Promises, Promises
When the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation finally filled New Melones Reservoir northeast of Modesto, and thus flooded a popular white-water rafting stretch of the Stanislaus River, part of the deal was to build alternate recreation facilities. Ah, promises, promises.
The original New Melones recreation plan called for the spending of $50 million on the new reservoir and on the Stanislaus downstream. That ambitious goal was scaled back by more than half early in the Reagan Administration, but only a fraction of that amount has been appropriated for campgrounds, fishing trails and the like.
The House voted $1.6 million for fiscal 1987, mostly for sanitation facilities, but the Senate rejected any spending for the coming year. Rep. Richard H. Lehman (D-Sanger) needs support in his fight to have the $1.6 million restored in a conference committee. This is blood money, of a sort, and the Senate should join the House in providing this meager compensation for the loss of a popular recreation area.
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