Show Ll Uintah T Basin Debate Continued from Page 1 crease in population and thus demand demand demand de de- mand more and more of her own wheat World population Is constantly constantly constantly con con- Increasing And all great wheat-producing wheat countries have periods of collapse or non tion Uon such as we find in Canada Argentine and our country We are arc removed from consuming consuming consuming ing centers only because we are surrounded by mountains Give us a railroad for carload shipments and we can compete with Idaho or with any other state A The Colorado river compact gives seven Beven and one half million acre feet of water to these four i I states Utah does not yet know what her share of this will be State Industrial centers demand an ani important part of this water hence Uintah Basin development Is uncertain until the water is al allocated allocated allocated al- al located and until the large centers centers centers cen cen- Salt Lake City and Ogden get what they need N On the average Utah farmIng farming farming farm- farm Ing area two acre feet will assure crops for one acre of ot land and the same applies to Wyoming and Colorado New Mexico will need needa a little more but that state Is really a small partner with the theother theother theother other three states having comparatively comparatively little of the land and the thc water in the Colorado river water water- shed we wo may speaking assume that Utah Wyoming Wyoming Wy Wy- oming and Colorado have seven million acre feet to divide among them To allow for or other losses lets let's call it acre feet and assuming that each state gets one third that makes aero acre feet for each state If two acre feet will supply one acre of land then evidently each state has about acres of ot land that might be Irrigated To utilize this water storage Is essential As a sample the Duchesne Duchesne Duchesne Du Du- chesne river per government fig fig- ures urea has an annual run off of at acre feet and of this acre may be economically stored with the steady flow before before before be be- fore and after high water and used That means acres of land This includes the Duchesne and its tributaries the Lake Fork Uintah etc But over in Colorado are arc two large streams which are arc today almost almost al almost al- al most unused for irrigation that thatis is White river and the Yampa n river river riv riv- ver v- v er the first running though forty miles mUes of Utah's best land and still sUll not used and Yampa river riv- riv river river riv riv- er cutting into Flaming Gorge These streams may be brought together together to to- gether by canals i in the tho neighborhood neighbor neighbor- hood of Rangely Colorado and made to reclaim all the balance of Utah's share of this allocation i whatever It may be This use of the water for Ogden Ogden Ogden Og Og- den and Salt Lake City is a big question for us not because of the amount of water that may be taken taken taken tak tak- en BUT because the head water the flow constant-flow water is desired If second feet is taken that means more expensive reclamation reclamation reclamation tion for our arid lands down below We Ve object this method These centers of wealth and population should as a matter of common fairness share in this expense which will be added to our future burden We Ve admit that we dont don't yet know what Utah's share of this water is and the game is to hold holdback holdback holdback back the division of the water among the states until Utah and Colorado are ready mostly Utah holding It back as we understand I It But division may not wait very long long long- not more than a year or two because Boulder dam demands demands demands de de- de- de I mands action I Therefore to answer these common common common com com- mon objections those that have kept the basin down and out these many years we can say we have the land and water for acres of farming conservative ly Indian wealth alone alono which is not a major share by any means would be increased in market market market mar mar- ket value nearly ninety million I dollars if we had a railroad This Is per H. H M. M Tidwells Tidwell's testimony Supt of at the the Uintah Ouray Agency Agency Agency Ag Ag- ency at Ft Duchesne in the I. I C C. C C. C C hearing in Salt Lake City in March 1930 It Is easy to prove that a railroad railroad railroad rail rail- road Into this Inland Empire will add to Utah's wealth or nearly double It without oil shale natural gas or anything We Ve claim this will support sup sup- support port a railroad and add people to this section |