BLM to Discuss Walker Lake strategies at July meetings

The Bureau of Land Management will hold five more pubic meetings starting today to make sure every idea to save Walker Lake gets a chance to be heard.

The meetings, designed as a brainstorming period, will start with a PowerPoint slide show recapping the alternatives gathered so far. The sessions are a follow-up to public meetings held in February and will be held in the same locations.

"When you talk water in Nevada, people get passionate, and understandably so," said Mark Struble, public affairs officer for the Carson City BLM office. "This is a chance for the public and other interested parties to come up and put all the issues on the table."

The meetings will also give policy makers enough information to consider feasible decisions regarding the future of Walker Lake and its users, said Struble.

The lake level has lowered over time because of water being diverted from the Walker River for agricultural users upstream. Salinity has increased, putting the Lahontan cutthroat trout population in danger. Yet water is needed for the recreation economy of Hawthorne, as well as the irrigators and well users of Mason and Smith Valleys.

People will have until the end of July to present any ideas not previously brought up, said Struble.

"We want to save the lake, but in such a way that it doesn't adversely affect agriculture,' said Struble. "No decisions have been made yet. "

Some solutions presented so far have included building a desalination plant, reducing the water-sapping tamarisks along the banks, lining irrigation ditches to prevent water loss, and cloud seeding.

David Haight, a Yerington resident and retired engineer who is against reducing water to the upstream valleys, wants to be sure the complexities of the problem are brought out in the meetings.

"If they're going to be open and really lay this thing out, I'll be happy," Haight said. "I will give my input and we'll go from there."

Lyon County commissioner David Fulstone is glad the public comment period was extended.

"I hope they take the public's comments to heart," said Fulstone.

The workshops will be conducted by the Desert Research Institute, who will be responsible for preparing the environmental impact statement for the Walker River Basin. A draft environmental impact statement is set to be completed by November 24, 2000.

Struble said how the Walker Lake water issue is decided may well become a precedent for other watersheds in Nevada. He wants to be sure all comers get their say.

"It's like going to a banquet - we want to make sure the table is fully set, with all the dishes laid out, before anybody digs in," he said.

What: Public meetings on Walker Lake

Where: Today - Yerington High School, Yerington

Wednesday - Mineral County Library, Hawthorne

July 12 - Memorial Hall, Bridgeport

July 13 - Carson City BLM Field Office

When: 5:30 - 9 p.m.