O.K., here's another one from The Bulletin regarding the canals. Hot topic, I guess. This Jack R. Wyatt guy wrote an 'In My View' piece in today's editorial page. Seems he doesn't want the irrigation canals or, "man-made wild rivers" as he likes to call them, piped.
He argues the canals provide, "rapids, waterfalls, and the sound of cascading water." All of this for Mr. Wyatts personal enjoyment, apparently. Oh but wait, he plays the environmental card too, listing off no fewer than 11 species of birds and alluding to others that call the canals home. How he forgot the deer, elk, rock chucks, sage rats, common field mice, black labs, etc., is beyond me. I also wonder why if all of these animals are so reliant on the canals, how come we don't see thousands of dead animal carcasses littering the areas around them when the water is turned off in the winter.
He even suggests that the City Council take a walk along the canal so they could see what would actually be lost. Now there's a good idea, let's have the City Council walk the section of canal that runs behind Bill Dolf's house (my 8/31/07 post). If the City Council needs proof that a fireworks ban is necessary, let's see the nature loving Wyatt prancing around behind the home of the privacy loving Dolf, with a bunch of politicians in tow. Yeehaw!
Hey Mr. Wyatt, let me fill you in on a little secret pal...YOU LIVE IN A FUCKING DESERT! Yes they're pretty to look at, and yes the critters like 'em. But we only have a certain amount of water around here and we'd better damn well take care of it. Do you have any idea how much water is being constantly lost in those leaky old canals due to seepage and evaporation? Millions of gallons, daily. And if you think that anyone is going to get rich off of some sorta hydroelectic facility, buddy I want to know what part of the canal that you live on 'cause they sure must be growing some damn good mushrooms there.
Yes, I bet you can "...attest to fish in the canal." Hell I charged a couple of clients $6oo. for a half day guided trip on the Upper Yeoman Road section of that "man made wild river" last week. We pulled a 23 lb. native buck steelhead out of a nice little riffle up there. NOT! The only fish living in that man made, labyrinth of water don't belong there; they never have and never will.
And I just have one more quick question regarding your little story in the paper. Where in the hell did you come up with that $50,000. per home figure that you claim will be lost in home values if the canal is piped? Did you just pull that one out of your little bag of wisdom?
I will bet you money that at some point in the not so distant future that just about every canal and most of the larger ditches in this region will be piped. Chances are that we're going to have to do it whether we want to or not. And for the sake of a whole lotta people that are going to place a whole lotta demands on the finite amount of water here down the road, we ought to do it responsibly, with our heads held high. Not like a bunch of snivelling little pussies that don't want their pretty "backyard water features" to go away.
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Keep it coming!
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