'Reckless drive'

Ranchers also are wary — of the water authority, its science and the process.

Baker said there is "almost a reckless drive to get this thing done," that the aquifer systems are poorly understood and the SNWA's proposals are vague and rely on "voodoo science."

Anderson, the rancher from Garrison, told the Morning News in a letter that "the answer to these concerns from SNWA typically falls into two categories: 'Trust me' and 'We would never do that.' Neither approach is acceptable when livelihood, heritage and environment are at stake. Much more must be understood before we expose our future to this project."

Even if it worked, Ken Hill, a member of the citizens alliance from Partoun, said the project is "only a temporary fix to Las Vegas' explosive, some say cancerous, growth that Nevada officials have no desire to quench.

"Ultimately, they are going to have to have additional water even if this project is approved. We think they should be looking to that ultimate solution."

And so the conflict builds.

The bottom line, according to Mulroy: "I think it's important for everyone to realize that we're very early in the process. That a lot of the data that needs to be developed is still in the process of being developed, and that this (citizens group's) reaction is based on assumptions and fear. We are absolutely committed that we will manage the water rights that we are granted in such a way that will not detrimentally affect existing ranchers, the rural lifestyle or the environment."

From Kathy Hill, wife of Ken Hill:

"I don't want to be on the other end of their experiment. The impact is to my home, and I don't want my home valued by Las Vegas values. If they drained off the valley and turned it into a dust bowl, choked away all the springs that the animals use, that's changing my home to the point where I don't know what will be left for us. They say they'll mitigate, that we can just dig our wells a little deeper. But you can't mitigate a spring that doesn't exist anymore."

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E-mail: jnii@desnews.com