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Show Wed/Thurs/Fri, January 27-29, 2016 A-17 The Park Record Glen Canyon Dam 10 avalanche plan draws skeptics deaths in 10 days By Randy Wyrick Vail Daily The feds say if they alter the amount and timing of Colorado River water flowing through Glen Canyon Dam, they can keep providing water and electricity to millions, while preserving Grand Canyon National Park and other treasures. Those feds may as well be wishing upon a star, says Gary Wockner, executive director of Save the Colorado, based in Fort Collins. During the past 15 years, the amount of water in the Colorado River has steadily declined, Wockner said, and all the science indicates that flows will continue to decrease. "I am extremely skeptical that the federal government will be able to bail the system out, unless El Nino saves it," Wockner said. Lesson in liquidity In the West, whiskey's for drinking, but water's for fighting over. Here's a quick primer. Glen Canyon Dam was constructed to capture water and flood canyons in Utah and Arizona to create Lake Powell, providing electricity and irrigation water. Water from Lake Powell runs downriver to fill Lake Meade, a reservoir near Las Vegas. If Lake Meade doesn't have enough water - and it hasn't for years because of dwindling river flows and increasing demands - water to fill it is drained from Lake Powell through Glen Canyon Dam. That water starts in the Colorado River's headwaters in the Central Rockies resort region. High water plan The National Park Service and the Bureau of Reclamation created seven possible alternatives for managing the Colorado River at Glen Canyon Dam. Their favorite is designed to mimic the Colorado River's natural flooding through the Glen and Grand canyons that occurred before the Glen Canyon Dam was constructed. The Park Service says those high volume water releases through Glen Canyon Dam will pick up sand stored in the river channel, and redeposit it downstream as sandbars and beaches. These sand features and associated backwater habitats can provide key fish and wildlife habitat, restore riparian vegetation and enhance wilderness values along the Colorado River in Glen Canyon National Recreation Area and Grand Canyon National Park. The Glen Canyon Dam plan is based on the latest available science, said Deputy Secretary of the Interior Michael L. Connor. That science is hardly settled, Wockner said. "There's a certain amount of water they have to send downstream. In all the alternatives, that amount doesn't change," Wockner said. "The entire (environmental impact statement) depends on enough water coming out of Colorado, and other upper basin states." Despite how the feds manage it, there's not enough water in the Colorado River to continue business as usual and river levels are dwindling, Wockner said. "They need to dramatically change how the Colorado River is managed," Wockner said. "There's not enough water to run the system the way it has been run for the last 15 years. We're going to have to have to consequential change." El Nino won't save it Even if this winter's wetter weather pours 5 million acre feet of water on the West Coast, it will only hold them over for 18 to 24 months, Wockner said. (An acre foot is an area roughly the size of a football field a foot deep.) The Colorado River was approaching that crisis point when last May's miracle rains across parts of the Rocky Mountain West saved it. The Department of the Interior is buying water from upper basin farmers - mostly in Colorado - to send it down river. The pilot program last year only provided a couple thousand acre feet of water. The federal government could buy more, but water is expensive. If the weather doesn't change, it would cost a couple hundred million dollars a year to buy enough water to keep the turbines spinning in Glen Canyon Dam, Wockner said. The National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation began developing the draft environmental impact statement for this framework in 2011. The Park Service says the plan is based on 20 years of science and will guide decisions for the next 20 years. "Public participation is key to fulfilling our stewardship responsibilities as envisioned under the Grand Canyon Protection Act," said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. Associated Press DENVER - Ten people have died in avalanches across the West between Jan. 16-25, making this month the deadliest January for slides in nearly 20 years. Eleven people have died in slides throughout the whole month, including four over the weekend, for a total of 14 so far this snow season, according to the Colorado Avalanche Information Center, which tracks slides across the country. On Sunday, one person was killed and another was injured in Washington state in an avalanche near the Mount Baker ski area, and two skiers died in Wyoming after being caught in a slide just outside the Jackson Hole Mountain Resort in a popular place for out-of-bounds skiing. A third skier who was trapped survived. In Montana on Saturday, one of three snowmobilers riding in the Whitefish Mountains near Olney was killed after being buried. The most common types of avalanches and reasons for them differ somewhat between the Pacific Northwest, where larger snow storms followed by rain are common, and the Rockies, where weak layers of snow hardened by cold and dry weather can give out deep within the snowpack. However, experts say that seemingly small changes in conditions can make a big difference in risk, and that a long period without fatalities can give backcountry users a false sense of security. January is often a time when those weak layers can cause problems in the Rockies. In parts of Colorado, where two people have died in avalanches in different parts of the state this month, the top layer of snow sat around for a while in dry, cold weather becoming sugary and unable to adhere with the snow that eventually fell on top, said Spencer Logan, a forecaster with the state's avalanche center. "It's the kind of recipe that's just waiting for someone to find the wrong spot and trigger an avalanche," said Spencer, who added that more people have died in slides so far this January since January 1997. The details of the Washington slide are still being investigated, but it appears that two people who were either snowboarding or skiing were buried in a small slide when a larger slide was somehow triggered, said Benj Wadsworth, executive director of the Northwest Avalanche Center. Conditions were actually worse in Washington's Cascade mountains last week after rain falling on top of the snowpack triggered a lot of avalanches and flushed out a lot weak snow. Since then, however, Wadsworth said the top of the snowpack got crusty as temperatures dropped and then several inches of snow fell on top of that. He said it's possible that crusty layer could have given out and caused the fatal slide. 100 crashes along Wasatch Front Associated Press SALT LAKE CITY - More than 100 cars crashed along the Wasatch Front during the snow storm this past weekend. Utah Highway Patrol said there were 94 crashes in Salt Lake County with 14 injuries, 21 crashes in Utah County, 13 crashes in Weber County and seven crashes in Davis County during Sunday morning's storm. There were also a number of slide-offs as a result of the snow. Troopers reported the most serious injuries were neck and back pain. Highway Patrol is reminding drivers to slow down and increase their following distance in inclement weather. Wasatch Academy of Wine & Edge Steakhouse Present French Wine Scholar Program • 10-week Study and Certification program led by Tom Martin, FWS Certified Instructor • Current in-depth information on French wines and wine regions • Designed for advanced students of wine, whether professionals or serious wine hobbyists February 2nd - April 5th Tuesdays, Noon - 3:00 PM • $950 ($800 if in hospitality or wine trade) Edge Restaurant at Canyons Resort Includes: • Study Manual & Ten Instructor-Led Classes • Tastings of Premium Wines at Each Class • Online resources, French Wine Society • Certification exam for FWS post-nominal Information & Registration: utahwineschool@msn.com or Sheral Schowe 801.414.7895 The Viking Yurt at Park City Ski Resort Presents Ski Like A Viking, Dine Like A Viking! (and every thing else) Viking Costume Competition January 31st Three winners will each receive a Dining Certificate for Dinner for Two at the Viking Yurt Value $260 Come by the yurt between 11am and 3pm in your Viking Costume The three winners will be announced at 4pm. |