Number: 1976-24
WHEREAS, Public Law 93-320, known as the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act, authorizes and directs the Secretary of the Interior to proceed with a program of works, including a desalinization plant, for the enhancement and protection of the quality of water available in the Colorado River for use in the United States and the Republic of Mexico; and
WHEREAS, it is estimated that when this project is completed 14,500 acres of land in Arizona will be reduced in quality for fish and wildlife purposes, 2,340 acres of riparian habitat below Morelos Dam will be lost, 15 acres of ponds in the Hunter Hole/Gadsen Lake areas will be gone, 40 miles of open drainage channels in the Yuma Valley will be lost to wildlife use and 20 miles of flowing water in the Colorado River below Morelos Dam will cease to exist; and
WHEREAS, such losses constitute a substantial and major impact on the fish, wildlife and outdoor recreational resources in southwestern Arizona; and
WHEREAS, the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Act was enacted to satisfy the 1944 treaty between the United States and Mexico at the expense of Arizona’s natural resources; and
WHEREAS, existing Federal laws, including the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act of 1973, are designed to protect natural resources, including fish and wildlife resources;
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the National Wildlife Federation, in annual meeting assembled March 19-21, 1976, in Louisville, Ky., urge the U.S. Secretary of the Interior, the Bureau of Reclamation and all other agencies responsible for compliance with Public Law 93-320 to develop an effective and satisfactory mitigation plan pursuant to the provisions of the Fish and Wildlife Coordination Act, the National Environmental Policy Act and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 and to obtain the funding necessary to complete the mitigation plan as adopted.