The effort began about eight months ago. NOAA is still building it, but, Lautenbacher added, in two or three years the public will see more of the regional NOAA offices.

During his speech, he said the five states with the fastest-growing populations in the West are Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado and Idaho. This year Salt Lake City suffered through its hottest summer ever, with an average temperature of 79.3 degrees, and August was the second-hottest and fifth-driest on record.

The climate is changing, he said, but it is an overlay above cyclical weather fluctuations.

"We need to have key improvements in climate monitoring," and they must be global, he said.

Huntsman, presently vice chairman of the governors group and next year's chairman, said he checks water information daily because water is critical for the state's survival, "to say nothing about our economic viability."

The meeting must bring out ideas that will allow policymakers to address water needs. "We're facing unprecedented demands for our limited supply of water in the West," he said. To find solutions will take creativity, smart planning, and collaboration among representatives of local, state and federal agencies, according to the governor.

"Water planning must be a bottom-up approach," Huntsman said.

A representative of Defenders of Wildlife and the Great Basin Water Network distributed a report titled "Gambling on the Water Table: The High-Stakes Implications of the Las Vegas Pipeline for Plants, Animals, Places and People."

The report quotes Jim Deacon, a professor emeritus of biology and environmental science at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, as saying the Snake Valley pumping project could have a devastating effect on biological diversity.

The Southern Nevada Water District asked for the right to convey 100,000 acre-feet of water per year from an aquifer that straddles the Utah-Nevada border. The water would be piped to the Las Vegas area.

The report indicates the pipeline would harm humans, plants and animals in both states.

The booklet quotes Deacon as saying pumping groundwater for the project would cause a bigger drop in the water table in 100 years than has happened in the 15,000 years since the ice age glaciers retreated.

---

E-mail: bau@desnews.com