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Show EDITORIAL: An Urgent Necessity Few will disagree with Senator Sena-tor Arthur V. Watkins' insist-ance insist-ance that Echo Park dam be given primary consideration over the Dinosaur national monument, mon-ument, if t h e choice must be made between the two. But as Senator Watkins pointed out, construction1 of the dam will not mean the destruction of the monument. The two can exist side by side. The dam Is considered one of the keys to the entire Central Utah project. Construction of the Echo Park and other projects pro-jects in the Central Utah system will mean more water for farms and power for industry. Farm produce and livestock provide much of the raw material for industry. Before industrialists will build factories in the west, they must have some assurance of an adequate raw material and power supply. Some local opposition has been expressed to the Echo Park dam, as it will help Vernal and Uintah county to progress. But this is not a county or regional fight, because the rest of eastern east-ern Utah, and the state and west in general, will also profit handsomely hand-somely from the water and power pow-er made available by construction construc-tion of the dam. The Echo Park will play a major role in silt rentention and flood control, and is located nearest to the oil shale deposits of Colorado and Utah, the development de-velopment which is dependent upon adequate power. By-products of a completed dam could mean construction of a migratory bird refuge, creation of a natural recreational recreation-al area between two transcontinental trans-continental highways, and the opening up to the public of the magnificent Ladore and Red canyons and the Yampa gorge and the national monument itself, it-self, which is now largely inaccessible inac-cessible because of the limited improvements initiated by the park service. Plans and specifications for the reservoir are completed, and construction of the unit could be started at once. And an immediate road ahead is needed, as the decline of the livestock and mining industries make it imperative that the West expand its irrigation and industrial resources; and exploit its uranium, oil shale, bituminous bitumin-ous sands, asphalt, phosphate, gilsonite, coal and oil resources. The Echo Park is worth fighting fight-ing for. GWH |