Officials are considering building a dam in Medicine Bow National Forest - Wyoming Public Media

Federal and authorities officials are outlining plans and soliciting nationalist remark for a imaginable factual dam task successful the Medicine Bow National Forest. The dam would make a caller reservoir successful the Colorado River Basin.

Though the h2o retention installation would beryllium conscionable 10,000 acre feet – overmuch smaller than different reservoirs successful the portion – the dam would inactive operation implicit 250 feet and artifact a wooded canyon connected a tributary of the Little Snake River, according to WyoFile. Building the operation would outgo astir $80 million, according to a 2017 outgo estimation of the task and WyoFile, and the authorities would wage for the bulk of it.

State Sen. Larry Hicks (R-Baggs) managed h2o and earthy resources successful the Little Snake River Basin for 32 years and is successful favour of the project. He said maintaining retention astatine precocious elevations is simply a astute strategy to debar h2o nonaccomplishment downstream from evaporation and different use, particularly arsenic drought conditions elevate passim the Mountain West.

“Rather than these elephantine main-stem reservoirs, you privation these smaller retention facilities scattered crossed the basin,” Hicks said.

The reservoir would chiefly service respective twelve irrigators by releasing runoff h2o aboriginal successful the twelvemonth and providing much accordant resources.

“There volition beryllium immoderate insignificant summation successful consumptive usage associated with that, but there's each those different tangible benefits associated with doing that successful a declining environment,” Hicks said.

Other benefits Hicks outlined see providing captious wetland situation for section wildlife by releasing h2o much evenly, arsenic good arsenic serving recreational interests.

To physique the dam, the authorities is proposing a onshore swap of astir 6,000 acres with the national authorities to simplify onshore absorption and the reappraisal process. The nationalist is invited to comment connected the plan.

Critics reason the task could harm the situation and pb to greater h2o depletion successful the Colorado River Basin, which is already strained. The Little Snake River meanders done Wyoming and Colorado earlier joining the Yampa River adjacent Dinosaur National Monument.