Save Flaming Gorge Foundation

[Fish4Brains]

Just received this email-

To all concerned with Flaming Gorge!

I was hoping this project had lost momentum, but it looks like it is still alive and well. This will be the final disaster for Flaming Gorge if it goes through. It has the objective of taking up to 400 million acre feet of water out of the Gorge every year which will effectively end the kokanee fishery that we currently enjoy. Buckboard Marina could become a mud flat. Unfortunately this group has LOTS of money and friends in high places. It really makes me sick to see this project raise it's ugly head again. If we don't come out in force to oppose this, we have no one to blame but ourselves if all of our water goes to Colorado to water their lawns, golf courses and fill their swimming pools. Please get everyone you know to attend this meeting and voice our concerns. This is probably the one most important threat to our way of life here in Sweetwater County that we have ever faced to date.

Ron Carey


There is a meeting on April 14th at the Green River High School starting at 6:30 PM. Please pass this along to anyone who values and or uses Flaming Gorge Reservoir or the Green River.

>>> "Wendy Kraft" <[email protected]> 3/31/2009 12:01 PM >>>


The Million Conservation Resource Group is still pursuing construction of the Regional Watershed Supply Project. The Project would involve water withdrawal from the Green River and Flaming Gorge Reservoir using intake facilities at two points of diversion and take the water to Pueblo, Colorado. A Public Hearing on the project will be held here in Green River on April 14th, from 6:30 pm to 9 pm, at the Green River High School. Please plan on attending and providing comment if the format allows. I was not able to find the EIS on line but as soon as I do I will send it out to you all.



Janet L. Hartford

Executive Director

Green River Chamber of Commerce

1155 W. Flaming Gorge Way

Green River, WY 82935

 

[bobco]

yup, colorado needs your water, unbeleivable but I think that guy has a chance of getting it done. I have not seen the effects on the water level at the gorge. Aaron Million the guy behind that thing came into Montrose Co where I live and got the city to rollover on somethings so he could build a Holiday Inn, he has influance for sure.

 

[Hooter Patrol]

i suggest we get an online petition started right away, you know the kind were you put your name and address then forward it on to people you know so they can sign, alot of people out of town would like know about this so they could voice their opinion, this can reach alot of people quickly.

 

[Propnut69]

http://www.greenriverstar.com/articles/2009/04/01/news/doc49d3d645e0442201168840.txt

This is a link to the article in the local paper for those who want to read it. Not only do I say NO to this but hell No. For anyone living in sweetwater county or living in Wyoming I urge you to call,write,e-mail your local and state representatives and tell them that you are against and why you are against it.The state of Wyoming will receive very little for the water that goes to Colo. The people of Sweetwater County will receive nothing. For anyone else that uses the gorge I urge you to contact your state reps and tell them that this is a bad idea.

 

[Bduck]

There is also an article running in the Standard-Examiner (Ogden) today. It mentions public meetings in Green River Wy. Apr 14 & Laramie, Wy. Apr 16.

 

[Ryno]

There is also an article running in the Standard-Examiner (Ogden) today. It mentions public meetings in Green River Wy. Apr 14 & Laramie, Wy. Apr 16.

There is also a meeting in Vernal, Utah on April 15th. It starts at 6:30pm at the Uintah High School.

 

[Propnut69]

There is also a meeting in Vernal, Utah on February 15th. It starts at 6:30pm at the Uintah High School.

Uhhhhh Ryan today is April 9th,perhaps you meant April 15th instead of February 15th.laugh hyst

 

[Ryno]

Uhhhhh Ryan today is April 9th,perhaps you meant April 15th instead of February 15th.laugh hyst

Whoops, I fixed it. Believe it or not, I'm still writing 2008 on occasion too! I'm glad it's my Friday........

 

[binthere50]

This situation WILL end up in court I assure all of you on that. My advice, I have some experience with this, is too round up the troops, get the best attorney that money can buy( a fisherman attorney), get a foundation or some
kind of group alliance organized that can raise money, (lots of it) and start fighting this guy...NOW. Every single loophole, crack in this guys armor, legal
reason to prove that this is wrong, illegal, and damaging, must be exposed.
Every single study this guy had done, environmental or otherwise, must be challenged ASAP!. All State Agency's, Fish and Wildlife, Environmental Groups,
Fishing Clubs, Federal Fish and Wildlife Agency's, etc, etc..should be brought on board to fight this act of piracy, and soon. This will take a dedicated effort by every single person who enjoys this fishery, every businessman who makes a living there, everyone and anyone who has an interest in seeing this defeated.
I live on the Coast of California, and have seen a large part of our fishing rights stripped away before anyone re-acted. Now we know different. Although this situation is different by way of motive, we have learned that these matters end up being "legal" issues, not right or wrong, just a matter of what the courts will say in regards to whether it is "legal" or not. All of you that read this hear me now...this Aaron Million guy has tens of millions tied up in this deal, and I bet that not one penny is HIS money. Do you think his group of investor's will just let all their money go away because of some kokanee and lake trout?..Hah!...Think again my friends....This guy is smart and he will not stop trying to do this unless a Court of Law stops him...100% guaranteed I assure you. Every single fishing group, club, organization in the Western U.S. should know about this and NOW. This is going to come down
to who has enough money and balls to stop this guy.You need Senators, Congressman, Governors, ANYONE who will help to start now on this. This guy
will probably get his way in the end, unless they can re-coup their money some other way or hit a dead end by way of a legal termination of the deal.
So know this, from now on fishing Flaming Gorge is going cost money, because if you don't raise enough funds to fight this effectively, you will lose.
How many people fish the Gorge every year?...20,000, 50,000, ? more..less? If every person who fishes there coughs up $200.00 bucks a year to fight this legally, every year, you might have a chance.
Ask yourself this....The "Save Flaming Gorge Reservoir Foundation"
collects a couple of million bucks by way of donations each year from fishermen, environmental groups, Green Peace hippies, anyone!.....This would be a formidable opponent to this guy, and he might just back down..Then again, do nothing and you might have this fishery for another 4-5 years..
But after that it will be gone....I'm willing to donate $1000.00 right now
Who will match that?..10,000 people matching that gives the "group" a million dollars...Get this started...any attorneys out there reading this?
Rocky Mountain Tackle...Jared, right?...Do you want to stay in business?
Who do you know that can start this process....Time to sack up Brothers,
or get castrated before you even know..fired up......Mike...New Member

 

[Bduck]

If this foundation were to get started, a bank accounted needs to be set up for donations and someone needs to spearhead this. Utah & Wyoming share the blue ribbon Kokanee fisherie for this country. I like to see other states get there own unless they already have one. BT50 is right, this forum can reach out to a lot of folks. Petitions need to be drawn up and get sent out asap, at least by way of internet service. Representation-Who's out there to take control?

 

[binthere50]

I'm warning you guys

Thanks Bduck...at least someone knows what I'm talking about!....
I've seen so much of our fishing taken away from us here
in California, mainly ocean fishing, by way of the Marine Protection Act,
and other lame excuses that don't have a shred of concrete evidence to support them....This case regarding Flaming Gorge is different though. But the results are sure to be the same....everyone will be caught sleeping and all of the sudden it's "What the Hell happened!".....Be proactive..Someone in Utah
or Wyoming needs to get this going....I can't do it from here in California,
but I can sure tell you guys what its like to have prime fishing pulled right out from under us because we did not act in a PRO-ACTIVE way...That's what guys like Aaron Million count on, people like you guys who are un-informed and don't think ahead...This guy is thinking ahead ..He does not think you folks will have the know how and where with all to fight him....prove him wrong....Mike

 

[Propnut69]

This is from this weeks local fish wrap. It's about time Mr Million has to declare who the end users of his water project will be. This is one of many things that Million has been very quite about. This question has been asked time and time again as to who the end users are.Now he will have to spill the beans.

Corps begins gathering info on water project


Published: Wednesday, August 5, 2009 5:32 PM MDT
The U. S. Army Corps of Engineers has requested information on potential users and their water needs for Aaron Million’s proposed Regional Watershed Supply Project, according to Rena Brand, regulatory specialist for the Corps.

"The Million Conservation Resource Group was notified July 30 that user information is needed in six months in order for the Corps to develop the necessary purpose and need statement for the Environmental Impact Statement.

The information from the needs statement will be used to develop alternatives and independently verify user needs.

The Corps’ office in Denver is reviewing a request from MCRG for authorization to construct a 560-mile-long pipeline to move Wyoming’s and Colorado’s unallocated water from the Green River Basin to southeast Wyoming and the Colorado Front Range.

Regulations specify the Corps should exercise independent judgment in defining the purpose and need of the project from both the developer’s and the public’s perspective.

In order to define the need, they must understand who the water users are.

Needs of the users must be verified.

Examples of water users could be cities, irrigation districts or industries.

According to officials from the Corps, regardless of positive or negative comments received on the project, this information is typically asked of developers for projects of this magnitude because the impacts are presumed to be significant."

Two weeks ago the Governor of Wyoming ,publicly came out against this project. Basically saying that the negatives out weighted the positives for the state. As a reminder,if you haven't contacted your local and state reps about this project,please do so. Tell them why it's a bad idea.

 

[Code4]

FYI,
The City of Green River has allocated $150,000 for legal fees for fighting this. Sweetwater county has done the same and hopefully, August 11th the city of Rock Springs will join, all three allocating the same amount. Green River attorney's are utilizing a professor at UW who specializes in water rights to assist in this.
The Attorney General of Utah was supposed to give an opinion on this matter but I never heard what it was, although I can't imagine it was in favor of it. I also heard Western Colorado residents were not in favor of this. If you live in either state it would probably be beneficial to contact those political representatives as well and let them know how you feel.
You would think this would be easily shut down due to the affect it would have on things but money talks....

 

[kokaine]

Water level

In the 20 or so years I've been around the Gorge, I've never seen the water levels so 'suddenly' high. I know we had a wet spring but I'm curious to know if the level is being intentionally manipulated high throughout the COE's study. Any speculation on this??

 

[Code4]

I don't think the water is being manipulated. They had near normal (100%) snowpack up north and late snow, which helped things out. With the wet, cold spring we had it just slowed down the normal spring melt, then it got fairly warm all the sudden. This was the latest high water in the Green River running through town in the 18 years I have lived here. I know Fontenelle filled very fast, then they started letting out the high amounts of water to try to keep it from overflowing. I don't see how anyone could have manipulated any of that...my opinion.

 

[Propnut69]

Also due to federal mandates. The dam on the gorge ,has a minimum amount of water that has to be released due to the endangered species below the dam. This amount is released regardless of what the level of the lake is. Like code 4 said with fontenelle being as full as it is,they had no choice but to dump a huge amount of water in the gorge. Couple that up with a very wet spring and TaDa here we are with very high water levels in the gorge.

 

[Kokaholic]

The Snake, Grays,hoback, salt and many other rivers in that part of the country all ran higher than normal and ran high longer than normal. It was a state wide area for good snowfall and rain in the spring that everything up high.

 

[Propnut69]

Very true Mark,as well as Fremont,boulder,half moon.willow{,don't know about soda lake},but all these other are either full or very close to it. Seem like all the lakes in the upper green river drainage ,got a good amount of water this year.

 

[Propnut69]

This was in this weeks local paper,I would like to think that the local commissioners are getting their point arcoss.

Water questions continue
Published: Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Citing the list of water projects Sweetwater County hopes to undertake over the next 10 years, County Commissioner Paula Wonnacott had some sharp questions for Parker County Water and Sanitation District manager Frank Jaeger at a special meeting of the Board of Commissioners last Wednesday.

Jaeger and two other representatives from the Colorado-Wyoming Cooperative Water Supply Project were in town last week to stump for the formation of a joint powers board, comprised of municipalities across the state, to evaluate the feasibility of transporting water from Flaming Gorge Reservoir by pipeline to communities in eastern Wyoming and Colorado.

In a later conversation, Commissioner Randy Walker expressed concern that “here we are a colony, again, with outsiders proposing to extract our wealth.”

“I’m willing to listen,” Walker said. “But water is a valuable, valuable resource, and very precious to the citizens of southwest Wyoming.”

Jaeger’s appearance before the board was one in a series of presentations he made last week on behalf of the project, which aims to secure some portion of Colorado’s and Wyoming’s undeveloped entitlements under the Colorado Compact of 1922, and to protect the remainder of those allotments through the development of a comprehensive regional development plan.

Currently about one-third of each state’s allotted share of water escapes downstream.

“Wyoming and Colorado are the only two states without fully developed entitlements,” Jaeger said. “What is available to develop for these two states? We are here to open that dialogue.”

A similar agreement is in the works in eastern Colorado.

But Wonnacott wants an answer to a different question. She wants to know how collaboration between Wyoming and Colorado, or, for that matter, collaboration on the proposed pipeline, stands to benefit the people of western Wyoming.

Noting that the Green River Basin Advisory Group and the Upper Green River Joint Powers Board are already deeply involved in assessing and responding to this region’s long term needs, she asked Jaeger, “How has their planning and their vision impacted your focus?”

She pointed out that western Wyoming’s notorious boom or bust cycles make it difficult to project how much water local industry will require going forward.

“Our future needs are a moving target,” she said.

Upper Green River Joint Powers Board Chairman John Zebre echoed that thought when he observed not enough is known about how much water the basin actually has to engage in “intelligent conversation” about committing those resources elsewhere.

Moreover, several projects of more immediate concern to the upper basin have already been identified, including a water line from Rock Springs to the airport, Arrowhead Springs, and Simplot, and the construction of a second reservoir somewhere north of Flaming Gorge.

“If we were to join you,” Wonnacott asked, “how would that get us any further?

“How can you accomplish what people in this room have been working on for 20 years?”

Jaeger contended that there is power in numbers, and that more people and more needs equal more clout.

“The challenge is, if a project is going to be built, it’s going to require dollars.”

To that end, as Cheyenne attorney and Water Supply Project associate Harriet Hegeman subsequently explained, the proposed joint powers agreement should be seen as a framework for moving forward, first by addressing the current and future needs of regional participants.

“Who are the players?” Jaeger asked. “Who’s coming to the table?” -- and, second, by securing the funding to comply with the regulatory process, and get vetted projects built.

“We are looking at (projects like the Colorado-Wyoming Cooperative Water Supply Project) from a holistic standpoint, to ensure that Wyoming’s water needs as a whole are met in the future,” Hegeman said.

“This project is not to be perceived as sacrificing one area’s needs for another.”

Under state law, however, any project built after the proposed pipeline would also have a later priority date. Walker wondered out loud what would happen to future development in the region in the event of a water shortage.

“So we say, water is our economy, and you say, OK, we’ll shut our water off?” Walker asked.

“I suspect we would have an argument,” Jaeger said.

“I suspect we would,” Walker replied.

“Change is inevitable,” Walker later conceded. “But we need to have access to that resource.”

Given the difficulty of securing technical support and funding from Wyoming Water Development and the state legislature, Wonnacott asked,”What is in this region’s long term interests?”

“We have a responsibility to see that in 70 years, the water is still here,” she added.

 

[Propnut69]

Here is just a little snippet ,about what one of Wyoming's elected official is doing to help the people of Sweetwater County ,and the people of Wyoming with this problem.

Barrasso Secures Seat at the Table for Sweetwater Communities
Sweetwater granted cooperating agency status by U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

September 30, 2009

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator John Barrasso (R-Wyo.) has stepped in to guarantee Sweetwater County communities have a voice during the Regional Watershed Supply Project (RWSP) debate.

“It is crucial for our communities and the county to participate in the process from the very beginning,” Barrasso said. “The Sweetwater County community needs to share their expertise with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.”

Barrasso secured cooperating agency status from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for Sweetwater County, Rock Springs, Green River and the Sweetwater County Conservation District.

“Protecting the current and future interests of Wyoming in this process is paramount,” Barrasso said. “This project has broad repercussions for our entire state.”

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will begin drafting options which will determine whether or not actions will be taken with the RWSP. Cooperating agency status guarantees Sweetwater County communities will now have a chance to participate in the talks.

“We face significant water management challenges. We must work to ensure there is a plentiful future water supply for Wyoming,” Barrasso said.

The RWSP is a privately-funded project proposed by Colorado developer Aaron Million. The project aims to draw water from the Green River and pipe it to Colorado’s Front Range.