NEWS

Lake Manly Returns -- Inyo Register 10/19/72 Governor Reagan was asked last week to declare Death Valley a disaster area in order to obtain federal emergency funds to repair an estimated half-million dollars in flood damage to highways. Recently rains, totaling some five inches, caused flash floods that washed out or buried about 20 miles of state, county and Park Service highways and damaged several bridges. The Amargosa river bridge just west of Tecopa was destroyed. Charles Chitty of the State Division of Highways said an aerial survey showed Hwys. 178 and 127 received the most damage but until ground crews can make a thorough inspection it will not be known how much of the roads was merely covered by debris and how much paving was actually washed out. He said the department had made a preliminary estimate, based on experience from previous floods, that damage to state roads would approach $200,000. Robert Fisher, Inyo county director of public works, said there had been between $100,000 and $150,000 damage to county highways principally in the Tecopa-Shoshone area. He estimated it would cost $40,000 just to replace the Amargosa river bridge. Supt. James B. Thompson of Death Valley Natl. Monument announced roads temporarily closed to public travel are: Jubilee Pass, Saratoga Springs, Golden Canyon, Desolation Canyon, Artists Drive, Eastside Road south of Badwater, Westside Road, Sand Dunes Picnic Area, Titus Canyon and the Racetrack. Flood waters from the Amargosa River have momentarily created a shallow lake 10 miles long and one to four miles wide on the valley floor near Badwater. Many visitors are taking advantage of this opportunity to photograph the lake and its early morning and late afternoon reflections of the Panamint mountains. The lake will soon disappear as the water evaporates. Visitors inquiring about current road conditions should stop at the Furnace Creek visitor center or telephone 714-786-2331. Business hours are from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Glen Canyon NRA Congressional action was concluded Saturday, Oct. 14, on S.27, establishing the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area in Utah and Arizona, thus clearing it for the White House. Before enactment, the Senate amended the bill to give the Secretary of Interior entire jurisdiction over study of a "scenic, low-speed road, hereby authorized, from Glen Canyon City to Bullfrog Basin, crossing the Escalante River south of the point where the river has entered Lake Powell when the lake is at the 3700-foot level." The House version had split the authority between Interior and Transportation Departments and had given the state of Utah authority to build the road if Interior didn't. Conservationists opposed the road because of its adverse impact on the unique Escalante Canyon area, being considered for wilderness status.

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