Gallego tours the Gila Valley, talks water and gray wolves in first stop with ranchers, farmers

THATCHER — U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego, D-Ariz., said Arizona’s fight over water is just getting started.

“Just to be honest, I think we got screwed. There’s no other way to put it,” Gallego said about the recent Bureau of Reclamation final environmental impact statement on Colorado River Operations that call for a reduction of about 760,000 acre-feet in Arizona’s allocation of water, while upper basin states face no cuts.

He made his comments at a roundtable with ranchers and farmers at Eastern Arizona College on Tuesday.

While he said the fight over the Colorado River isn’t over, Arizona will need to take steps immediately to protect its residents.

“We’re going to have to figure out how to create water, move water, store water, conserve water, whatever it is. And that’s going to require a lot of federal dollars,” Gallego said, adding that water trading is an option he believes the Bureau of Reclamation should take under consideration.

On the issue of water, Graham County Supervisor John Howard called on the senator to help settle the ongoing litigation between the Gila Valley Irrigation District and the San Carlos Apache Tribe over the Gila River, an issue that’s been ongoing for nearly 100 years.

And Suzanne Menges, executive director for the Arizona Cattle Growers Association, along with other ranchers, asked for his help in putting a halt to the gray wolf reintroduction program, as the program has not only exceeded its original goals, but that ranchers are seeing more aggressive wolves attacking full-grown cattle, not just calves and slow cows.

She also talked about the need for federal funding to help repair and replace perimeter fencing to keep wolves and wild horses out of grazing lands, as well as prevent the spread of screwworm infection.

After meeting with the farmers and ranchers, Gallego toured Eastern Arizona College, Mt. Graham Regional Medical Center, Safford Fire Department and conducted a roundtable with Gila Valley business owners.

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