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<br />Summary
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<br />south and east of Price. Upland game in the area include ring-necked
<br />pheasant, California quail, mourning doves, and cottontails. The State-operated
<br />2,621-acre Desert Lake Waterfowl Management Area south of Price provides
<br />habitat for waterfowl, shorebirds, raptors, and other wildlife species. Other
<br />waterfowl habitat in the project area is located near Huntington; an area
<br />northeast of Desert Lake; and in scattered wetlands, stock ponds, and
<br />agricultural lands. A variety of nongame species also exist in the project area.
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<br />Sport fisheries are primarily above the project area, including those in the
<br />headwaters of the Price and San Rafael Rivers, which support populations
<br />of cutthroat, rainbow, brook, and brown trout. Scofield Reservoir on the Price
<br />River, one of Utah's few class I fisheries, is managed for rainbow and cutthroat
<br />trout, and trout fisheries exist in other waterways and reservoirs including Joes
<br />Valley Reservoir. Large-river endangered fishes native to the upper Colorado
<br />River System are not found within the project area.
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<br />PUBLIC INVOLVEMENT
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<br />Both Reclamation and the SCS elicited local participation in planning for the
<br />Unit and in selecting recommended alternative methods for salinity reduction.
<br />A notice of initiation of investigation was mailed to Federal, State, and local
<br />agencies, interest groups, and individuals January 15, 1981. A notice of intent
<br />to prepare an environmental impact statement was published in the Federal
<br />Register. In addition, public input was obtained through meetings, mailings,
<br />project area tours, and other contact with local residents, irrigation companies,
<br />industries, and local and State officials.
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<br />ALTERNATIVES
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<br />During the course of the study, a wide range of possible methods for reducing
<br />salt loading from the area was investigated. The possible methods included
<br />improved surface irrigation, retirement of land from irrigation, selective
<br />withdrawal of farmlands, or drainwater for powerplant cooling, industrial use,
<br />treatment, or disposal. Application of the four tests of viability, however,
<br />resulted in the identification of two plans-sprinkler-only irrigation, and a
<br />combination of sprinkler and surface irrigation, with the latter providing
<br />greater salinity reduction than the sprinkler-only alternative at a lower cost per
<br />ton of salt than the majority of other units implemented under the Salinity
<br />Control Act. Both viable alternatives also provided for lateral improvements
<br />and removal of winter livestock water.
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<br />Formulation of alternatives took into account the fact that, in an average year,
<br />there is not enough water to adequately irrigate all the land that has a water
<br />right. When an average water supply is available, only about 70 percent of the
<br />land with water rights will be irrigated. Some of this 70 percent presently
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