Show echo park parl dam D ni project P r ca ct defended As congressional y hearing tle arina opens 0 first firt litno witnessed aises to appear before befort fore the J louse irrigation IT subcommittee monday to urge ja speedy IY authorization of peov colorado storage project were ot of interior ralph tudor and E 0 larson director of the salt ike city regional office of ole bineau 0 of f reclamation hie ille opposition diomed its haild early in ill the day clay with rep rap john it baylar apa badger ig undersecretary tudor as he attempted without vit hout much suc sul i CM to up irp a i baw against the boho park and aspli t mountain oun lulls saylor was the only member cf od the to coone out openly araine flie the two dams first indication of the 6 ta ulce i the a dm in istrati on on echo park dam was provided aided when rep dair anfilo gl e it cal asked mr tudor wh whether otheir to delete aws project would be alim takhing the engino engine out or an automobile the replied no but added however I 1 would aay say it would be like uke taking the pistons out of 01 a car I later iter ter mr larson I adeon in reply repay to a similar question han tho samo congressman aid sald you certainly would damage dair nage the plan because echo park ia ja the of the upper colorado program lie ile further pointed out that deletion of echo park not only would cut down tile th water stor oge age and power of the ovell program but would wd Jeo pardue we the feasibility of daveral other parts of the projected tram luding Fh flaming arling gorga GWO and crosa on mountain am dams tho the only ercol to echo park however came from mr saylor ator who twi Q the under acre a ap flo are am mora more wrought tough up UD at V me e department af 01 interior for you to have the effrontery affron tery to p aalt the inva flon islon of ad the parka and monuments ithan than you have dono done irla the mr tudor that to permit V 1 two lo dams wax was not netting WO mr saylor held hofto to the contrary ho he contended that once a precedent had bow eda bl lad that everyone elsa will bo be saying what v done dano at Dinio dinosaur can be dome done other of walbur ww che Continue a on page 8 echo to project defended as congressional hearing opens continued from pace page 1 doled to follow mr tudor the botond but that mr larain him when mr raydor persistently asked for dyalls regarding lna alternate ette altes mr lanum larson told the cittee ahat the storage projects the back backbone borie of the plan and the participating projects such as emory and I 1 contral utah were the u of I 1 the water project self liquidating I 1 mr larson estimated the current cut cost of the nine proposed I 1 reservoirs tit t 13 3 echo park and glon quiyon would bo be paid for within 44 years after completion ond and the othera others within 80 50 yeara years he said andor questioning froim from son sen arlhur arthur V watkins mr larson relta rated hie the value of echo in storing waters 00 tho the upper basin stes could deot the choir ar commitments to the lowar colorado and at the flame some time provide water for ita its own needs the U S bureau of motion been unable to find for or echo park and split q mountain units af of ho the colorado river storage project that would not nut materially lv diminish the effectiveness yf f he nine reservoir mr bair lupson testified he ile outwitted the overall overfill plan of river system regulations and tho the participating sweats cm em pha sized that the glen ion canyon and echo park units tro are tho most both from tho the standpoint of storage and power and chait tho the importance lat of echo park will increase as glen on Ca cantona nyona storage ator waw eaty and power output is dl di by lity cht silt in selecting a town of nine doma dams out of a great many mr larson lia ion told the ee careful dul considers lon tion was given to factors auch such as physical conditions water and As utilization liza tion power production and sedimentation ond and reservoir evaporation in these respects respect i we have painstakingly examined many combinations the team of nine selected glen canyon and nd echo park being for initial construction would provide maximum water wat e r utilization and power production with a minimum loss of water from evaporation po ration bit wt the lowest coat cost pointing out that the echo park arat would inundate a 0 portion of dinosaur national mom mon jmwa imi onit mr larson told the committee thai that any substitutes he the bureau had kind been able t to 0 ind find would diminish the effect divene of the nine reservoir system us am to storage power pen cration and economic ity tuesdays hearing mr larson again took the stand tuesday caday morning california house members dominated the cross examination and while none of them expressed outright opposition they apparently were attempting to raise every possible doubt ns as to feasibility of the billion dollar program mr larson was followed to the witness gland stand by rep douglas II 11 stringfellow one of the authors of the bills under consideration mr stringfellow described the proposed program as a bold plan ian one in which years OF of work study and research hove have g gone 0 ne into each of the projects and we believe each is economically feasible and justified the future of this vast area Is in n your our hands he ald said ay any y of the lower states who are hesitant or whose representatives are opposing this project are being biln very shortsighted said the utahn ill if utah and colorado fall to lain in approval for these pro ee acts 1 As then california arizona jew w mexico and nevada and ana in fact the whole west will lose forever two of our most precious resources water and power because when water Is wasted it never can be reclaimed and we cant afford to lose a sin single I 1 e d drop of f this liquid gold ar mr st stringfellow also held that approval of the legislation would serve to unlock this vast storehouse of mineral wealth not only lor for the good and benefit of the west but for the security of the entire nation the decision which Is made this year by this committee warned mr stringfellow alth either r will provide the water and power lower to keep the wheels of progress ro gress turning in the west or else paralyze analyze and retard future forever or until such time us as courageous farsighted have the initiative to uke this bold step still under tinder cross examination when tue tuesdays days hearing concluded wa was wllbur wilbur A dexheimer commin commissioner ioner of reclamation ife I 1 described sc as one of his greatest single casks since taking 0 office f that of ringing the plan of the colorado river storage project and participating projects to its initial state of fruition the commis oner noted the excellent operation cooperation co between state and fec federal leral agencies in working out this comprehensive plan and held that probably no greater operative cooperative co effort was ever made in the history of basin planning literally millions of acres of 0 land lie parched and unproductive in the 17 western states lie continued A large percentage of this land could be made to produce crops for our growing population if the necessary water could be provided meanwhile millions of acre feet of water are wasted from our rivers to the sea each year for lack of control such control as could be provided by the arc luct we are discussing today wednesdays hearing two republican cna sena tors appeared before the subcommittee wednesday senator nii predicted hat that population would double it if the vast project is built sen bennett dennett spent most of his time talking about alternate sites and reminding the committee that utah and colorado were given some definite assurances in 1938 when the dinosaur national monument was enlarged that such stich enlargement would not interfere with the development of water and power projects which might be planned in the future in a word statement sen son bennett insisted that construction st of echo park dam would not be an entering wedge to destroy the park system anda and that alte alternate mate sites would not meet the economic needs of the project sen watkins answered critics of echo park dam dom by saying that in his estimation all that was left in dinosaur national I 1 i monument was a hole in the ground round from which dinosaur tones bones had been removed and shipped to eastern museums he further held that reclamation would be stymied if we are going to adopt a policy of makin making 6 all alt our deep canyons into parks i the were joined by by sen frank barrett R wyo 1 who described the echo park dam as a corner stone of the projected storage program and called on the committee to respect american tradition and let the people of the area decide whether the series of dams and reclamation projects should be built |