Show Paoe2— The HeruM JoumsifCache Sunday Decembsr 2 1990 ft 0 V1 iwnamawBawBai Hands off I tope that when (he proponents of a plan to pot a dam at die is ? Amalga Barrens finiA debating fee issue they find what many of us reservoir at (he site and already knowWe don’t need a 4500-aa- e n dollar water project we don’t nedd another multi-millio- 4 GARY MORRIS By Nancy BodQy KeepyourhandscfftheBanens I guess Tm being a little sellidiwhea I say Oat bat over fee yean I’ve come to know and love die place and die Barrens as is contains mom dial is special than aqr of the proposed projects could possibly offer Jt is a truly unique system of manes mallow ponds canals mndflats flooded fields and agricultural land diat supports wildlife numbers in the thousands There is no other place quite like it in Cache Valley and dm aren’t many like it in the entire state of Utah : V It is home to downs of Aambfads and waterfowl and it is a stopover site for many more Two endangered bird species use its habitat in season — bald eagles and peregrine falcons — and it is one of the few sites in the state that harbor the snowy plover a ' species well on its way to being threatened Besides being a critical nataral resource die Barrens also is an mnoftuit ncmnon nd feBMitiww momcfiL Bhdwwifii die ana rqgulariy —p-- ny daring the spring md fid migrations and hnnteas use tt (taring the watemwi season Ornithology classes from Utah State Ihdvnsife visit the ana because of its diverse wildlife and several scientific studies have been based in part an research done at die Barrens This is what we would be trading for one more expensive water project And what would the water be uaed for? Not for Cache CoantyI The project’s coal is to provide culinary md irrigation water for residents of Box Oder County Some of it could be used by Cache Comity but who needs it? We have mote water than we need at this dme The facility as proposed seems an inefficient way to store water Lw iiioo g oic pctt wm ioriynpoiinnififlni projocii were ocvciopcQ a long dme ago Coder Hyium Porcupine Newton reservoirs — they wen all built widi pn rye for natural geologic features that could help atom water efficiently The Barrens project however would be a forced ventun at best One rule about stooge facilities I do know is that they should be narrow and deep — the less smfece ana die better Essentially the Barrens project would give us a riiaUow 4£0Qcn evaporation pond' Even if environmental consequrnfcs were put aside die costs of the perfect alone seem prohibitive Estimates range from $27 minion for a 35000 aae-foreservoir to $79 mfflion far a pond that would store 100000 acre feet of water Who is going to come up wife feat kind of money? One suggestion by fee proponents is to aet aside a special appropriation or $10 million each year from the state’s budget —' taxpayer dollars not user fees It doesn’t seem fair does r h? This week’s feature by writer John J Wise and photographer Pete Country music singer and acriahnrri Broadway performer Gary Morris will play at die Capitol Theatre Tbmadqr at 8 pjn 5 MAGNIFICAT The Northern Utah Chord Society and Orchestra under the baton of Dr Will Resting will perfom John Ratter’s Magnificat Saturday in the USU Quae Rue Arts Center Kent Concert - v HdL t : U X 6 CHRISTMAS CONCERT The Oak Ridge Boys and Marie Osmond have teamed up for a holiday mectacular “The Magic of Christmas” on Boday in the Dee (Ben Smith Spectrum : 8LOONNGBACK ByAJ Pwwntwfc VS' ' The Walker War fat Central Utah in the 1850s freed the population of the area to move into Cache Valley in die late 1850s and eariy 1860s ot Tim Vitale Cache editor ‘ f r K i ! ' X ‘c j’ 'fV 5"' 10 MINI PAGE A page especially for our younger readers 11 BARRENS BATTLE ByJobnJ Who 4000-ao- e area near Amalga called the Barrens is considered as a site for a reservoir that would stare water beiqg from fee Bear River A roughly y : f J k i J M " - ' i ‘ ' iVlWrt- w Kttall atv - ON THE COVER: A pmponad rueervoir Banana would atom between 35 aWC -- t f f r 1 jv ' ofinrief'Ptioto by PetoBdiropp' it dm Amaiga ' |