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The an arCM'ld IftCIl'l w.<<s a solid BaIHonelhort """ IhIrtwith pocI.t in Ioshion colon. $5 Matched with 100% ~ douw. knit ponti with _'-" podret and liar 100,""'" r..a.., $17 ~nne"J a........,,0I"- '--rs .......c......... Cily.""". NorIhel-t .v........DowMo......Ft.ColInr..o-.t.y. CoIlI.SpringI eu,w. ... Pfalll e w.......... I'tazo e I.aIlewaocf.JCI . Aunwo 36 At 3,606 leet elevation, Lake Powell will touch monument boundary (solid line), At 3,700 feet, the water will cross it (dotted line). Two rivermen suggest that a 3,700-'oot lake would strengthen the bridge BRIDGE continued 1956 Act by submitting requests to Congress for appropriations to build either a tunnel to divert water around the monument ($6- million) or a barrier dam in the canyon below ($25 million). Congress, meanwhile, includ. ed another specific provision in the annual Glen Canyon Dam appropriations bill: "No part of the funds herein appropriated shall be available for construc-' tion or operation of facilities to prevent waters 01 Lake Powell from entering any national monument." That's exactly opposite to the position Congress took in the au- thorizing law of 1956! And the no-money-for-keeping-out-the water restriction has been repeated every year. Udall himself led a host of congressmen, conservationists and journalists into Rainbow Bridge by helicopters in 1961 and came away opposing any barrier dam construction. He said such engineering would destroy the wilderness nature of the area, reduce the value of the storage project and restrict public use of the lake, Besides, he added, "ge- ologists agree no actual harm" would be done to the monument by Lake Powell. .It~ A lawsuit, almost identical to the one now pending, was dis- missed in 1963 by a 'District 01 Columbia judge. His decision was on motions attacking the le- gality af the camplaint and no trial was held on the merits of the damage charges. Appeals by the plaintiff conservationists were relected by both the U.S, Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. The new suit is in the mo- tions stages. The gorge beneath the bridge, about 110 feet across. is cut into harder Kayenta sandstone. Black "varnish" is on the walls and rock debris clutters the bed. Its ugliness contrasts wi~ the beauty above. It is easy to' imag- ine blue-green water there, re- flecting the arch above, enhanc- ing its breathtaking beauty. But would static water~en fluctuating water-up to the base of the bridge damage it? Two af our companions on the journey, with four decades of experience on the ColaradO' River, contend a 3,700-foot lake can't possibly damage Rainbow Bridge. They even suggest it would strengthen the bridge. Larry Sanderson, at just 41, is the oldest employe in point af ----+ Mfq 16, 1971 . EMPIRE MAGAZINE .~, "