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Show Parks Director Protests .... Echo Park Wearing Set Early In 1954 Utah's highly controversial Echo Park and Flaming Gorge damsites, along with other projects pro-jects in the original phase of the Upper Colorado River Basin development project, will probably prob-ably come to a "showdown" airing soon after congress le-assembles le-assembles next January. This announcement comes approximately ap-proximately a week after Director Di-rector Conrad L. Wirth, of the National Parks Service said that he "believed firmly" the Echo Park, dam should not be built. He said he has so recommended to -Secretary of Interior Douglas McKay. He further stated, however, how-ever, that if it becomes the decision de-cision of the department that I the dam be built, he would car- ry out the directive with as much energy and enthusiasm as anything else the department undertakes. Mr.' Wirth, who last month visited Utah with other key officials of the Interior Department, Depart-ment, said he still was hopeful that i a satisfactory alternative damiste to Echo Park could be found. He feels that if such a site can be found, that Utah would stand to gain doubly through getting its reclamation project and also preserving and opening open-ing up the natural wonders of Dinosaur National Monument. ' Mr. Wirth's statement on opposition op-position to the Echo Park Dam was interpreted as meaning the distpute between the Bureau of Reclamation and Park Service on this project was right back where it started three years ago, before the public hearing here which resulted in former Secretary of Interior Oscar L. Chapman ruling in favor of the Bureau of Reclamation. Another Chance Now it appears that the Chapman Chap-man ruling has been discarded and the Park Service has been given another chance to present its case, based on the facts that to permit . the construction of Echo Park Dam would flood a portion of Dinosaur National Monument and possibly open I the door for future invasion of federal parks and monument areas. Mr. Wirth also disclosed that a preliminary study" was under way for construction of a badly needed road into Dinosaur National Na-tional Monument and . the monument's mon-ument's headquarters might be changed after the road was completed. First Order Of Business Public hearing on HR-4449, the Upper Colorado development develop-ment bill, will be held as the first order of business of the House irrigation subcommittee when Congress reconvenes, according ac-cording to Rep. William R. Dawson Daw-son (R., Utah). |