An initial portion of the lawsuit seems to have been settled in the Indians' favor; however, the plot thickens from there. Some of the plaintiffs have announced plans to lease the water they hope to control for $1,200 per acre-foot, a not-unreasonable sum for residential use, but prohibitive for the marginal agriculture and ranching Arizonans have long favored. The suit may eventually drive the producers of water-hungry cotton, alfalfa, asparagus, citrus and pecans to wetter ground, may stem the growth of Arizona's cities in the San Pedro and Gila valleys, may require ranchers to thin their herds dramatically, may force a return to less water-intensive ways of life in this dry country.
On the other hand, by setting off a statewide scramble to grab up unclaimed water before the adjudication can proceed further in court, the suit may help drive the last nail into the San Pedro's coffin.
@rule:
@body:Water seems to be the last of many Cochise County residents' worries. Southeastern Arizona is in the midst of a boom. Forty years ago, Sierra Vista was a dusty crossroads named Fry; now it boasts a population of 35,000, and the number is quickly rising. By 2000, some planners predict, it will rank among Arizona's largest cities. Nearby Fort Huachuca has a variable population of another 22,000 or so, and the Army plans to move several units there from bases facing closure in the next few years.
Bisbee and Tombstone, Naco and Willcox, all beckon newcomers with open arms, aided by a change in state policy. Landowners are no longer required to tell potential buyers that water supplies in the San Pedro Valley are uncertain. The change may well have spurred Benson's recent move to annex the Whetstone Ranch--which, in a few years, is projected to boast a 7,000-home retirement community with three water-intensive golf courses.
The boom is almost certain to further degrade the San Pedro unless consensus among environmental advocates and business interests can be built. And a small group of Cochise County residents, which calls itself the Friends of the San Pedro River, actually has fairly modest aims in terms of river preservation, says its president, Sierra Vista resident Dot Rhodes. The group wants to finish the restoration of the small, dilapidated San Pedro House near the entrance to the riparian conservation area; to upgrade the nearby Murray Springs mammoth kill site along Highway 90 to Bisbee; and to convey the importance of living rivers to residents of nearby communities.
But the prospect of real agreement along the San Pedro is a distant one, at best. As the Nature Conservancy's Andy Laurenzi says, "With a watershed of this size, it's unreasonable to think any group will be able to speak for everyone, or that any common cause can be forged."
In the absence of such agreement, politicians and developers are calling yet again for more dams to be built, including one on the San Pedro upstream of Sierra Vista. "Some people say, 'We've dammed the Salt--how terrible.' I say, 'No, it isn't. Look what we have because of those dams,'" state Representative Stan Barnes (Republican-Mesa) recently proclaimed.
A new dam rising on the San Pedro at Charleston may fuel continued growth. In the end, however, it will also alter the condition of the river, undoing years of work by would-be restorers and bringing the last of Arizona's free rivers into a state of servitude. The choice seems simple: Either have a boom-town economy, with a thriving cattle industry, or take a more considered approach to growth and keep a living river.
Making that choice, however, will be a long and painful process, full of sound and fury, and Arizonans will be feeling repercussions from the battle for years to come.
