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A rare thank you note was received by Juab County Commissioners from a Snake Valley resident.

And all because the commission has continued to fight for something they believe in&emdash;Las Vegas should not have Utah's water.

Ken Hill, a Trout Creek resident, wrote to thank commissioners for their efforts to provide some political clout in the West Desert vs Las Vegas water battle.

The letter was addressed to Neil Cook, commission chairman but the thanks was for all county commissioners.

"I want to thank you and your fellow commissioners for your efforts in protecting me and my neighbors in the Las Vegas water grab," said Hill. "You spoke eloquently and effectively at the Delta scoping hearing."

Utah must grant its approval before the pipeline project can commence in Nevada.

Hill said in favored a town hall meeting which residents from both Millard and Juab Counties, and even those from White Pine, Nevada, be invited to attend.

Nevertheless, said Hill, he still would like commissioners to meet with the governor (Jon Huntsman) separately in a leaders only meeting since thrashing out some substantive issues may not be possible in a large pubic gathering.

"We are at a critical time when all our state, county, congressional delegation, and individual efforts need to be working together," said Hill.

He said he did want to thank the commission for their diligent efforts that benefited Hill and his neighbors in Snake Valley.

Runoff from the Deep Creek Mountain canyons, springs and seeps furnish ranches with the needed water to survive in a desert.

Southern Nevada water officials are proposing to pump 25,000 acre-feet of water annually from groundwater wells near Baker, Nevada, to Las Vegas via 500 miles of pipeline?

The argument being made by the ranchers and residents of the Snake Valley, such as Hill, on both sides of the Utah-Nevada border is that Snake Valley doesn't have water to spare nor water to give up to its thirsty neighbor, Las Vegas.

Snake Valley residents such as Hill maintain that if the Southern Nevada Water Authority's plan takes hold, the vast series of aquifers that extend from roughly Utah's Tooele County line in the north to its Great Basin National Park in the south will be depleted to the point that the land, their occupations and the future of the valley will be jeopardize.

"We want to make it clear that, because of the shared groundwater sources along the state line, we think the project will take water from our county that we cannot spare," said Cook. "We do not have extra water."

West Dessert residents and Las Vegas Water Authority officials have met with Utah officials, and in recent weeks they have each pitched their case.

The water authority, with its much deeper pockets, also has hired a pair of lobbyists&emdash;Washington, D.C.-based Marcus Faust and the Utah County team of Fred and Chris Finlinson - to sell their proposal to the Governor and the legislature as well as the Washington D.C. delegation.

But the ranchers are no strangers to taking on bigger foes.

Cecil Garland, a West Desert rancher, was a leader in the successful fight to halt the arrival of the MX missile in the west desert in the late 1970s.

The cattlemen have formed an alliance with county officials on both sides of the border and also teamed with environmental groups such as Trout Unlimited, the Sierra Club and the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance to bring some power.to their fight.

Snake Valley ranchers have proposed that the six-year drought has changed everything. Utah officials tend to concur.

A Utah Geological Survey report released earlier this year concluded that the amount of water that Southern Nevada water officials propose to take "will likely adversely affect" groundwater conditions in western Utah by decreasing the discharge of "agriculturally and ecologically important springs."

   Likewise, the director of Utah's Department of Natural Resources, acknowledges he is "skeptical" of Nevada's claims.

  Environmental groups are alarmed at what a depleted water table could mean for places such as Fish Springs National Wildlife Refuge, or the rich deer, elk and fish habitat of the Deep Creeks, agreed commissioners.

"We wore our shirts today to show our support for the West Desert communities in this fight for water," said Robert Steele, commissioner, as he showed off his T-shirt showing support for the people fighting to keep West Desert water in the West Desert.

Val Jones, commissioner, agreed. "We will continue to work with the people of our county to protect their water."