Mr. KAZEN. Thank you very much, sir. We are very delighted to have this assurance from the conservation districts. Any questions from the committee? Mr. RONCALIO. No, thank you, Mr. Chairman; no questions. You may proceed, sir. STATEMENT OF HAROLD HURICK, COUNTY AGENT, PARK COUNTY Mr. HURICK. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, I am Harold D. Hurick, Park County agricultural extension agent, University of Wyoming Agricultural Extension Service. I have served in Park County for the past 14 years. The statement that I have prepared is to present information regarding the social, economic, and agricultural status of the Powell community and its relationship to the proposed Polecat Bench irrigation project. GROWING SEASON The growing season of the area is fairly long. The area is suitable for the production of most fruits, all kinds of vegetables for commercial and farm-family use. The area is suitable for the production of sugar beets, dry beans, alfalfa hay, small grains, silage corn, and specialized crops such as canning peas, beans, corn, and the production of legume and grass seed. We realize that crop yields vary from farm to farm based on the productivity of the land and the management ability of the farmer. We can, however, expect yields to average on a per-acre basis about 20 to 25 sacks of beans, 18 to 20 tons of sugar beets, 4 to 5 tons of alfalfa hay and 90 to 100 bushels of small grains (malting barley). None of the crops grown in our area are surplus crops and are important to the agricultural economy. GENERAL ECONOMIC STATUS We have many young men in the community desiring to become established in farming but because of the high necessary investment and the lack of suitable farmlands, they are unable to do so and as a result leave our community seeking employment in other occupations. The establishment of increased farm units of family size would be a tremendous boost to the economy of the area. The economy would benefit through the sale of family living supplies, services and machinery. The increased economy would support business, schools, churches, recreation, and in general make our area a more desirable place in which to live and raise a family. Mr. KAZEN. Thank you very much, sir. We appreciate your statement. Are there any questions? Mr. RONCALIO. No questions. Thank you. Mr. KAZEN. Thank you, sir. Mr. Flitner, president of the State farm bureau. Mr. BAKER. Mr. Flitner was not able to make it today. Mr. KAZEN. What is your name, sir? Mr. BAKER. Kenneth Baker. Mr. KAZEN. Mr. Baker, you are speaking on behalf of the farm bureau? Mr. BAKER. Yes. Mr. KAZEN. Fine. Come around, sir. Mr. Sessions on deck. You may proceed, sir. STATEMENT OF KENNETH BAKER, NORTHWEST DISTRICT DIRECTOR, WYOMING FARM BUREAU Mr. BAKER. I am Kenneth Baker, northwest district director of the Wyoming Farm Bureau speaking in behalf of David Flitner, Wyoming Farm Bureau president. We urge the development of any and all feasible land irrigation projects in Wyoming where we can use our available water. With other groups asking for $100 billion for parks and recreation plans and giving no thought to cost-benefit ratio, it is apparent that this type of project would be more advantageous and return more in all ways to our State and Nation. Thank you. Mr. RONCALIO. That is just beautiful. [Applause.] Mr. KAZEN. The Chair must admonish the audience that there are no demonstrations permitted under the rules. [Laughter.] Mr. ABOUREZK. Mr. Chairman. Mr. KAZEN. Yes, Mr. Abourezk. Go ahead. Mr. ABOUREZK. I just wanted to thank Mr. Baker for his statement. Something touched a nerve with me there about other groups asking for money, not necessarily for parks and recreation, but without considering the cost-benefit ratio. My hometown is Rapid City, S. Dak., which just ha' the flood in June, as you all know, and the Corps of Engineers a few years ago investigated the feasibility of some dams upstream from Rapid City that would have prevented the flood had they been built. But the cost-benefit ratio was not good enough to suit the Corps of Engineers with the existing conditions and so on, so they did not build the dams. But there was no way to tell what the human benefits was, or the cost of human life at the time until we paid in June of this year a very high price. And I am not saying that irrigation projects would give the same return in human life, but I think in the quality of human life they do so, and I just want to agree with you there. Mr. KAZEN. Mr. Baker, I have mixed feelings about the statement you make here. particularly when you hit on parks and recreation. I do agree with you that there are many other values aside from dollars and cents, what it means to the local people. to their communities, because all of them make a contribution to the overall impact on this country. However, when you deal with parks and recreation. I must tell you that that is one of the things that we are trying to fund in high priority because of the very mobile conditions of our modern living. Were it not for parks and recreation, Wyoming citizens would lose a lot of money each year. As you well know, our parks and recreation facilities in this State are among the best in the world. I, myself, have spent many a dollar in your parks here in Wyoming, so these things do leave a benefit, even though all of the people of the United States helped to create them with their tax dollars. But, the immediate benefit is to the people in the local areas. Mr. BAKER. I am not questioning their benefit, but I am just saying that this was raised without a cost-benefit ratio applied on it. Mr. KAZEN. That is correct, but the benefits have certainly outweighed the costs in that area, as far as Wyoming is concerned. Mr. BAKER. As far as Yellowstone Park, living in close myself, it has been 3 years since I have been able to visit, even on a Sunday afternoon. I cannot get there. If I were to apply the cost-benefit ratio to me, it would be zero, because I have not been able to be there. Mr. KAZEN. This is correct, but our people in Texas do not get any benefit whatever from it, and yet my family and I spent two lovely weeks last month in the Tetons and Yellowstone, and we really have something to be proud of, that people from all over the world come to see. Incidentally, people are coming in from all over the world to look at these wonders we have in this great land of ours. But, I appreciate your statement, sir. Mr. BAKER. Thank you. Mr. KAZEN. The next witness is Mr. Scott Sessions, recreational director, city of Powell. Go ahead, sir. You may proceed. STATEMENT OF SCOTT SESSIONS, RECREATIONAL DIRECTOR, CITY OF POWELL Mr. SESSIONS. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, maybe I can elaborate a little more on the wonderful recreational possibilities and potential that we have in the State. My name is Scott Sessions. I am director of parks and recreation for the city of Powell, Wyo. My statement will be on the recreational potential as related to the Polecat Bench project. Outdoor recreation should be vigorously exploited as an important purpose of all water resource development projects. The usage of water is more important today than ever before as a recreation medium. We are just beginning to feel the pressure and problems to which other States have all been subjected in connection with the usage of water for recreational purposes. The State of Wyoming should focus more attention on its waters for recreation and on ways to protect and improve what we have. Better planned, bolder and more imaginative efforts are required if these demands are to be met now and in the future. Our Federal Government recognized this when they established the Outdoor Recreation Resource Review Commission. The State of Wyoming in turn was authorized to establish the State land and water conservation commission, now known as the Wyoming Recreation Commission. The present demand for such a project as Polecat Branch and its relation to recreation was foreseen some 20 years ago. Polecat Bench with Holden Reservoir, would be an ideal source for outdoor recreation. The State of Wyoming has felt the impact through the increase in tourism from 4 million in 1968 to 8 million in 1972, an increase of 1 million tourists per year. At the recent national park conference held in Yellowstone Park, it was indicated there would be no construction of overnight facilities in the park, in the immediate future. Powell and the surrounding area being in a direct line and between Yellowstone Park and the newly developed Big Horn National Recreation Area, we feel the impact of an even greater increase in tourism. These trends in tourism will increase the pressure on the surrounding area, and for sure, the Polecat Bench project. Water for recreation means many different things to different individuals. To some it is a place to swim, water ski, or go surf boarding. scuba diving, motorboating, canoeing, or fishing; to others it means a place to hunt waterfowl, or a place to trap muskrats or beaver; and to some it is a place to come to watch shore birds, or just sit and watch the water and enjoy nature. It is difficult to put a price on recreation, but a project such as this would be a valuable recreational asset to the surrounding area. In conclusion, the Polecat Bench and Holden Reservoir project, if developed, could ease the mounting pressure of providing outdoor recreation for the surrounding area. Thank you. Mr. KAZEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Sessions. Mr. Roncalio? Mr. RONCALIO. I just want to comment that I believe that is an excellent statement, Mr. Sessions. You have the proper scope of the future, because as Yellowtail continues and you get the continuation of that road, and you get the continuation of national park areas, you cannot help put more demands on you for national park recreation. Thank you, sir. Mr. KAZEN. Thank you, sir. Mr. Ken Witzeling, president of the chamber of commerce. Is there a representative from the Burlington Railroad here? Mr. FAGERBERG. Mr. Chairman, they asked permission to submit the statement they made to the Senate. Mr. KAZEN. Is it available to us? Mr. FAGERBERG. It is not available to you because they did not realize the hearing was going to be so quick. They called yesterday, and they will mail the statement to you, with your permission, to be included in the record. Mr. KAZEN. All right. The record will be held open, and when we receive that statement, it will be made a part of the record. (The statement referred to follows:) STATEMENT OF E. E. THURLOW, ASSISTANT VICE PRESIDENT, MINERALS AND LAND, BURLINGTON NORTHERN INC. Mr. Chairman, and members of the Committee. My name is Ernest E. Thurlow, Assistant Vice President. Minerals and Land, for Burlington Northern Inc., with headquarters at St. Paul. Minnesota. For more than a century the growing economic development of the West has drawn its principle strength from the fruitful partnership of American agriculture and American railroads. In satisfaction of a request from interested local parties I am pleased to submit for the record of this hearing a statement in support of congressional authorization of the Polecat Bench Irrigation Project in northwest Wyoming. Our faith in the potential of this development is based on solid experience. Burlington Northern, through its predecessor companies has been directly involved for many years in programs of the type proposed for the Polecat Bench area. Our record of cooperation in the development of agricultural resources throughout the Midwest and West speaks for itself. Burlington Northern serves many outstanding agricultural areas in the vast territory linked by our rail network. Agricultural states include Illinois, Wisconsin, Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, North and South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Montana, Idaho, Washington and Oregon. In this richly productive region are a number of the Nation's most highly developed areas of irrigated agriculture. The degree to which irrigation as an economic factor can affect such an area is clearly demonstrated by the changes we have experienced in volume and character of traffic and the revenues generated. These are reliable measures of growth and improvement not merely for Burlington Northern but for the communities and businesses we serve. The destinies of these communities are intrinsically linked with our own and I can think of no better way of intensifying the agricultural economy or stemming the migration from rural America than through irrigation development. This is particularly significant to a state like Wyoming which already is heavily agriculture-oriented and sparsely populated. Although Burlington Northern does own 1,690 irrigable acres in the proposed project, it is not the ownership of this land that prompts our interest in the proposal. If the project is authorized and funded, we would dispose of these holdings in compliance with the reclamation law. These lands were originally owned by Northern Pacific, one of the predecessor companies of Burlington Northern. Northern Pacific took no part in the formation of the irrigation district consistent with a policy established a number of years ago. The company did not wish ever to be in the position of seeming to force the creation of an irrigation district at the expense of smaller landowners. We feel that landowners living in the district should take the initiative in the formation of these districts. This remains our policy, and, as stated, our principle interest is in the general economic development of the territory. The stakes involved in a project of this scope are high, but the economic benefits are substantial and far-reaching. Irrigation would provide long-term economic stability which would undergird even further development. Burlington Northern's long experience in serving irrigated agriculture regions convinces us that the proposed Polecat Bench Project is feasible and has valuable potential. Mr. KAZEN. Mr. David Bonner on deck. And you may proceed, sir. STATEMENT OF KEN WITZELING, PRESIDENT, CHAMBER OF COMMERCE, CITY OF POWELL Mr. WITZELING. As president of the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce, I would like to add my endorsement to the Polecat Bench project. It is a pleasure for me to appear before your subcommittee to testify in behalf of the Polecat Bench project in Park County, Wyo. I feel this is a most important development, one that offers a real economic possibility for this area. Repeatedly in the past, the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce has tried to attract small, nonpolluting industry, but to no avail. Our area is primarily a rural, agricultural commuinty and I feel that Polecat Bench project offers the best means of economic expansion for our community, Park County, and northern Wyoming. The administration speaks of population dispersal, getting people out of the congested urban areas to less populated areas. We know we would welcome new people and they would come if they had employment or other opportunities to make a living here. Construction of this project would offer employment to local farm youth and would encourage them to live here instead of moving to the population centers. |