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4-Montrose Daily Press-Thursday, May 11, 1978 Dallas will benefit fish, wildlife l JlllM!. _~l!:~;;_~ ;-~;, "ti 1.-"- ,,!-:; , i~r\~ w'; iJ d I" . . ~I ~ Fish and wildlife benefits from the Dallas Creek Pro- ject have been estimated by the Fish and Wildlife Service at an average of $ln,OOO an- nually because of an increase of6,OOOfishermandaysalong the Uncompahgre River and a reduction of auto-deer collisions along Highway 550. The fishery benefit is es- timated at $25,000 per year based on $4.50 per day with a $2,000 reduction for maintenanre of easements. The benefits from reducing deer-auto colli sians were bas- ed on prevention of JI collisions estimated tnDeCUT, which cost an average of $1,- '150 each, inclUding vehicle damage and loss of the animaL Lands will also be purchas- ed to mitigate losses of wildlife habitat duetoproject development. The Uncompahgre River provides a poor habitat for fish but some of its tributaries support moderate fish populations. The suitability of the river as a fishery is adversely affected by fairly heavy sedi- ment loads from the headwater reaches during high flow periods of early summer and by low flows and warm water temperabJres during the late summer. The fishery is also adverse- Iy af[eeted by mineral poilu. tion from the headwater area. Downstream from Ridgway, there is limited fishing in the river for brown and rainbow trout Most of the land 'along the river is in private ownership and conse- quently public access is limited. For fishery maintenance on the Uncompahgre River, minimum flows of75 second. feet from May 16 to Oct. 31 and 45 second.feet from Nov. ItoMayl5willbemaintained below the confluence of Cow Creek and the Uncompahgre River to the Montrose and Delta Canal Diversion. Flows of 3Osecrmd-feetwiU be main- tained between Ridgway Dam and Cow Creek. The flows will be main- tainedatalltimesexceptdur- ing extremely dry years when the flow from Ridgway Reservoir will be restricted to inflow to the reservoir. Overall average monthly flows on the Uncompahgre River will be reduced with project operation. Maximum daily flows will also be reduced as would ex- tremes in streamflow fluc- tuation. Minimum daily flows will be less erratic, and sorne increase in streamflows will occur in the late summer and early fail months. Fishing easements on a "willing seller'. basis will be acquired along both sides of the Uncompahgre River for about 12 miles below Ridgway Dam. Generally, the easements will be about 25 feet wide and wlll be selected and maintained to allow fishermen to utilize the river and at the same time prevent undue hardship to the landowners. Negotiations between the Bureau of Reclamation and several state agenciesareun- derway to detennine who would administer the ease- ment lands in the event of project development To reduce the incidents of autlHieercollisions.an8-foot high woven-wire fencewillbe built along both sides of an 8.2-mile section of U.S. Highway 550, including the section that will be relocated around Ridgway Reservoir. Underpass structures will be provided to allow deer passage beneath the highway right-of-way. Project funds will be used for acquisition and initial development of ap- proximately 1,000 acres of land in the vicinity of Ridgway Reservoir for inten- sive management as a wildlife resource area. Subsequent development and management will be un- dertaken by the Colorado Division of Wildlife. The area will be planned to mitigate losses of deer winter range and other wildlife habitat that would be at- tributable to project develop- ment. With the exception of the two planned recreation sites, DUCKS ENJOY an afternoon swim in an irrigation ditch near Montrose. (Bureau of Redamation photo by William Bailey) all lands not inundated within the reservoir right-of.way boundary will also provide improved wildlife habitat. Because the Fish and Wildlife Service has conclud- ed that the costs of stocking Ridgway Reservoir will not be warranted for the benefits received, the Bureau of Reclamation has not includ- ed fish stocking of the reser- voir in the project plan. This. however, will not preclude other agencies or organizations from assuming the finaocial' obligation for stocking the reservoir. ~ Proiect plan evolves over 30 years The current Dallas Creek Project plan evolved over 30 years with several different office chiefs heading up the investigations. Recon- naissance investigations were begun in the 1940'swhile Clifford H. Jex was head of the Grand Junction Projects Office. Robert W. Jennings was projects manager from 1950 to 1953, and Read L. Black assumed control of the office from 19S4to 1957. Black con- tinued work in the engineer- ingdivision until 1966. H F. (Pete) Bahmeier became projects manager in 1957 and served until his retirement in 1959. Robert W. Jennings replac- ed Bahmeier as projects manager and ran the office dunng a time of intense plan- Illng on the Dallas Creek Pro- ject. The feasibility study 'A~S completed in 1966, two years before Jennings retired. Planning functions and design data gathering con- tmued through the term of J. W. Robins as projects manager (1968-73) and up Into that of Edward K Wiscombe. Wiscombe became pro- Ject~ manager in 1973 and rf:tiredattheendofl976.Dur- mghistimeasheadoftheof- flee, the plan evolvedtowhat II IS today, and the Definite /'ldnreportandEnvironmen- u,1 Impact Statement were r:r!mpleted. The present projects manager, J. F, Rinckel, serv- ,)r! in Grand Junction as a l,jiJOning engineer, chief of 'flf' plilnning division and ac- 'InR projects manager .';'iUghout the planning of ~," Dallas Creek Project. ile is currently responsible forseemg Ulatthe construc- tion start goes smoothly and that proper preconstruction activities are carried out. Other past employees who gave considerable effort to making the project plan in. c1ude Ted Dwyer, Chief of the Engineering Division from 1969 to 1973, and Paul Taylor. Chief of Water and Land Resources Division (rom 1968 to 1973. Many other employees. pasl and present, of the Bureau of Reclamation have lent their work and expertise to the Dallas Creek Project and have received steady and rewarding employment in return. Jennings Early Studies The first major plateau in the planning process of a reclamation project is the preparation of the feasibility report. Feasibility designs for the Dallas Creek Project were completed in 1966 while Robert W. Jennings was pro- jects manager at the Grand Junction Projects Office. Jennings held the office of projects manager from 1950 to 1953 and again from 1959 to his retirement in 1968. Jennings career with the Bureau of Reclamation began in 1934 when the young civil engineer began work as a rodman on a survey crew in Hyrum, Utah. The next year he was promoted to transit. man, and 19 months after his initial hiring, he began work as an engineer in Denver. He returned to Utah with a promotion in 1939 and con- tinued to advance as a plan- ning engineer. In 1943 he began a two-year tenn in the Navy and returned to the Provo office in 1945. Jenningswastheconstruc. tion engineer for the Paonia Project, Colorado, from 1948 to 1950; he first headed the Grand Junction Projects Of. fice, and the DaUas Creek Project, from 1950 to 1953; and he served as district engineer in Juneau, Alaska, for one year. In 1954, he was made regional director of what is now the Southwest Region with headquarters in Amarillo, Texas. Jennings returned to Grand Junction as 'projects manager in 1958 and served in that capacity until his retiremelltinl968. Robins Planning Studies Authorization of the Dallas Creek Project in 1968 provid. ed impetus for advance plan- ning studies on the project. At the time this important ground work was begun for the definite plan report, J. W. Robins was projects manager in Grand Junction. Engineering studies done un- der Robins were essential for completion of the project plan. Robins began work with the Bureau of Reclamation as an engineer in 1946. He had started in Gunnison, Colorado, but moved to the Grand Junction office six months after he started He worked in general in- vestigations until 1957 and was then promoted to chief of theprojectdevelopmentdivi- sion. He continued in that super. visofy planning capacity un- til 1968 when he assumed con- trol of the Grand Junction ProjectsOfficejustin timeto get Dallas Creek Project planning off to a good start. He retired ifn 1973. Wiscombe - Final Plans Final Bureau of Reclama- tion plans for the Dallas Creek Project were for-' mulated and published in a definite plan report filed in November 1976. The draft and final en- vironmental impact statements were also written and approved in 1976, During this time of intense study and accomplishment. the Western Colorado Projects Office was headed by Edward K. Wiscombe. Wiscombe was projects manager of the Durango Pro- jects Office in 1971 before moving to Grand Junction in 1972 to assurne responsibiJity for all reclamation planning in western Colorado. Wiscombe came to work for the Bureau of Reclama. tion in 1946 as an engineer in Salt Lake City, Utah. In 1960, he went to Provo, Utah, as the chief of project development and was a key planner in the development of the Central Utah Project. During his five years in Colorado, he worked on the Dolores, Fruitland Mesa. Savery-Pot Hook, Uncom- pahgre Improvement, and Dominguez Reservoir Pro- jects; the Upper Colorado Resoorce Study; and the Grand Valley and Paradox Valley Units of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. Wiscombe reUred on December31,1976. Rinckel Involvement Jacob F, Rinckel, the current projects manager in Grand Junction, has figured prominently in the planning of the Dallas Creek Project since 1954. Rinckel began work with the Bureau of Reclamation in 1951Jasaconstruclionlaborer ~, in Fort Collins, Colorado, He began work as an engineer the following year and was transferred to Es- condido, California,in 1953 to work on the San Diego Pro- ject. Rinckel came to Grand Junction in 1954 as a civil engineer. He was promoted to supervisory civil engineer in 1961 and became head of the planning division in 1969. As planning chief, he was directly responsible to the projects manager, Edward K Wiscombe, for the preparation and filing of the Definite Plan Report A bit of Colorado goes into O:>ors l3eeI: One of the ingredients that contributes to the Na.tural Quality Coors Beerie a unique variety of two-row malting barley. The growing of a portion ofthi ba.rley is ajoint effort between the Adolph Coors Company and independent growers in Colorado. Coors is proud ofitaasaooiat' I;l with 8olorado agriculture and the contribution this barley makes to the natural quality of Coors . America's Fine Light Beer. - CODO\.PH<:QllOqlX*P......II'l'7~GOI.DEN.CO_