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Show THE SAN JUAN RECORD Wednesday, April 30, 2003 - of a new era of cooperation be tween local governments and federal government agencies. Page 2 The purpose of land use planning is so managers and the public can allocate resources and determine appropriate multiple uses for the public lands, develop a strategy to manage and protect resources, and set up systems to monitor and evaluate status of resources and effectiveness of management practices over 1 Thursday May B Monticello Golf Course Committee meeting, 7:30 p.m., City Office. H Monticello Parks & Rec. Committee meeting, 7:30 p.m., City Office. San Juan County commissioners Ty Lewis, Lynn Stevens and Manuel Morgan shake hands with BLM San Juan Area Manager Patrick Madigan (r) after signing a landmark agreement. Not pictured is BLM Moab Area Manager Maggie Wyatt. Courtesy photo (l-- r) May 3 Saturday B Empire Electric Membership Meeting, 10 a.m., Dolores County High School, Dove Creek. Monday May 5 County, BLM sign agreement Tuesday The BLM and San Juan May 6 B Monticello Planning Commission meeting, p.m., Monticello City Office. County Commissioners signed a landmark agreement on April 28 to participate in de veloping a land use plan for federal lands managed by the BLM in San Juan County. It is the latest manifestation May 7 B Bluff Service Area board meeting, 7 time. Resource management planning provides the basis for evaluating and communicating the public land uses. Using the principles of multiple use and sustained yield, the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) seeks to maximize resource values for present and future generations. The BLM's land use plans, called Resource Management Plans (RMPs), take about three years to complete. Opportunities for public involvement are continuous during development and imple mentation of the RMP. Decisions in a RMP are designed to guide and control future land or resource management actions over a 10 to 20 year period. Throughout the planning process, the BLM uses a collaborative approach to planning and will involve tribal, State and local governments, other Federal agencies, and interested parties to address common needs and goals. It is essential to have agreements in place with local governments so that BLM can communicate effectively. The BLM endeavors to use a approach when there is a mix of land ownership and government authorities and there are opportunities to develop complementary decisions across jurisdictional boundaries. When BLM administered public lands make up a small part of the planning area, it is desirable for other jurisdictional interests to lead the planning effort. multi-jurisdiction- Wednesday p.m. Bluff Service Area office. Equine VACCINATION CLINIC Saturday May 3 1 pm - 2 pm San Juan County Fair Grounds Encephalomyelitis, Tetnus, Eastern, Western Flu, Distemper, Rhino, West Nile For more info call. Moab Veterinary Clinic 435-259-87- 10 NOTICE TO ALL MONTICELLO RESIDENTS REGARDING USE OF SECONDARY WATER On May 1, the City will begin charging the secondary water system. On or before that date, residents should check to ensure that secondary valves are closed to prevent flooding and wasting of water. As soon as the lines are charged, you will be able to hand-wate- r trees, shrubs, and ornamental will ONLY. limited to two hours per week be Watering plants on one specific day. No unattended watering or soaking will be permitted. These restrictions will be enforced. Please use the secondary water sparingly, because we are starting the season with very little water in storage. A decision regarding watering of lawns and gardens will be made in late when the amount of water available May, after spring can be reevaluated. run-of- f, Please refer to the accompanying map to determine the watering day for your area. If you have any questions, call the Thank you for your continued water City Office at 587-227- 1. CITY CORNER by Monticello City Council Member Evan Lowry would be nice to write a City Corner news item without talking about water, but this seems to be the thing that we are all concerned about right now. One only has to look at how full Loyds Lake is, or rather how empty it is, to realize how serious the drought t continues to be. With the Camp Jackson snow course currently showing only 3 of average, there appears little chance of adding much more to Loyds Lake. City leaders are exploring all options to provide more water during this drought. Everyone is wondering what will happen with the water this summer. Hopefully the following information will help answer some of these questions. First we would like to thank you, the citizens of Monticello, for your efforts in conserving our precious water. From January 1 through April 15 of this year, we have used approximately 7 million gallons less than during the same period a year ago. Your efforts to save water this year are paying off. Living in a desert, we should always be conscious of conserving water, not just during a drought. T he City drilled two wells last year which did not produce enough water to justify putting into the system. We are continuing to explore other well drilling options and hopefully they will be more successful than last year. During this past year, we have been successful in getting eight producing wells in operation which are currently putting water into our system. Four of these can be used in the secondary system and four can be used in the irrigation system, which supplies water to the Cemetery and Golf Course. We are working on two more wells which we hope to put into the irrigation line. Currently we are getting nearly double the water from the mountain springs as we did last year at this same time. This will allow us to fill the storage reservoirs above the treatment plant. Last year we never got enough water to fill these reservoirs and had to begin pumping from Loyds Lake in early May. On April 1, we began pumping the four wells into the irrigation pipeline. These wells will provide water for the Cemetery, the Golf Course greens and tees only, as well as some extra for Loyds Lake. The other four wells have nearly filled the secondary pond, which will provide for a limited amount of secondary water. (Please check the water schedule and restrictions for secondary use printed in the paper and posted throughout town.) primary concern is that we have enough water for drinking and other culinary use. We must be certain that we have enough stored water to meet those culinary needs, not for this summer but next as well. winter only Secondary is just that, secondary. By the end of May we hope to know enough about Loyds Lake storage, flows from the mountain, and well production to determine if we can use any additional secondary water. Our long range plans are basically two-fol(1) With help from the County, we were successful in getting a federal grant for over two million dollars for improvements to our mountain springs and delivery system. Details as to how this money can be spent is not available at this time, but we do not anticipate being able to do any work until at least late summer, and (2) We are continuing to research the possibilities of a deep well. As this is an expensive endeavor, we want to have the best information possible to assure success. Hopefully this has helped to answer at least some of the questions you may have concerning water. I can assure you that water is the number one priority of the Mayor, the City Council, City Crews and Staff. We are doing everything possible to provide this important service and, with your participation and help, continue to make Monticello the great place to live that it is. L-J- ur d. Lvan j3ovti Monticello Citv Council al |