <br />THE HIGHLY SPECULATIVE NATURE OF A RECREATION ECONOMY. HOWEVER, WITH <br />THE SAN MIGUEL PROJECT W~ CAN STABILIZE OUR ECONOMY AND PROVIDE FOR A <br />STEADY, HEALTHY GROWTH FOR THE FUTURE. <br /> <br />WE CANNOT OVEREMPHASIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FACT THAT THE FIVE <br />COLORADO PROJECTS ARE TO BE CONSTRUCTED CONCURRENTLY WITH THE CENTRAL <br />ARIZONA PROJECT. GEiHLUEr~, THIS IS THE LAW OF THE LAND, AND, UNTIL <br />Sot1EOi~E CHANGES IT, IT I; THE STROI~GEST ARGUMENT THAT THE STATE OF <br />COLORADO HAS FOR DEVELOPING ITS SHARE OF THE COLORADO RIVER. WE <br />STRONGLY DISAGREE WiTH ANYONE WHO TRIES TO "SOFT PEDAL" OR DE-EMPHA- <br />SIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONCURRENT PROVISION OF SECTION 501 b OF <br />THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN PROJECT ACT (PUBLIC LAW 9-537, SEPT. 30, 1968). <br /> <br />THE QUESTION THAT I ASK EACH AND EVERY MEMBER OF THE COLORADO <br />WATER CONSERVATION BOARD IS "WHAT HAPPENS TO COLORADO'S SHARE OF THE <br />COLORADO RIVER IF WE DO NOT BUILD THE FIVE COLORADO PROJECTS?" TO US, <br />