| OCR Text |
Show focused on control of the lake level. Industry supports controlling lake level to protect investments and to allow for ongoing operation during periods of high lake level. Other stakeholders prefer allowing for natural lake level fluctuation and see no need for use of lake level zones. Allow for natural lake level fluctuation and refrain from pumping to control lake level to allow succession and to increase wetland productivity. Managing lake level may have unpredictable and possibly undesirable effects on the ecosystem. Instead of using the WDPP to mitigate effects of high lake levels, the state should dig a canal and let water gravity flow out to the West Desert. The lake is predicted to reach 4212 feet by 2007. Has the team considered lake level predictions in this planning process? Using lake level zones for planning and management is too abstract and needs to be explained in the context of an overall planning framework. The lake level fluctuation dynamic is too complex to simply use zones to define management strategies. The nature of these impacts needs to be described more clearly. Will information to predict damage to industries at different lake levels be included in this planning document? The proposal under alternative A is not really to " define the strategy by lake zone, * but rather for those having management responsibilities on/ near the lake to define a detailed strategy for management at different lake elevations and then associate that with a given zone. A key omission is a failure to identify the significance of lake level management as essential to overall management of the lake. Trend analysis is needed to evaluate economic and ecosystem impacts of lake level. Data should be as recent as possible. Annual fluctuations in lake level should be averaged through 1998. USGS errors should be corrected, such as the number 4211.85 feet should be changed to 4211.55 feet in the Lake Level Fluctuations and Flooding section. Alternative B does not specify any strategy for dealing with fluctuating lake level. This is a non- alternative and should be clarified or restated as the current situation. These are among the factors to be considered in determining the policy for WDPP operation. To the extent that pumps can reduce peak lake level their operation should be considered. It must be considered that 1) the West Desert area slopes to the lake and therefore a canal could not carry water away from the lake into the desert by gravity, 2) some damage could be prevented by pumping and 3) ecosystem dynamics require fluctuating 275 |
