By Julie Johansen
Marc Stilson, Utah State Water Engineer, opened the Emery County Public Lands Council meeting on Tuesday with a presentation on the Colorado River Emergency Drought Situation. He spoke about the upper and lower river basins and their allotments from the river.
The upper basin includes Utah, Colorado and New Mexico, while the lower basin consists of Arizona, Nevada and California. Each basin is allotted 7.5 million acre feet of water.
The Colorado River Authority was recently created to govern and protect the upper basin in this drought situation. This negotiating team consists of various members and a chairman, including one from each area: Central Utah, Uintah, Price/San Rafael, Virgin River, all other drainage areas and the Governor’s representative, who is the chairman.
Jay Mark Humphrey was recently selected as the representative from the Price/San Rafael area. This is a well-developed team with tough negotiations ahead. Anyone with questions can contact Humphrey.
It was then discussed that the low levels at Lake Powell and Lake Mead are hampering/disabling hydropower production, resulting in some emergency releases from upper basin reservoirs. Thus, water rights in the upper basin are questioned for use in the lower basin. Decreed water rights prior to 1922 are not in jeopardy.
Humphrey stated that these decisions are politically driven, not by science. The problem seems to be a structured deficit and must be addressed to protect the reliability of the Colorado River System. A contingency plan was drafted in 2019 and will be renegotiated in 2026. Some conservancy programs have been funded, such as cloud seeding, paying farmers to plow their land instead of irrigating and simply cutting back.
Next, Derek Beagley of the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) began his remarks by reminding those in attendance about the virtual open house meetings. He then explained the difference between the BLM and Forest Service in regard to policy meetings in the agencies. The Forest Service considers objections while they are working on plans and the BLM accepts appeals after the decisions have been made.
Beagley remarked about trespassing and a mess left in the Hidden Splendor area. He said that law enforcement is working on it. Beagley concluded by announcing new projects for the BLM, which include the Hadden Flat gravel pit and road realignments.
Troy Suwyn, Forest Service, then took time to speak and thanked the council members that attended their recent field trip and meeting. He also commented that the recent Forest Service Revision Plan received nearly 6,000 comments, which they also appreciated.
Suwyn explained that they have been burning piles of wood by Skyline Mine very carefully so that the smoke would not impact the mine. Once these piles are gone, they plan to burn the Lowry Water piles. Suwyn explained that other alternative of using the tough grinder is very expensive. He addressed the logging that is taking place on the forest, explaining that there are two companies interested in the wood as most of it has been dead for years. He said 90% of the wood is used for firewood and only 10% for building.
Nate Roberts, Utah Department of Agriculture, again announced the Emergency Disaster Relief Program funds available to producers until March 2022. Anyone who lost more than 50% of production due to the drought qualifies. He also spoke of the Grazing Improvement Program funds until the end of the year.
Clay Crozier and Larry Ellerton of the Washington Delegation both painted a grim picture in Washington D.C. with the appointment of the new BLM director and the upcoming loss of the National Parks director. Other items of concern include the additional acreage added to Bears Ears and Grand Staircase National Monuments and the debt cliff, which is inevitable unless the infrastructure bill is passed. Ellerton added that this may be more damaging than we realize.
To conclude, Wade Allinson and Suzanne Anderson requested a letter of support from the planning commission and the trails committee to apply for a grant. They are hoping to put signage and kiosks at the site of one of the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) Camps at Willow Springs. The camp was established for both Ferron and Castle Dale CCC Camps and is located south of I-70 and Highway 10 on the way to Baker Ranch.
They are also hoping to put promotional signs and information at the museum. They are hoping this will be just the beginning of recognizing this period of history. Letters of support will be sent from both commissions.
