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Show Water rights of the Jordan River are legally governed and administered by DWRi. Providing water for the South Shore Wetlands Ecological Reserve would necessitate acquiring waters rights and changing the points of existing diversion. The owners of the reserve can work with the State Engineer to understand how water rights can be acquired and points of diversion changed to deliver water to this area. The water rights would need to be purchased from the existing owners, and/ or appropriated by DWRi. Locomotive Springs WMA should be supported in its plans to expand to include protection ofplayasfor Snowy plover habitat. This decision will be made by the Wildlife Board concurrent with or following approval of this plan. A reference is needed to substantiate that GSL supplies the largest quantity and quality of brine shrimp cysts in the world, if this statement is true. It is not stated if Gary Belovsky ' s brine shrimp population model takes into account different lake levels which affect salinity. Historically the GSL provided the largest quantity and quality of cysts available. In the last two years the quantity of cysts provided by GSL may have decreased. Quality is a judgement made by the buyer. The brine shrimp population model will predict the performance of the shrimp population. Input parameters to the model can relate to changes in salinity. Claiming that the difference between north and south arm salinity is increasing is contrary to UGS data. There is no evidence to support that salinity in the south arm could diminish to the point where " the brine shrimp population becomes stressed and is reduced, while salinity in the north arm continues at concentrations high enough to prevent the establishment of a viable brine shrimp population." Gunnison Bay should not be considered biologically " dead." The trend in salinities between 1996 and 1999 in both arms of the lake compared with brine shrimp population parameters do suggest the brine shrimp population in the south arm has been impacted. This was empirically observed in the late 1980s when the south arm salinities decreased. There is no meaningful brine shrimp population in the north arm today. It is too saline in the north arm of the lake. The north arm is indeed not dead. The high salinity level there precludes the diversity and abundance of algal, brine shrimp and wildlife species, relative to the south arm. Elevation of dikes at Harold Crane and Howard Slough WMAs needs to be included in the text. See the SCCT section of this document. When acreage of habitat is described, it is necessary to give the associated lake level at which these measurements are taken. 303 |