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Show Citizens for a Responsible Central Utah Project Board of Directors Dorothy Harvey, co-chairperson Fred Reimherr, co-chairperson Beth Duncan D;,vid Freed Karl Heidenreich Peter Hovingh David Littlefield Dave McCormick Barbara Polich lames Talley Hartt Wixom Supporting Organizations • Utah Trout Unlimited Council • Rocky Mountian Council of the Federation of Fly Fishermen •Utah Member Clubs of the Federation of Fly Fishermen • Stonefly Society of the Wastach Salt Lake City, Utah •Order of the Royal Coachman Pleasant Grove. Ulah Mr. N. W. Plummer Bureau of Reclamation P. 0. Box 11568 Salt Lake City, Utah 84148 Dear Mr. Plummer, I am commenting of the CUP Bonneville Unit M&I System Draft Environmental Impact Statement as the co-chairman of the Citizens for a Responsible Central Utah Project. Historically, in the West people's lives have been tightly bound to their ownership of water. Although much has been accomplished, the West is littered with examples of the environmentally destructive and economically pointless results of water development activities. Water development has been based on expedient solutions and the ideologic creed that any water flowing past my dam, my field, or my diversion ditch is wasted water. Streams were viewed, unfortunately, as inefficient vehicles carrying water to the next reservoir or as open sewers disposing of our wastes. The Bonneville Unit M&I System continues this western tradition. The leaders of the CUP would have us believe that environmental destruction is the price we must pay to utilize our water; that they must be given unlimited resources and unregulated authority, else we face drought and ruin. Fortunately, this Is not true. By careful planning and consideration prior to committing our money and our water we can do both, maximize our utilization of water and protect Utah's magnificent environment. Unfortunately, the Bureau of Reclamation in the Bonneville Unit has chosen to pour the cement today and think tomorrow. The present plan of construction is so fatally flawed that it raises questions concerning undue political influence acting to distort the planning and decision making ability of the Bureau of Reclamation. x |
