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<br />o <br />{\- <br />-.J <br />en <br /> <br />. USDA's Salinity Control Program, since the passage of FAlRA, has been inadequately <br />funded. The EQIP authorized by F AlRA has been funded nationwide at a level far below the total <br />funding of previous conservation programs that EQIP replaced. Even though within the EQIP the <br />Colorado River Salinity Control Program was recognized as a National Priority, the funds made <br />available for the program have only been about 40 percent of the amount that the Forum has <br />determined to be necessary to implement the USDA portion of the Plan of Implementation. With <br />the authorization of the 2002 farm bill, the USDA program will be adequately funded. It is also <br />hoped, that when funding allocations are considered,downstream benefits of the Salinity Control <br />Program are recognized. <br /> <br />The management philosophy ofBLM has not allowed for a direct approach to salinity control <br />by this agency. Congress has directed the Secretary of the Interior to prepare a report on the status <br />of implementing a comprehensive program for minimizing salt contributions to the Colorado River <br />from lands administered by BLM. Recent efforts to coordinate with BLM shows some prospect that <br />there will be more attention given to water quality issues, specifically to the Colorado River Basin <br />Salinity Control Program. <br /> <br />The USGS streamflow gaging and water quality sampling activities, and the long-standing <br />periods of record at existing stations, are essential to the monitoring and evaluation of salinity <br />control effectiveness. USGS should continue to seek funding under its existing authority for flow <br />gaging and water quality stations in order to provide necessary data for the evaluation of the short- <br />term and long-term effectiveness of the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program. <br /> <br />Continuation of the USGS cuts in funding for its cooperative gaging program will impact the <br />ability to adequately assess the effectiveness of salinity control projects through the loss of data from <br />needed gaging stations. <br /> <br />Education and Public Involvement <br /> <br />Salinity in the Colorado River is a basinwide problem, with implications ranging over the <br />entire 246,000 square mile drainage area. The Basin's immense size highlights the need for effective <br />public education and public involvement programs due to the physical and cultural diversities which <br />exist across the seven states. Implementation of measures to control complex problems such as <br />salinity requires awareness, concern and involvement, along with recognition that a problem many <br />miles away may have direct impacts. The states individually, and together, as the Forum, have and <br />will continue to work with concerned agencies, both state and federal, to increase the public <br />understanding of the salinity problem and its control. <br /> <br />Although irrigation is the principal human-induced source of salinity, a major thrust of the <br />public education/public involvement effort focuses on educating irrigators as to the sources, impacts <br />and methods of controlling salinity. Further improved irrigation practices will reduce the input of <br /> <br />5-2 <br />