27:,“
3Q:

£3? ECG-AI. SEER?“ ’3? SANGA S

Sefflfi’én
Thesis Fer ‘a‘ha Eeqree cf Ph D
AGGREGAN $3555. UNA! ERSETY

sew? cm. mam

R
5:13

  

LIBRARY ti
Michigan Smc

University

   

V‘fl‘

    

This is to certify that the

thesis entitled

A RECREATION GEOGRAPHY OF SALTON SEA,
CALIFORNIA

 

presented by

John Carl Archbold

has been accepted towards fulfillment
of the requirements for

 

Ph.D. degeeinGeography /

 

‘(le “x a c954 021K"

1 a
Major pr fessor '
l

Date June 25, 1971
‘5

l

0-7639

ABSTRACT

A RECREATIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF SALTON SEA,
CALIFORNIA

By
John Carl Archbold

Large scale public and private land and shore develop-

ment at Salton Sea is a phenomenon of the second half of the

twentieth century, following successful introduction of ma-

rine game fish in the 360 square-mile saline lake between

1950 and 19550

The pattern of inquiry in this research is based upon

a methodology apparent in recreation and tourism literature.

Particular attention was given to those studies undertaken by

geographers which seek to determine the natural and cultural

l demand and cause rec-

The

conditions that stimulate recreations

reational phenomena to become prominent on a landscape.

research goal is to consider whether a viable residential-

resort complex has in fact been established, and to evaluate

the Sea's potential for further recreational development of

t will meet effective demand.

lowest part of California's Colorado

a type the

Located in the

Desert, the Sea is maintained primarily by means of an annual

inflow of approximately 1,500,000 acre-feet of waste irriga-

tion water from the Mexicali, Imperial, and Coachella

Y.’

’I

'C.’

U)

John Carl Archbold

The water surface has stabilized between -231 and

Angling and the attraction of

valleys.

-235 feet in the last decade.

year-around water based sports has led to a recreational-

resort investment currently valued in excess of $la0,000,000.

This investment at the largest lake fishery in the South-

n United States is being jeopardized due to a serious

problem which poses an imminent threat.

wester

salinity and pollution

Reconnaissance has shown that increasing salinity could de-

stroy the Sea's utility as a Sport fishery, waterfowl habitat,

and water contact activity resource as early as 1975 if

remedial steps to improve water quality are not undertaken.

Delimitation of a primary market area, analysis of

what constitutes effective demand, accessibility from major

population centers, and a basic treatment of the Sea's

assets and liabilities in terms of current criteria for

quality recreational utilization are prime elements of the

study.

Recreation has played a significant role in bringing

about higher land values in the immediate shoreline area.

Salton City, where land developers instigated a land boom

in 1958, represents the Optimum site for private recreation-

oriented investment. Projections of demand for the type of

recreational activity afforded by the Sea show great growth

potential, although there is currently serious doubt about

the Sea's ability to meet this demand.

Premature subdivision, conflict with economic patterns

inherited from the past, and a current reluctance to appro-

Priate public funds for needed capital improvement programs

John Carl Archbold

has created conditions of economic stagnation that must be

overcome. The economic problems are closely related to in-

creasing salinity, a fluctuating water level, and conditions

causing anoxia.
Recreational development of the Sea's environs aptly

meets societal needs and constitutes a suitable contemporary
and future use of the resource base provided beneficial use

of the Sea for swimming, water skiing, boating, and fishing

is not impaired. An institutional framework for providing

and maintaining a water quality and elevation control fa-

cility is recommended. Benefitacost analysis indicates

that a salinity control project is economically sound.

A RECREATIONAL GEOGRAPHY OF SALTON SEA,
CALIFORNIA

By
John Carl Archbold

A THESIS

Submitted to
Michigan State University

in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
Department of Geography

1971

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The writer wishes to express his sincere appreci-

ation for the guidance and assistance rendered by members

of the Committee: Dr. Daniel Jacobson, Dr. Lawrence M.

Sommers, and Dr. Raleigh Barlowe.

in the form of suggestions was rendered by Dr. Homer

Professional assistance

Aschmann, Dr. William L. Thomas, Jr., Lawrence wetstein,
Dr. Bob R. O'Brien, Dr. Roger Trindell, and Dale Pike.
Appreciation is extended to others who c00per-

ated by granting interviews, answering written inquiries,

and making pertinent materials available.

ii

TABLE OF CONTENTS

CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION 0 C O O O O O O O O

tions from the Literature (3)
f Initial Development (5)--Rec-
reational Studies: Their Affect on the Research
Plan (8)--Geographical Appraisal of Salton Sea as

a Recreational Site (ll)—-Study Design Based Upon
Four Hypotheses (12)--1970 Recreational Development:

Characteristics and Problems (lh
CHAPTER II. THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . .

)--Weather and Climate (20)
)--Chemical Regimen (27)

Research Recommenda
--Characteristics 0

Geothermal Resources (20
--Hydrologic Regimen (22

CHAPTER III. RECREATIONAL UTILITY OF THE SEA . . . .

Angling, Boating, Camping, Hunting (3h)--Relation-
ecreation Potential

ship of the Sea's Ecology to R
(37 --Salinity and Pollution (38)--Demand Factors

that Enhance Recreational Potential (AZ)
CHAPTER IV. ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY TO FULFILL DEMAND .

Rationale for Benefit-Cost Analysis (5h)--Inte-
grating Public Development (57)--Upgrading Quality
in Private Developments (61)--Widening the Economic
Base at Salton City (67)--Promoting Safe Boating
Conditions (69)-—Measures to Improve the Fishery

(73)
CHAPTER v. RATIONALE FOR CHANGES IN UTILIZATION OF

AVAILABLE SPACE . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Undeveloped and Underutilized Sites (79)--Impact
of Adjustments (83)

CHAPTER VI. INSTITUTIONAL A
THE SEA 0 O C O O O O O O 0

Control Project Administration (88)--How the Agency
resentation (89)

Will Function (89)--Agency Board Rep
--Non-Agricultural Jurisdiction (90 --Disassociating

Benefits and Costs (91)

RRANGEMENTS FOR CONSERVING

iii

18

30

50

75

85

CHAPTER VII. POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE RECREATIONAL
DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93

Military Reservation Land (98)--0ther Lands (99)
--Coachella Valley: Recreational—Industrial Growth
(lOl)--Conclusions (10h)

LIST OF REFERENCES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 108

iv

Table
l.

.8.

9.

10.

11.

12.
13.
1h.

15.

LIST OF TABLES

Survey of Recreational Facilities, Salton
Shore Area--1969 o o o o o o o o o o o o 0

Annual Surface Inflow in Acre-Feet . .

Elevation, Surface Area, and Capacity . .

Surface Area at Minimum Depths . . .

water Temperature Profiles for 1961 . .

Sources of Chloride in Salton Sea . . .

Ecology of the Sea: Factors Promoting and
Retarding Recreational Activity . . . .

Distribution of Leisure Time in California
1900‘1980 0.000000000000000

Population and Personal Income, Primary Market
Area--Historical and Projected . . . . . . .

Evaluation of the Effective Supply of Public
Recreation Facilities in Primary Market Area

Annual Use and Benefits Summary: All Recreation
(ProjeCted)0.000000000000000

Summary of Benefits . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Lido Palms Marina: Initial Investment Estimate

Property Values: Salton City North to County Line

Compared with Total County Valuation 1957-1968

Incorporated Cities: Population Growth and
Telephones . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Page

17
22

23
24
25
27

38

43

#4

49

51
56
61

97

103

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure Page

1. Location, Oblique Overview and Perspective
.Maps of Study Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A

2. Salton Sea Recreational Sites . . . . . . . . . . 7
3. Active.Mudpot in Imperial Wildlife Area . . . . . 29
A. Shed Roofs Protect Mobile Homes from Summer Sun . 29
5. Shallow Area Adjacent to Benson's Landing . . . . 29
6. Major PMA Routes to Salton Sea . . . . . . . . . 32

7. County Populations and Origin of Anglers at
Salton Sea Compared . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

8. Estimated Driving Times from Places of Residence
t0 salton Sea 0 o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o 33

9. Salton Sea Food Chain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37

10. Analysis of the Origins and Destinations of
Salton Sea Visitors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A6

11. Irrigated Agriculture Extending to salton Sea . . 47
12. Runway and Tie-down at North Shore . . . . . . . 47
13o Ubiquitous Pickup Camper Units at Mecca Beach . . #7
1h. Indian Lands and Naval Test Facility . . . . . . 82

15. A Carnival Atmosphere Accompanied Salton City
LandBoomin1958o0000000000000.102

16. Ownership or Utilization of Shoreline Lands . . . 102

vi

CHAPTER I
INTRODUCTION

A well documented dramatic increase in water-oriented
outdoor recreation has vastly increased the literature con-
cerned with water resource management techniques. Major con-
cerns are attempts to measure potential demand, value the
recreational eXperience, and seek generalizations concerning
potential sites where orderly development can occur.1

As a case in point, Southern California affords a
prime example of an affluent, urbanized and highly mobile
population bent on discovering and developing sites suitable
for all types of water-based activities. As one study has
pointed out, this can be a frustrating eXperience for fresh-
water recreationists because practices and policies prohibit
or drastically curtail opportunities to utilize what is

there-~municipal reservoirs of various sizes in proximity

 

1The treatment of supply, deveIOpment potential, and
economic considerations is sufficiently broad so that general
works on these topics can be cited: Outdoor Recreation Re-
sources Review Commission, water for Outdoor Recreation:
Values and O rtunities, ORRRC Study Report 3 lWasHington:
U. 3. Cavernment Printing Office, 1962); Narion Clawson and
Jack L. Knetsch, Economics of Outdoor Recreation (Baltimore:

The John Hopkins Press, 1966l. For a statement on management
stu ies see Duane D. Bauman, The Recreational Use of Domestic

d
Uhter Sn 1 Reservoirs (Chicago: niversity o hicago
Department of Geography, 1969) pp. 2-7.

2
to the huge urban pepulations of coastal Southern California.2

A well publicized but completely futile recent attempt
to develop the inaccessible, uninviting, and saline Mbno Lake
for water contact sports indicates the lengths to which pub-
lic agencies and private developers will go in an endeavor to
fulfill public demand.3 Nor is it surprising that the Cali-
fornia Resources Agency has made a number of studies of
current and projected demand for camping and boat launching
facilities on recreational water, for as early as 1959 more
boats than autos were sold in Southern California.‘t

There are limited alternatives as the Southern Cali—
fornia recreationist seeks suitable sites for water contact
sports. Three major bodies of water must fulfill almost all
the demand: (1) the Pacific Ocean (including bays and
lagoons), (2) Salton Sea, and (3) the Colorado River. This
study includes data to indicate that the ocean, bays, and
lagoons do in fact meet much of the demand for angling and
water contact activities. Angling and water contact sports
enthusiasts are willing to drive to the Colorado River in
ever increasing numbers, although the trip is a long one for
a limited stay, such as a weekend. This study will focus on

2Duane D. Bauman, Op. cit., p. 64.

3U. S. Department of the Interior and the Resources
ASency of California, Salton Sea Pro act-California (Boulder
City: Bureau of Reclamation, l9 9, p. 7 .

“William L. Thomas Jr., I‘Competition for a Desert

Lake: The Salton Sea, California," The California Geographer
II. (1961), p. 36.

3
the recreational potential of the only other large body of
water, the Salton Sea (Figure 1, page A).

Conflict has characterized the recreational develop-
ment of Salton Sea. A multi-use resource, it serves as an
agricultural sump for irrigation drainage water; receptical
for treated and untreated urban sewage; bird sanctuary and
hunting preserve; naval target range; and a 360 square-mile

year-around fishery, boating, and water contact sports mecca.

Research Recommendations from the Literature

A review of the literature of recreational geography
emphasizes that analysis of the assets and liabilities of a
resource together with study of natural and cultural condi-
tions that serve to stimulate demand will illustrate how
recreational phenomena become prominent in a landscape.5 A
combination of favorable elements can result in the develop-
ment of an area that is ". . . predominantly recreational in
economic character."6 Careful analysis of current recre-
ational deveIOpment and further potential of a vast desert
lake will be undertaken in this study. It has been suggested
that generalizing concepts may arise from research which
emphasizes the type of recreation sought, the conditions

under which it is sought, and the geographical milieu (urban

k

5K. C. McMurry, "Recreational Geography," in Preston
E. James, ed., American Geography: Inventory and Freepegt
(Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 195AI, pp. 251-252.

61bid., p. 251.

C“ ~

noaxv:\1’ \ s» L 4‘: («wield . I y a

 

 

-..|.. Eéhlkiail I ,

moh< bosom no mam: ebfipommmaem one 3oH>ho>o

 

    

cots—.32: .0135
559:: 3:095 .5: 5.6.3»:

I I... i v
.,

    

aw."
1hr.

   

0.2.00 .u 0

 

        

 

 

 

    

 

 

..ww
I ’\
“I ‘.
seam . .
.a«3 w a
(I m .
.m« m .
N.
(am w Trev
~I. 4x .1 .v
. (b Easier—flea. .
- . .T at»,
25.00. 353m 8.qu . 1|
.0185. 8me l: . _
. 3.500 . 2.500
00.. v .
rmJ _ a .3395 . 2.20 can
90 3672.3 3560 z ..... .l. . .l.
\\ , oooé com
_ o . 3:30 3:32,;—
Iul- .VD- _-ll-I|.|» ...... l...
:30
39.: El. 3550 oEuEEom com
3560 we 9 o
2:99. _ m 3.52:. I. .
=.goooo II,
Etc. <a<>uz ./ 3.:

 

 

5
in this study) in which the recreationist resides.7 More
recently the tens Snarket area" has proven useful in recre-
ational studies as an effective analytical tool.8 The market
area concept and its ramifications will be utilized in this
study.

Specific research recommendations for microgeo-
graphical studies include: (1) recognizing and appropri-
ately measuring the intensity of recreational utilization of
a resource; (2) accounting for growth; (3) stressing inno-
vation whenever encountered in the inventory and classifi-
cation of facilities; and (A) relating the impact of improved
transportation networks to the development and utilization of

various sites.9

Characteristics of Initial Development

Development of the recreational potential of Salton
Sea has occurred almost entirely within the past fifteen
years. The major recreational complex, Salton City, is

situated on the west side of the Sea and has been chosen as a

7 bid., pp. 251-253; p. 255. Cf. D. C. Mercer, “Urban
Recreations Hinterlands: A Review and an Example " £22,
fession l Geo a her XXII-2 (March, 1970) pp. 7h, V7.

eleith McClellan and £11101: A. Medrich, "Outdoor
Recreation: Economic Considerations for Optimal Site Se-
lection and Development," Land Economics ILV-z (Hay, 1969)
p. 17k. A study with a defined market area cited: Edward
Ullman, Ronald Boyce, and Donald Volk The Meramec Basin:
Re rt of the Meramec B sin Research Pro ect t. uis:
s ngton niversity, .

 

9R. I. wolfe, “Perspective on Outdoor Recreation: A

Bibliographical Survey," Geo ra hical Review LIV-2 (April,
196L) pp. 203-228. Speci is treatment is diagrammed on p.21k.

9V

5U

In“

6
Specific area for study (Figure 2, page 7). It is the site
where one of the largest land develOpment companies in the
Southwest has contracted for millions of dollars worth of
engineering works: water mains, sewers, sewage treatment
facilities, and roads. Other capital improvements include
trailer parks, marinas, motels, restaurants, a yacht club,
and an eighteen hole golf course. All of the improvements
were made in conjunction with promotional lot sales, the bulk
of which were purchased as speculative investments. Lots
were first offered for sale on May 17, 1958. During the
first year of sales promotion $30,000,000 of bare desert lots
were purchased by the general public.10 A carnival atmos-
phere prevailed, aided by a land boom advertising campaign.
An observer who has made a research Specialization of ana-
lyzing man-made changes on the landscape was impressed,
puzzled, and somewhat dismayed:

On the opening week-end over four million dollars
worth of property was sold. . . . On the occasion of its
second birthday the city contained a A, 500 foot airport
landing strip 2 gas stations, 2 restaurants, 2 motels,
2 marinas or boat harbors, a hardware and a boat shop.

. . One rubs one's eyes in disbelief at the "fancy"
buildings along the highway, the miles of bulldozed and
paved roads complete with name-signs at intersections
that crisscross many vacant square miles of perfectly
barren desert.ll

This study in recreational geography will attempt to

account for the initial land boom, analyze its effects in
light of what is currently known about desirable features in

10William L. Thomas, Jr., op. cit., p. 38
llIbId.

UULI_U _<_‘C_IP<IU0I\>LOL (LU .‘(Ll .(fh . .1. .T . .
. . .. .\~._.

mopwm decompmouoom mom

 

 

(.0...

 

« . c. :0
/ m. . . Mcoomcom

 

use—.2

 

 

822 9 Boom

iii

mwtm 4420F<m¢0mm <mm 20.54m

    

CO
. 5/0W
(Pl

479,9

‘5 .

0% OCIOE

8:02 .958 can.

seem 8m 8:8 .

mmuocw Cwmwo O
m
\0
6

8.200

,qu 260 «9.?
e . . e K.«°§fiz\g

«0 (lg /

/

(0‘)“
“\‘o
303/ /

50“

 

 

8
a recreational landscape, and suggest institutional and other
adjustments that would accommodate change--change in some
cases necessitated by misdirected efforts of the original

promoters.

Recreational Studies: Their Affect on the Research Plan

A notable early article on recreational geography
stressed the significance of recreational development on land
for which all alternative uses had been fully investigated by
the Michigan Land Economic Survey.12 In one county it had
been established that the utility of much of the land for
crops, lumbering, and grazing was nil. Parcels of riparian
landholdings utilized for recreation alone constituted a mere
three percent of the land area but afforded more than fifty
percent of county assessed valuation.13 The research plan
for Salton Sea will include presentation of data testifying
to a spectacular increase in assessed value for lands
specifically zoned for resort use.

A study emphasizing the characteristics of a recre-
ational town and a mining town located in the same valley
stressed important differences in their commercial
structure.1‘ The community with a recreational (tourism)

__

12K. C..MoMurry 'The Use of Land for Recreation,”
Ann e of the A s ciation of American Geo ra hers 11-1
rch, 0 pp. , 1A.

IBM's P0 9°

1[’S. B. Jones, Ruining and Tourist Towns in the Can-

adian Rockies ' Ec mic G g gphz II- 0 t b 1
pp. 368-378. , one so r , A ( c 0 er, 933)

9
orientation had not only more amenities (including a handsome
passenger depot), but a far greater variety of retail busi-
nesses and several restaurants. Features of resort communi-
ties around the Salton Sea that characterize recreational
orientation will be stressed.

Historical change in the recreational use of Salton Sea
cannot be included in this study because recreational use was
almost nil until the introduction of sporting fish Species
between 1950 and 1955. Interest in large-scale residential-
resort development lagged even then. William L. Thomas, Jr.
tried to express the absence of gradual change as follows:

The Salton Sea fits well into the American public's
image of Southern California as a fabulous place that
has been conjured into existence. . . .

Important for an understanding of present-day man in
California [is the fact that] this desert lake affords
2051235ui’éimiliaiiaSTREET???Egret“““3 °f "hat

An article on New Hampshire's recreational industry
includes the observation that proximity to coastal urban
pOpulations situated farther south has been essential to the
development of recreational complexes.l6 An important aSpect
of this study will be to determine from surveys the permanent
residence of Salton Sea recreationists, and to account insofar

as is possible for a variation in the number of visits to the

Sea from different areas within a primary market area.

‘

15William Le Thomas, Jre, OEe Cite, ppe 31-320

H 16Albert S. Carlson, "Recreation Industry of New
233P3hire," Economic Geography XIV-3 (July, 1938), pp. 255-

10
Tourism studies by George F. Deasy and R. I. Rolfe
support the thesis that eXpansion depends largely upon a
higher standard of living and increased leisure.17 Deasy
offered an additional hypothesis: congestion at more desirable
sites inevitably leads to development of available unutilized

locations. An inventory of lands available for recreational

development at Salton Sea will be undertaken in this study.

R. I. Wblfe's study had further impact on the research
plan because he sought to determine the effective limits of
Toronto's recreational hinterland. Nercer testifies as to

the significance of this approach:

WOlfe's analysis of the external movement of Toronto
residents across the recreationally barren 50 mile wide
buffer zone to the summer cottage belt beyond, is one of

the earliest studies to focus on a city's recreational
hinterland. 3

The direct routes from Los Angeles or San Diego to
Salton Sea are not recreationally barren by any means, a fact
that ought to be emphasized. The routes are devoid of any
intervening large bodies of water Open to water contact
activities, however. Alternative sites for fishing, swimming,

and boating on the Colorado River involve a minimum of two

additional hours of driving time.

__

17George F. Deasy, "The Tourist Industry of a 'North
Woods' County," Economic Geo a h XIV-A (October, 19A9) pp.
2A0-2A9 and R. I. UoIfe “Summer Cottagers in Ontario,"
Economic Geo ra h XXVI -1 (January, 1951) pp. 10-32. Both
articIes stress favorable income levels and ample leisure as
being essential to the deve10pment of remote recreational

resources. Visitor counts at such famous but remote places

as Yellowstone National Park declined for a few years during
the depression.

181). Ce “Greer, 02s Cite, pe 77o

11

Geographic Appraisal of Salton Sea as a Recreational Site

Clifford M. Zierer, whose research interests and

 

publications make him an authority on California and the
Southwestern United States, felt as recently as 1952 that
Salton Sea was devoid of attractive features.19 Zierer
recognized the enormous recreational potential of the Co-
achella Valley which borders the Sea to the north, and he
cited the recreational Opportunities afforded by the moun-
tains lying to the north and to the west of Salton Sink. In
contrast, he showed no enthusiasm for any of the large saline
lakes of the West and warned that the Imperial valley, like
Death Valley, ". . . has high temperatures [that] discourage
travel in summer."20 After discussing prominent mountain
lakes he says:
In complete contrast are the desert lakes, such as
Great Salt Lake, Mono Lake, and the Salton Sea, with

their flat, barren shores, saillow margins, and meager
vegetation and aquatic life.

This image would distress land promoters, particularly if
they were bent on a campaign to stress that Salton City was
destined to become a "Palm Springs by the Sea."22 Had the
saline lakes been compared, it would have been noted that

both Great Salt Lake and Mono Lake are more saline than

19Clifford M. Zierer ”Tourism and Recreation in the
West," Geo ra hical Review iLII-3 (July, 1952) p. A70. This
article deaIs only peripherally with Salton Sea.

2°Ib1d., p. 169.

211bid., p. A70.

22WilliamL. Thomas, Jr., ppp_pip., p. 38.

12
Salton Sea.23 The natural landscape surrounding the Salton -
Sea is microphyllus or absolutely barren. However, a number
of citrus and date groves extend almost to the water's edge,
and wherever resort communities have been established some
landscaping exists. This fact, plus the Salton Sea's repu-
tation as a productive sport-fishery places it in contrast to
Mbno Lake and Great Salt Lake.

Because Zierer found the Sea unappealing, a search was
undertaken (unsuccessfully) for a study which would give a
different appraisal. Thomas' article does not challenge
Zierer's observations except to state that consumer demand
for year-around angling and water contact sites within
driving distance of urban populations near the coast has
altered human perception of the Sea. A changing interpret-
ation of the Sea's potential for resort complexes that ex-
ploit the evident value of the resource for angling, boating,
and water contact sports is the prime factor justifying a

study undertaken as a recreational geography.24

Stud: Design Based Upon Four Hypotheses
The study design is developed upon four guiding hy-

potheses or assumptions.

1. Despite conflict due to multiple use of the Sea,

23There are reports of salinity (in parts per million
or ppm) for each of the lakes. Great Salt Lake was reported
to have a salinity of 276 000 ppm in 1932; Mbno Lake, 51,170
ppm.(no date given); in 1968 Salton Sea was 36,000 ppm.

2"Tam author is indebted to William L. Thomas, Jr. for
making this observation during a personal interview held at
Ann Arbor,.Michigan August 11, 1969.

13
the year-around recreational potential is now and will remain
sufficient to provide a quality recreational experience for
some of the estimated 12,000,000 population in the primary
market area. In support of this assumption, it will be shown
that much privately owned vacant land is hearing the burden
of increasing assessments due to site characteristics that
indicate recreational development potential.

2. Present and latent demand will stimulate recre-
ational development. In conjunction with this assumption a
research objective is to clearly identify the nature of
effective demand.

3. Almost all promotional activity has stressed resi-
dential lot sales and as a result, the thrust of development
has been misdirected. It will be shown that the demand for
permanent construction type second homes or retirement resi-
dences is insufficient to justify further subdivision of
vacant land in order to create additional residential lots.
Geographical analysis based on existing land use and current
building data will test the hypothesis that promotional
efforts to create and sell new subdivided tracts are inap-
propriate.

A. A serious water quality problem recently investi-
gated by a joint federal-state reconnaissance team can be
alleviated. Discussion of the problem includes both proposed
remedies and consideration of the institutional framework that
will be necessary to administer a water quality control

program.

1k

The first two hypotheses can be subsumed so that they-
come within a framework previously attributed to K. C.
fleMurry: Wherever conditions are such that potential for
recreational phenomena are sufficiently evident, an area may
be considered primarily recreational in character.25 In
terms of recreational phenomena, the Sea has yet to achieve
the distinction of being a highly developed resort complex;
many primitive or unimproved sites are underutilized. This
condition exists for a variety of reasons, but the potential
use of such sites will be investigated and suggestions made
by applying concepts found in current literature as to what

form desirable future development might take.26

1210 Recreational Development: Characterispigs and Problppg
Characteristics such as size, climate, location and an
earned reputation as an excellent Sport fishery combine to
support a contention that Salton Sea has no pear in Southern
California for year- around water based recreation. Larger
than any fishing lake in the Southwestern United States, the
Sea is located within less than four hours driving time from
population centers in Los Angeles, Riverside, San Bernardino,
Orange, and San Diego counties. Angling and the attraction
afforded by other water based sports has helped promote

‘—

25K. C. Memurry, "Recreational Geography,” in Preston

D. James, ed., American Geography: Inventory_and Prospect
pp e 251‘252 e

 

26Cf. George F. Deasy, pp;_gi§., pp. 2h7-2h9. Deasy
contends it is possible to project the geographic and econ-
omic ramifications of future recreational development.

15
recent public and private land and shore developments
currently valued in excess of $1h0,000,000.27 This invest-
ment, all of which is related to the recreational resource,
is currently jeopardized by a serious salinity and pollution
problem. Reconnaissance has shown that the Sea's utility as
a sport fishery, waterfowl habitat, and water contact ac-
tivity resource could be seriously diminished as early as
1975 if remedial steps to improve water quality are not
undertaken.28 Enabling legislation passed since 1965 led to
the creation of a task force involving personnel from fifteen
federal and state agencies. In their recent report the task
force formulated a recommended plan, and alternate plans, to
stabilize the level, limit salinity, and control nutrient
related problems.29 They also have evaluated the engineer-
ing, financial practicability, and economic justification of
the plans.

There is evidence that recreational development in the
Coachella Valley is moving south, and will eventually reach
the See. This observation is supported by appropriate data
and a general study presented in Chapter VII. All of the

27Development Research Associates, Economic Benefits

Derived from the waters of and Lands Surroundin the Salton
32; (Los Angeles: LDBvelOpment Research Issociates, 1959i

Po #5.

 

28Richard D. Pomeroy, Carl B. Johnston, and Harry H.
Bailey, A Reconnaissance Stud and Preliminar Re ort on a
Hater Quality Control Plan for Salton Sea (Pasadena: Pomeroy,

ohnston, and Bailey, ngineers, 5 p. 8-1.

29U.S. Department of the Interior and the Resources
Agency of California, op. cip., pp Iv 1-61.

16

currently succesful developments at the Sea are in some way
oriented to the angling, boating, and water contact util-
ization of the resource. By way of contrast, Salton City
Golf Course appears to be underutilized and seeks to attract
'bargain hunters."30 I

Salton Sea Recreation Area (State Park) on the east
shore contains 16,486 acres with nineteen miles of shoreline.
It has both improved and primitive camping areas. Within the
several public and private recreational-resort developments
and communities the facilities most closely oriented to
recreational use are the bait and sporting goods stores, the
marinas, boat repair and storage facilities, and the public
and private camp grounds and trailer parks. A survey of all
the recreational sites and their facilities (excepting White-
water Cove, currently closed for redevelopment) is included

in Table 1, page 17.

30This statement is supported by the fact that there
are no greens fees for overnight guests at the Holly Corpor-
ation's motel and very low greens fees for general public
use.

Amoco—.lld‘mIA‘ 3x320. <33 2.J.bd<wfl aWNHEHaHHU<r- .H<Z~.UH.H<V~:OHN: pfiau Mm>~x~3n
.H mqm<pfl

17

.moumHoowm< nommmmom as)

aEQOHm>oO 50am Bowman

0

.hHso wcHasmo oo>osQEH 39H: cowuoasnsoo a

0

cm .a .MH oHooe
m pmsaom

 

.mmwmmsom
.monpsm hp ho>ssm

oHEomoom

opHmImO “condom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

e “0002
. onH8 OH chpHsI .
.HooHSonoI m o>osas s: m OH .opHm so:
II. 0 Amy o no a ANO oofio no eon>sooo no sunfish: .aoacoEoIM NW undone»
w .COHposspmmOo pcosmemom mom m
sHsoN poanm .oonmo umoa ammo O O O I I x I (l:
.wcHaamo mom monomon mo moHHs O OH O x x w K D x x x x x x x osomm mpsoz
“mops: so mmHHE now soon on x x x x x x x x N mos< mnopmmswomom
has access hummwm mmeamomome OH OH OH I x x x x x I I I I x x K momom woos:
o>mn momom meow: new openness OH OH OH I I O I O I I I I I a x x nomom msa>soo
vaom “momma name o>HuHana op OH OH OH I I o I D I I I I I D x x xoono.pHsm
vocsouxo sHon thcomaso seams OH OH OH I I o I O I I I I I O x x somom mmnaom
. . xsmm opwum mom sOpHmm
mucosowomasH 3mg .thHHomm 3oz OH OH OH x I O I x I x I x x x x x msoH>Hm mmmHm m.nom
oaomfl SURGE UGPO? WUCOD “09m; 0 O 0 um I O .l um K an um um um un un an nommm hmnaom
.memossmH mosh O OH O x N x x x N x I x x x x x msHsmS usMHHz
.uopSHHog mnm>Hm oEmHm Mo 39:02 OH OH OH I x x x O x x I x x x x I manmz HHHm pom
.poMpcoo nous: om "oopSHHom OH OH OH I I O I O I x I I I N x I wschMH m.somsom
mommamzm: mnpsopw bHsmvao
you mmHmom moonmo awoa ammo O O O x N x N x N x x x x x x x thO sopHmm
.mmm so momma comm umomHm O OH O I x o x D x N x x x x x x msHamz meHmm ooHH
.moeoa oHHnos hams mOmO O O O K x x x N x x I x x N x x nowom mom couHsm
.mmeon oHHpoB mama “Omo O no 10 .x N x H .le KAN x x x.x x monomm phonon
0 D S DdDOH 1&9
eoaoIQOeJeIeQeeeIM
JQOOGOT.Q.T.WOSQUJHS.L.
ApoanmHO moposom .mpHcsasoo e a o Wmn W. mwqu. m. m. N m. m. w w. m
o spa: .Hoaoeoonoomnnmmov T. m.d.lm a. .yu o r.a T.a u.u t.
t. I.S 9 Han Vw m S W3 cm mmeH>pr< use
mxAMEom % s as w as .moHuHHHowm moos<
LWII
OOOHII<mm< mmomm «mm ZOBH<m .mmHBHHHO<m H<one<mmOmm mo ~m>mam

H mqm<e

4’1

CHAPTER II
THE PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT

The Salton Sink, also known as the Salton Trough or
Colorado Desert, is a tapographic and structural depression
which extends 180 miles from the head of the Gulf of Cali-
fornia northwestward to San Gorgonio Pass. Much of the basin
lowland is below sea level and would be inundated were it not
for delta deposits from the Colorado River. The high point
on the divide is thirty feet above sea level. The 8,360
square mile basin is seventy-five miles wide at the Sea and
is bordered on the west by the granitic Peninsular Ranges and
on the east by the Chocolate Mbuntains, a complex of pre-
Cambrian igneous and metamorphic rocks capped by Tertiary
volcanics. It is believed that subsidence along the San
Andreas and San Jacinto faults is the principal cause of
trough deve10pment.l Severe earthquakes occurred in the Sink
in 1927 and 1940. A minor quake damaged every room in Salton
City's Holly House Mbtel on April 8, 1967.

 

1David N. Hartman, California and Man (Dubuque:
William C. Brown Company, 1963), p. 126. 0?. R. P. Sharpe,
"Physiographic Features of Faulting in Southern California,"
in R. H. Jahns, ed., Geolo of Southern California (San
Fragiisco: California Division 0 .Mines and Geology, 1963),
p. .

l8

l9

Ephemeral fresh water lakes, created by meanderings
of the Colorado River during flood stage, have existed in
Salton Sink since the Pliocene epoch. Flooding caused a
deposition of alluvium which now attains a maximum exposed
thickness of more than 20,000 feet.2 Wherever the alluvium
is not overlain with loose rock rubble or sand dune tap-
ography, irrigated agricultural development may occur, as in
the northern and southern sections of the Sink. The northern
section which drains southeastward into the Salton Sea is
called the Coachella valley. The southern and larger section
is divided by the international boundary into the Imperial
Valley and Mexicali Valley, which drain northwestward into
Salton Sea. Extreme aridity and high winds have created
areas of dune tapography in each of the valleys, and in
scattered areas on both sides of the Sea. Active mudpots and
four old volcanoes lie along the southeastern shore of the
Sea (Figure 3, page 29). Runoff from several highly saline
mineral springs located on the San Andreas fault has created
small streams and very small alluvial fans. The hot mineral
lprings are currently being developed as spas.

At the base of the Santa Rosa Mbuntains the alluvium
is overlain with loose rock rubble extending to the Sea.
This is where land developers acquired 19,600 acres and
created the largest resort--Salton City.

k

2California Division oanines and Geology, Egplpration
and Develo ment of Geothermal Power 3 ecial Re rt Number 25
(San Francisco: California Division 0% Mines and Geology,

1963), p. 31.

 

IF‘

II‘ I: IFIMQIE‘ sit

2O

Geothermal Resources

 

At the southeastern end of the Sea lies a twenty
Square mile geothermal field where developers have drilled
eleven wells. Disposal of the brines which contain as much
as thirty-seven percent solids is under rigid control, but
nevertheless constitutes a threat to the recreational po-
tential of the Sea if discharge should reach it. Five of

the wells are located within a mile of the Sea.

Weather and Climate

Both the desert mountains, viewed from the Sink, and
the valley floor itself are naked or sparsely covered with
desert shrubs except where irrigated agriculture or resi-
dential areas exist. New maps, based on Peveril Meigs' 1960
delineation of arid homoclimates, delineate the Colorado
Desert as extremely arid; it is the most extensive extremely
arid region in North America.3 Meigs‘ system of classification
is based upon codes which incorporate the evapotranspiration
values of Thornthwaite along with the seasonality of pre-
cipitation and the mean temperature of the coldest and
warmest month. Data from U. S. Weather Bureau stations with-
in twenty miles of the Sea show more than 110 days per year
of mean maximum temperatures above 100 degrees Fahrenheit,

—_¥

3Cartographic Service, "Arid Lands of North America
(after Meigs)," in William G. McGinnies, Bram J. Goldman,
and Patricia Paylore, eds., Deserts of the World: A;
A raisal of Research into their Ph sical and‘Biolo ical
Environments

M.
p. XXVI Q

      

Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 19

21

and an annual mean temperature in the mid-seventies.A The
highest winter temperature ever recorded in the United
States, 112 degrees Fahrenheit, occurred at Salton,
California on January 21, 1896.5 The Sea had an annual
precipitation average of two and one-half inches, 1931-60.6

In winter there is an occasional radiation fog which
is burned off by late morning. Otherwise, the area seldom
has stratus cloud cover. High winds may bring dust and sand
storms to uncultivated parts of the desert, and at the same
time Salton Sea becomes extremely rough. Imperial Valley
records show the wind to be zero to ten knots for seventy-
seven percent of the time, however.7 Average relative
humidity for Imperial Valley ranges between twenty to thirty-
five percent throughout the year. In summary, the climate
of Salton Sink, while hot in summer, is well suited to all-

year warm water recreation (Figure A, page 29).8

 

l‘John W. James, "A Modified Koeppen Classification
of California's Climates According to Recent Data," The

California Geographer, VII (1966), pp. A, 11.

5Stephen S. Visher, Climatic Atlas of the United
States (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, l95h) Po 109-

6Allen G. Hely, G. H. Hughes, and Burdge Irelan,
H drolo ic Re imen of Salton Sea California (washington:
United States Government Printing Office, 1966), p. 0—9.

7Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, op. cit., p. I-5.

8Cf. Verner Terjung, "Physiological Climates of

California,” Association of Pacific Coast Geo ra hers Year-

book XIVIII (1966) pp. 55-73. Terjung shows (Figure 1., p. 67)
a ton Trough as having the most physiologically comfortable
January climate in California. In summer on the other hand,
Terjung characterizes July in the Colorado Desert to be

sxtremely hot during the day but comfortable at night. Many
anglers choose to fish at night during the summer.

)1

CU

22

Hydrologic Regimen

Salton Sea today plays a fundamental role in the
agricultural economy of the Mexicali, Imperial, and Coachella
valleys as the waste disposal reservoir for approximately
1,500,000 acre-feet of irrigation drainage and municipal
sewage annually. In addition to the surface inflow, the Cali-
fornia Department of water Resources estimates an annual
average ground water inflow of 50,000 acre-feet and an aver-
age two and one-half inches of precipitation on the surface
which amounts to h8,090 acre-feet at the current level of the
Sea. Inflow from all community and private industrial sewage
treatment plants amounts to only one percent of the total;
the inflow from the Republic of Mexico is eight percent of
the total.9 Table 2 (below) shows the sources of inflow.

Evaporation studies have shown a seasonal variation,

TABLE 2
ANNUAL SURFACE INFLOW IN ACRE-FEET

 

 

Imperial Valley Salt and San Coachella valley
Felipe Creek
Alamo New ,Minor Whitewater Minor
River River* Channels River Channels
681.300 £55,300 lul,000 9,850 69,950 112,700

*Includes Mexicali Valley's 133,884 acre-feet.
§gurce: Hely, Hughes, and Irelan, H drolo ic Re imen, p. 0-7.

 

9Arthur Swajian, Identification and Evaluation of

Federal State and Local Interests in SaIton Sea CaIifornia
(Sacramento: The Resources Agency of California, I957), p. 8.

23

the mean rate for summer being approximately four times the
winter rate. This contributes to a spring high and autumn
low despite the fact that return flow is low in winter. The
average annual evaporation from Salton Sea (19h8-62) was
5.78 feet.10

The Salton Sea has proved to be a valuable site for
evaporation studies and the test ground for theories in-
volving the hydrologic regimen of lakes. This is in part
true because with no outlet and an almost impermeable bottom,
the Sea is a closed system.11 Because findings can be trans-
ferred to water storage projects, new methods for evaporation
studies are being tested continually; the Sea is often the
site of such studies.

In the period of recreational development since 1958
the water level has stabilized between -23l and -235 feet

(below mean sea level). Table 3 has data on size and volume.

TABLE 3
ELEVATION, SURFACE AREA, AND CAPACITY

—_

_

 

Elevation Surface Area Capacity
(feet) (acres) (square miles) (acre-feet)
~235 219,000 343.4 5,362,000
~23l 222,000 346.9 5,583,000
-233 225,000 351.9 5,807,000
-232 229,000 357.8 6,035,000
-231 232 000 362.5 6,266,000

Source: Adapted from Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey,‘A
Reconnaissance Study, p. III-2.

loHoly, Hughes, and Irelan, op. cit., p. 0-18.
lllbige, pe C‘lle

24

Fluctuating surface elevations have been a critical
problem in the past. A bathhouse at the now defunct Desert
Beach resort which was built in 1948, only to be flooded out
and abandoned by 1953, Offers an excellent example.12

Bathymetric data indicate a gradual slope remarkably
free of local irregularity to the deepest sounding at -277.7
feet. Bottom obstructions are few, but anglers and marina
operators both were concerned when California's "100 year
storm" of February, 1969 carried snags and other debris down
the Whitewater River channel to the Sea. Some debris sank
to the bottom as far as ten miles south of the river's mouth.
That which could interfere with boating had been removed by
May, 1969.13

Table 4 shows the area of the Sea at given minimum

depths, assuming a surface elevation of ~233 feet.

TABLE 4
SURFACE AREA AT.MINIMUM DEPTHS

 

 

Depth in Feet Area (Acres) with Percent of
Water Surface -233 Surface Area
0 (W. S.) 225,000 100
5 or more 206,000 91.6
10 or more 183,000 81.3
15 or more 163,000 72.7
30 or more 105,360 46.8

Source: Adapted from Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey,
A Reconnaissance Stud , pp. III-1, 2.

 

12William L. Thomas, Jr., op. cit., p. 32.

13Interview with Jack Stowe, State Recreation Area
Manager, June 24, 1969-

(‘fJ

25
water is shallow near shore at the south end of the

Sea (Figure 5, page 29). This local condition does not

interfere with recreational use because the area is closed

to water contact sports.
A water temperature profile shows the Sea's utility
for water contact sports in all seasons. Angling improves

with the warming of the Sea in April. State Park records

over a twelve year period (1956-67 inclusive) indicate that
hot weather is not so great a deterrent to utilization of the

desert facility as might be assumed. May, March, and June,

in descending order, are the three most popular months and,
although August is the most unpopular of the warm weather
months, attendance then is fifty percent higher than it is

in either December or January.14

TABLE 5
WATER TEMPERATURE PROFILES FOR 1961

 

 

 

 

Date Degrees Fahrenheit Degrees Fahrenheit 5
at Surface Feet Below Surface
January 9 58 56
February 6 6O 58
.March 8 64 62
April 4 75 71
May 1 77 73
June 12 83 79
July 10 93 88
August 8 91 90
September 11 87 83
October 2 84 81
November 14 65 63
December 11 59 58
Source: Hely, Hughes, and Irelan, Hydrologic Regimen, p. c-a&

 

JhInterview with Jack Stowe, State Recreation Area
Manager, July 2, 1968.

26

The critical variable in the hydrologic regimen of the
Sea is the amount of agricultural drainage. Decisions of
individual Operators affect the number of acres under culti-
vation, the crops grown, the soil salt balance, and many other
factors outside the scepe of this study. Yet the economics of
agricultural production is an important factor that must be
considered when any attempt is made to control the mineral
content and stabilize the level of the Sea. The position of
agricultural interests in the utilization of the Sea is stated
in a Resources Agency report:

Salton Sea is a multi-use body of water whose primary
function is as a reservoir area for storage of natural
and agricultural drainage and seepage waters. . . . The
agriculturally oriented economies of Mexicali, Imperial,
and Coachella valleys were formed and thrive today upon
this important use of Salton Sink.

. . . To insure the reservoir use of Salton Sink, the
Federal Government reserved all federal lands in the Sink
below the -220 foot elevation; and the Imperial Irrigation
District purchased eigentially all private lands below the
-230 foot elevation.

Clarification of primacy of utilization does not resolve
conflict, however, even for agricultural use:

Thousands of productive agricultural, wildlife manage-
ment and miscellaneous developed lands-~some with build-
ings--have been inundated over the years by the rising
Sea. The gentle land slopes and shallowness of the Sea
cause a large change in the shoreline for a relative small
change in water level. Developers run the risk of flooding
if the water level rises, or of being left high and dry at
considerable distance from the receding shoreline if the
level falls The problem affects both private and public
facilities.16

15Arthur Swajian, op. cit., p. 8-1.

16Brief included in personal correspondence from D. B.
Woltersdorf, June 30, 1969. Mr. WOltersdorf is Area Engineer
for the Bureau of Reclamation, San Bernardino, California.

()

(I) '1) r + _( D

’1

n:

(3

ll

27

Chemical Regimen

Layers of salt, formed from evaporation of lakes
created by meanderings of the Colorado River at flood stage,

have been found beneath the soil surface of the Sink. An
exposed salt layer is attributed to the last transient exis-
tence of a lake as recently as 300 or 400 years ago.17 The
present Sea dates from the flood of 1905-07. Because the
Sea has the hydrology of a closed lake, chloride levels today
reflect the surficial salt deposits which have been dissolved
as well as consistent increases resulting from saline agri-
cultural drainage. Table 6 (below) contains estimates of
chloride origin.

If the Sea were stable, the chloride levels would

continue to increase at an estimated rate of 1,770,000 tons

TABLE 6
SOURCES OF CHLORIDE IN SALTON SEA

 

 

Source Chloride,
.Millions of Tons

Flood of 1906-07 2.5
Inflow by Irrigation Canals

to Imperial Valley 13.5
Inflow from Mexico 6-9
Leeched from Soil of Imperial Valley 15.9
Coachella Valley Flow .6
Original Salt Crust and Salt Leached

from Salt Layers to 1910 43.0
Addition by Diffusion since 1910 31.9

Total in Salton Sea, 1964 114.?

Source: Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, A Reconnaissance
Study, p. III-28.

l7Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, op. cit., p. I-3.

28

per year through inflow and diffusion of the shallow salt
layers.18 A falling water level would be an important factor
increasing salinity. Investigations of marine ecology at the
Sea have stressed the tolerance of benthic and other marine
life to chlorosity expressed in grams per liter. Present
chlorosity is about 17 g/l and there will be cause for
serious concern about alterations in the ecology when the
chlorosity reaches 19 g/1,a condition which may be reached
in 1972.19

In addition to minerals found in Colorado River water,
nutrient chemicals inherent in agricultural drainage are
accumulating in the Sea and constitute a threat to the marine

ecology.20 There will be analysis of this problem in Chapter
III.

18Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, op. cit., p. III-29.
1911212.. pp. III-55. III-29.
20191-51.” P0 111-350

Fig. 3. (Left)--Active
Mudpot in Imperial
Wildlife Area

 

Figs he (Right) "'
Shed Roofs Protect
Mobile Homes from
Summer Sun

 

Fig. 5. (Left)--Shallow
Area Adjacent to Benson's
Landing

 

CHAPTER III
RECREATIONAL UTILITY OF THE SEA

A recent study has shown that recreational utilization
of the Sea is for all practical purposes limited to a popu-
lation living in what was termed the Primary Market Area
(PMA). The study made use of a Department of Fish and Game
Survey done in 1967 to emphasize angling as the generative
activity at the Sea and then regrouped the data to illustrate
that ninety-eight percent of the anglers came from six con-
tiguous counties.l Seventy-nine percent of the survey sample
were not residents of either Imperial or Riverside counties
and therefore almost certainly came a minimum distance of 100
miles on main traffic arteries from population centers in San
Diego, Orange, Los Angeles, and San Bernardino counties.
Figures 6, 7, and 8 on pages 32 and 33 show the routes taken,
the origin of the anglers, and estimated driving times. No
airline or rail passenger service is available, although a
bus route from Los Angeles to Calexico stops at Salton City
to serve occasional passengers. The divided highway used by

approximately sixty-five percent of the anglers is Interstate

‘—

1Development Research Associates, op. cit., p. 14.

30

C

In

31
10, bringing traffic from p0pu1ation centers in Los Angeles,
San Bernardino, Riverside, and the northern part of Orange
counties through San Gorgonio Pass at the northern end of the
Coachella valley to India, where the superhighway terminates
only twenty-three miles north of the closest resorts on the
east and west shores of the Sea. The eight lane traffic
route through San Gorgonio Pass is seldom, if ever, congested.
There are no steep grades, no sharp curves. The only ob-
struction to travel at the maximum posted speed is occasional
windiness. Camper-trucks and trailers may be stopped by the
highway patrol and detained for a few hours when high winds
are evident, or may be permitted to continue at a reduced
speed.

Routes from San Diego and southern Orange County are
shorter but involve about the same travel time (approximately
three hours) on the highway due to steep grades, narrow
sections and sharp curves. The route from metropolitan San
Diego was shortened considerably in 1968 with the opening of
a new road from Borrego Springs to Salton City known as the
Borrego-Salton Seaway. It is many miles shorter than the
route involving Interstate 8.

At the Sea itself, the major access routes are high-
ways 86 and 111 paralleling the west and east shores respec-
tively. These routes converge just south of Indio and both
pass through Brawley. Access to the shoreline at the extreme
north and south is limited to improved dirt roads built on
old dikes. Intensive cultivation (multiple cropping) is

carried on in these areas--in some cases right up to the

<|I.._U .(CLI _<U CF UuLI__C& &C_.<—\<lll<u&< LIIIHVaQQV/s >QQEHW&Q

 

mom couHmm op mousom <2m uOhmEII.O .mHm

 

 

 

Safw 829.23% 9.2 omom
. A-..)\I--I ouoocum
III)
- 0: C. SOUm
7.... hemp»: HM NW
ozcoo G On ON 9
gmwmmaommw x 239.0

m 2:300

W

w

p

o ._ .

I I (/ . // .\
Ilnlllll Illnl . a V
. one
a :35 6.8 :93 r. 2:80 I
as... f. 38.0 x
«9 tom steed p I. \,
>~CSOU .9... WUBLQZKP 0.33ka l. ..\.
LII? If. .
I I) -)I|.(| . III . 26.05am como \. 3.35 .6...

c
. e ll-l|| I‘ll

36H mesh 9an R
outcasts. some I

amount .
eon z
/ l 2560 8395 won

FA

3560 oEoEEmm com

 

 

<mm ZO._.I_<m O._. wwHDOm $0332 (<mm< Helm/12 >m<s=md

 

 

33

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I PMA POPULATlONS AND RESIDENCE
70, OF ANGLERS. BY COUNTY 0967)
60‘
Percent of Percent of
all anglers total 1967
50* USS? survey) PMA population
‘5 40'
8
33
0- 30l
201
IO1
Oi _ I1
( C S C‘ ’9' C 0r /
0°95" 4a,, Stigma, 6°95” <99, °"°rf°’%, °°°fibe 0°92‘eto/
I95. 0 00,0320
Source: Angler survey by California Department of Fish and Game.
Census estimate by California Department of Finance. J.C,A,

 

Fig. 7.--County Populations and Origin of Anglers at
Salton Sea Compared

 

ESTIMATED DRIVING TIME TO
SALTON SEA FROM URBAN
PLACES IN PMA COUNTIES

      
  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

     

San Bernardino County

  
 
 

 

 

 

 

IIIIIIII
llllIII
IIIIIILI
I III IIII
1111111111

 

 

 

  

DRIVING TIME
Less than l hour :3
l to 3 hours m
More th0n3hours m

 

  

 

 

 

 

 

Los Angeles

 

 

 
  

  

Driving time is estimated only tor trips orighdting from
the urbanized southwestern corner of Son Bernardino County.

  
  

AAA mileage and driving time
date utilized in compilation
Urban distribution determined
trom 0 census map by John
Trotter.

 

 

 

 

 

Fig. 8.--Estimated Driving Times from Places of Resi-
dence to Salton Sea

34
shoreline (Figure 11, page 4?).

There are landing strips and tie-downs f0r private
planes at Salton City and North Shore (Figure 12, page 47)

Apparently the landing strips are little used, and both are
in a state of disrepair.

Angling, Boating, CampingI Hunting

Boating, water contact sports, and particularly ang-

ling are the major generative activities at the Sea. Studies

have analyzed the significance of these activities:

. . The Salton Sea is attractin about 5 percent of
all angling (including ocean angling in the PMA. . . If

ocean angling is excluded, the Salton Sea is attracting
about 14 percent of all PMA angling . . . .

Most commercial recreation developments are oriented

primarily to fishing which generates a great deal of
gene

Sal recreation use of the Sea by families of fisher-
men.

An analysis of the relative attractiveness of the Sea

may be made in conjunction with the above data. The ocean is

within forty miles of every metropolitan area in Southern

California except San Bernardino. Both as a sport and com-

mercial fishery the waters off the coast are unsurpassed for

the number of varieties of tuna alone. Between Los Angeles

and San Diego are more than 100 improved launching sites for

small boats, miles of well maintained public beaches and, in

many places, attractive resort facilities. Because of these

attractive facilities and good angling, and the spatial re-
lationship of the Sea to the population centers, the

g

2Development Research Associates, op. cit., p. 7.

35

comparative advantage of the ocean over a relatively remote
and desolate desert lake would appear to be overwhelming if
one did not take into consideration some factors that in-
fluence effective demand.3

In the early nineteen-fifties the orange mouth corvina
was introduced to the Sea. About 500,000 corvina weighing two
pounds or mere (two year old specimens weigh over three
pounds) are caught in the Sea each year.“

Then, too, the vast open-space camping potential of the
desert surroundings has appeal for many people. While people
appreciate the facilities and improvements that economies of
scale have provided at the ocean, many still seek the greater
freedom of movement characteristic of more isolated sites.

The Sea today has adequate launching facilities on the
east and west shores, providing small boat owners the oppor-
tunity to cruise over a large body of water. There are fewer
than forty inland bodies of water open to public use in the
PMA, and many of these are small reservoirs already operating
at or near their capacity.5 Some are open only certain days
of the week. Swimming and skiing are prohibited in reser-
voirs utilized for municipal water supply. In summary, the

supply of inland water recreation facilities is so limited in

 

3Effective demand is created by the consumer's willing-
ness and ability to make use of a resource, cf. Raleigh

Barlowe, Land Resource Econ mics (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-
Hall, Inc., T9535, p. 19.
“Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, 02. cit.,E p. 11-6.
SDevelopment Research Associates, cp. cit., p. 15.

36

the PMA that when a demand and supply model was attempted by
the Department of Parks and Recreation, the extreme size of
the Sea produced a demand so large as to be meaningless.6

Another generative activity is waterfowl hunting.
There are several private duck clubs at the Sea, located on
marshy land unsuitable for agriculture. The National Wildlife
Refuge once controlled 32,407 acres along the shore. Because
all but four acres are now inundated, the government leases
1,500 acres from the Imperial Irrigation District where food
for birds is raised. Two hundred thirty species have been
recorded at the site, and in an average year 50,000 migratory
ducks of several species, 35,000 snow geese, and 3,000 Canada
geese come in September and leave in March.7

Adjacent to the refuge is the Imperial Wildlife Area, a
state facility. Public hunting is permitted on the 7,500 acre
installation which is manned by fourteen full-time employees.
For ducks, wild millet is grown on 500 acres; 1,000 acres of
alkali bullrush is provided for snow geese; and in 1968,
barley was grown on 640 acres for Canada geese. The task of
pending 2,500 acres of land adjacent to the Sea just prior to
hunting season is undertaken annually. The facility has an
annual budget of $180,000 of which $21,000 is Spent for
irrigation water alone.8 A total of lh,626 ducks and geese

6Development Research Associates, gpg_g;§., p. ht.

7Interview with Robert Ellis, Refuge Manager,
July 1, 1968.

8Interview with Richard A. Weaver, Wildlife Manager,
July 2, 1968.

37
were bagged by 8,681 hunters at the facility during the

1967-68 hunting season.9
Relationship of the Sea's Ecology
§2_Recreation Potential

Reference has been made to the sport fishery being the
predominant generative factor in the recreational economy of
the Sea. The food chains responsible for the fishery are
largely artificial because of the introduction by the Depart-
ment of Fish and Game of various organisms. Figure 9 diagrams

the food chain.

Nutrient Salts e——————-Inflow

‘—’_‘fl_flf__,.,f——Phytoplanktona. .....
Detritus l :gfizgadfin
“_‘§.‘~h““““~—Zooplankton ————— ’1’

Neanthes /’
/ [I
Bairdiella ) ,’
I
Longjaquudsucker) //
Sarge )/ I I
/
Corviga

Source: Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, A Reconnaissance
Study, p. III-R7.

Fig. 9 --Salton Sea Food Chain

Neanthes is a pile worm introduced from San Diego Bay which
surfaces to spawn, at which time it becomes easy prey. The

. threadfin shad 13 not a game fish, but plays an important part

91bid.

38

in the secondary food chain. Bairdiella is a gulf croaker;
the adult weighs about a pound. The Sea has such an abundance
of nutrient elements that there is both high phytoplankton
concentration and a high rate of photosynthesis. The deeper
bottoms can become anoxic and a "red tide" results. Large
numbers of Neanthes are killed, a fish kill may occur, surface
waters become sulfurous and odorous. ‘

This raises the question of other ways in which the
ecology of the Sea can be an asset or a liability to its
recreational use. Table 7 summarizes both the favorable and

unfavorable factors.

TABLE 7

ECOLOGY OF THE SEA: FACTORS PROMOTING AND
RETARDING RECREATIONAL ACTIVITY

 

 

 

 

Enhancing Utilization Impeding_Utilization

A suitable habitat for mig- Desirable shoal grass and
ratory waterfowl is maintained Magdalena grass are not
by natural and artificial means. tolerant of salinity.
Abundant nutrients promote fish Water is not clear. High
production. rates of photosynthesis

and deposition of organic
matter create anoxic

conditions.
A productive fishery has resul- Barnacles have proved a
ted from the introduction of nuisance to boaters and
many species of marine life. are painful to bathers

who step on them.

Salinity and Pgllgggg§_
Reports dealing with water quality problems at the Sea
begin by stressing an assumption: the primary function of the

Sink is to serve as a receptical for municipal and agricultural

39
drainage. It must be emphasized that this drainage has high
potential value. If there were some way to return drainage to
the main stream of the Colorado River, the irrigation districts
would be credited for the flow, and there would be an insig-
nificant playa or saline in place of the Sea. By way of illus-
tration, Arizona's Wellton-Mohawk Valley returns drainage
through the use of pumps and gravity flow. Benefits in the
form of increased irrigation allotments more than offset the
cost of high capacity pumps and concrete lined channels in
many cases. Return flow of poor quality has increased sa-
linity in the main stream of the Colorado and is of critical

concern to agricultural users in the Mexicali, Imperial, and

Coachella Valleys.10

A high content of mineral salts (sodium and potassium
chlorides) is characteristic of Colorado River water brought
to the Imperial and Coachella valleys via the All-American
Canal and that brought to the Mexicali Valley via the Alamo
Canal. Despite its salinity, it is used in leaching salts
from agricultural lands (generally between plantings, when it
can leach the root zone). Drainage from leaching and from
fields planted in crops flows into the New, Alamo, and White-
water rivers and into several minor channels on its way to
Salton Sea. Yet this drainage may be improving insofar as

total soluble solids are concerned. Tiling has brought about

 

10 or Board of California Salinity
Cf. Colorado Riv 0 River Area (Sacramento:

Problems in the Lower Colorad
State of California, 1952), p. 7-

 

40
scientific salt balance in the soils of Imperial Valley.

One report suggests that higher quality drainage will result.

The quantity of minerals leached from soils undoubtedly

varies from year to year but cannot be accurately deter-
If the area involved does

mined from available records.
along-term downward trend inthe quantitigs

not increase
of leached nerals reaching the Sea can be expected.

Chlorinity will continue to rise in the Sea regardless, but

improved water quality would be a factor tending to decrease

11

the estimated cost of engineering works to control chlorinity.

thh progress has been made in constructing municipal

sewage treatment plants throughout Imperial Valley. As

recently as 1960 Calexico, Brawley, Seeley, Calipatria, and
Niland dumped raw sewage into the Alamo and New rivers.

Treatment plants were mandated by the Colorado River Basin

Regional water Quality Control Board. Calipatria was aided by

the Federal water Pollution Control Administration in funding

the project, while Calexico, Seeley, and Brawley were eligible

for Housing and Urban Development funds. Mexicali has no

treatment facility, and it is fortunate that total municipal
and agricultural drainage flow from the Republic of Mexico is

only eight percent of the total.13
Yet pollutants do find their way to the Sea.

valley had 563,000 head of cattle in dairy herds and feedlots

llJeromeMolof, Salt Balance: Im erial valle Cali-
! rni . (El Centro: ImperIaI Irrigation DIstrIct, n. a. I
p. I. Four-fifths of agricultural land in the Imperial valley

is tiled.
lZHely, Hughes, and Irelan, op. cit., p. C-Zh.

l3Personal correspondence from University of California
.March 6, 1968, cites Mexicali's

Professor Homer Aschmann
sewage as a major contaminator of the Sea.

Imperial

 

in

l,|

1e.

Pu

Sa

tw

MC

t9

al

Ni

Ne

tr

DE

th

a: L
A‘s

aux. Nu

Al
in 1967.1“ It has been estimated that a feedlot handling
1,000 head of cattle would have the same waste disposal prob-
lem as a city of 16,A00.15 The California Department of

Public Health, on the basis of reports from its Bureau of

Sanitary Engineering dated April, 1958 and May, 1963, closed

two areas to water contact sports. The smaller area is at the

mouth of the Whitewater River and comprises a zone of one-half

mile radius from the channel mouth. A more extensive area ex-

tends easterly from the outlet of the New and Alamo rivers and

along the eastern shoreline to a point two miles south of

Niland Marina.16
Sewage has in the past formed a barrier to fish life in

New River. There is evidence, however, that the sewerage

treatment facilities of Imperial Valley municipalities are now
permitting mullet to enter the Sea.17 Sludge settled out at
the treatment plants reduces biochemical oxygen demand.

Thirty-five percent of the 320 registered boat owners
in the PMA responding to a questionnaire item on the most

needed improvement at the Sea suggested ". . . improved water

14Imperial County Board of Supervisors, Im erial Count
Agriculture, 1967 (El Centro: Imperial County Board of
upervisors, 1968), p. 3.
153tatement attributed to Hollis R. Williams, Depart-
ment of Agriculture, San Die 0 Evenin Tribune, September 16,
1968, p. 8-70
léArthur Swajian, M” p. 43.
l7halter Thomson, water Pollution Problems at Salton
Sea (Sacramento: California State water Quality ControI
Foard, 1964), p. 6.

 

 

qu.

ta

p9

A2
quality as their first choice".18 Because this led all other
tallied responses, it indicates that recreationists are

placing emphasis on the quality of their recreational ex-

perience, and adjustments are necessary.

Demand Factors that Enhance
ecrea ona zation

 

This study has stressed location, accessibility, and
the nature of the resource base. In assessing the potential
of the Sea, it is necessary to account for the current in-
creased recreational use. This may be attributed to changing
interpretations of what constitutes a valuable resource as

well as social and economic factors that have stimulated

demand.
As recently as fifteen years ago the Sea was a rela-

tively remote and desolate desert lake:

The Salton was thought to be the big cesspool a few
It was the place where only prOSpectors and

years ago.
No use was made of the sea for recre-

TB cases went.
ation. Now the place crawls with people on weekends.
People are moving in

Roads and lots have been prepared.
to live. In the future pe0ple will demand more and more
As retirement ages

recreation areas and living space.
drOp below 60, as work days are staggered, as we approach
igs, places

the four-day week and as automation increa
like Salton City will come into their own.

This statement would stand as a classic example of boosterism
were it not for the fact that a number of cultural, techno-
logical, and economic factors are enabling present-day Cali-
fornians to establish an artificial landscape in areas that
were once believed to have no potential for human habitation,

 

l8Deve10pment Research Associates, op2 cit., p. 97.
lgllbert J. Haberger, Imperial County Administrator,

quoted in the Los Angeles Times,prril 17, 1966, p. J-l.

01‘
T8

it

43

or any significant form of recreation. Thomas attests to the

resource use that is taking place and attempts to account for

it in both a spatial and cultural context:

A desert lake convenient of access by paved highway
from the Los Angeles metropolitan area has been a mecca
for speedboaters and water skiers. There were more boats
than autos sold during 1959 in Southern California; these
small pleasure craft must now be registered with the
State Department of Motor Vehicles under a law approved

by the 1959 State Legislature.

For the most part, the present competition for use of
Salton Sea stems directly from the demands of the re-
markably affluent, Spectacularly mobile population of
metropolitan coastal California for )dssert-resort living
and recreation (boating and fishing).

It has been established that the recreation potential of the
Sea is utilized by those coming a considerable distance.

This requires leisure which has been historically assessed

and projected until 1980 in Table 8.

TABLE 8
DISTRIBUTION OF LEISURE TIME IN CALIFORNIA 1900-1980

 

 

(Hours of Free Time per Capita per Week)

‘Iear weekdays weekends Holidays Vacations Total Non-weekday
1900 22.0 15.4 0.8 0.3 38.5 16.5

 

1920 24.0 16.0 1.0 1.5 42.5 18.5
1940 24.6 17.0 1.2 2.0 44.8 20.2
1960 25.3 17.8 1.5 3.0 #7.6 22.3
1980 25.3 18.3 1.8 4.0 49.4 24.1

Outdoor Recreation Outlook to 1980, State Department

Source:
of Parksh and Recreation Plannin Mbno ra hs No. 1
and No. 4é found in Development ResearcH Associates,
e

W. p.28.

2OWilliam L. ThomaS, Jr., 22;_g;§., pp. 363 39‘

44
Ample leisure will not increase utilization by that
portion of the population constituting a poverty group.
Demand curves by Clawson and Knetsch indicate one-third of

urban populations will not use a recreational resource one

hundred miles distant due to travel costs.21
Circumstances favorable to increased utilization are

related to historical and projected population and personal

income data for the PMA, presented in Table 9:

TABLE 9

POPULATION AND PERSONAL INCOME, PRIMARY MARKET
AREA--HISTORICAL AND PROJECTED

 

 

 

_II Population, Real Personal Income per
Historical and Capita, Historical and b

Tear Projected, PMAa Projected, PMA (1967 dollars)

1950 5,467,800 32,579

1960 8,734,100 3,142

1970 11,637,200 3,815

1980 14,510,200 4,642

.Progections for 1970 and 1980 are from Department of Finance,

Apri 20, 1967.

bHistorical estimates of personal income from California State
Chamber of Commerce. Projections for 1970 and 1980 by
Development Research Associates from logarithmic curve fit at
growth of 2.0% per annum in real income per capita.

DeveIOpment Research Associatesé Economic Benefits,
0

Source:
Table 2, p. 17 and Table 3, p.

Projected needs for water-based recreation facilities

and projected registration of boats in the PMA suggest a

 

zlflhrion Clawson and Jack Knotsch, Economics of
Outdoor Recreation (Baltimore: John Hopkins Press, 1966),

BTW—‘—

45
strong future demand, and an analysis has been made of PMA
supply and demand based on 1967 data. Nevertheless the
analysis has inherent limitations. In the first place, the
planning monographs of the State Department of Parks and
Recreation were prepared to correlate with assumptions and
objectives outlined in the California Public Outdoor Recre-
gpippflfilgp published in 1960. The committee formulating the
plan did not foresee the boom in camping demand afforded by
successful marketing and public demand for the now ubiquitous
pick-up truck and camper unit; or for that matter, did they
realize that the motor vehicle industry would market a light
weight van that may contain many of the amenities of a
permanent home, including air-conditioning (Figure 13,
page 47). Registered as a Class I vehicle, these units are
permitted to travel at maximum posted Speeds, or at slightly
reduced Speeds when pulling a trailer. The committee could
not have foreseen the spatial implications manifest by the

range of these vehicles nor could they anticipate the type of

. 22
camping facilities their use would require.

A second limitation of the analysis is that it is based

on the availability of public facilities exclusively. Pro-
jections do not account for the demand that is being met by

private investment, although as shown in Figure 10, page 46,

private facilities at North Shore, Whitewater Cove, Salton Sea

Beach, Desert Shores, and Salton City helped meet demand.

 

22Interview with Jack Stowe, State Recreation Area

Manager, April 2, 1969.

46

msopamfl> mom copamw mo mGOHpmcfiumom one mmflmfimo emu mo mammamc<un.oa .mwm

 

.<.o....

Ccsoo Soto oco moaoE
limo EoEooocoE co oomom .Boo vmm:

oo 35. when;

\neaocm romeo

 

 

 

 

{ca 22m saw 8:8

ZO_._.<ZE.mmo QZ<

     

3:56 9.6 .19.;
mo EoEtoamo Soiam 953:4 hwm:

Eon“. oEoo >2... when;

 

$69.4 mom coanotoz

Z_o_m0lmmm.._oz<

 

 

{I

Chm-r

:u an!!!

a

Fig. 11. (Left)--

Irrigated Agricul-
ture Extending to

Salton Sea

Q

 

Fig. 12. (Right)-—
Runway and Tie-down
at North Shore

 

Fig. 130 (Left)--
Ubiquitous Pickup
Camper Units at
Mecca Beach

 

48

Another feature of the analysis deserves comment. It
will be difficult ever to fulfill demand for a camping and
boating eXperience at sites within one hour of travel time
from PMA population centers. The resource base is simply too
limited. The quality of the experience would deteriorate due
to crowding. The dearth of suitable new sites is illustrated
by a recent deveIOpment. The Department of Parks and Recre-
ation stated its interest in acquiring 415,978 acres of public
land administered by three federal agencies.23 Newspaper
accounts described each of the parcels involved, but sub-
sequent interest and publicity focused on a single parcel-~220
acres of Camp Pendleton beaches in northern San Diego County.
Lying within one hours travel from most of the population
centers in the PMA, the beach is suitable for camping,
swimming, and surfing. Surf interferes with boat launching
and water skiing, however, and ocean weather conditions can be
hazardous for small boats, causing owners to prefer accessible
inland lakes.

California law requires registration of all power boats
and any boat over eight feet in length. Registration of
172,400 PMA boats in 1967 is expected to increase to 412,090
by 1980.24 Table 10 indicates the current and growing water
recreation supply gap in the PMM.

 

23§gp Diego Union, June 1, 1969, pp. 8-1, 8-4.
2“"‘llevelopment Research Associates, op. cit., p. 30.

OH EQE 1L;

49

 

II, . maoomm<

.mm .m .m wanes .moHMoeom oesoeoom mop
nommomom poosmoao>om 80mm oopemom one as .N .H .02 .mm on one: :Hmwmwm
.eofiumomoom one oxmmm mo unempmmaoo oompm mammomwamo .moaomp Kfiomoaqm so o m

 

"wohfiom

.oopmpmno>o on has homewoflMoo .mmoaamasm gopm>wme=
use oodaocfi poo mooo >o>s5m madman woman one .hodoaoahoo mopmofioofi «IV nmmazo

.momomp one mammmomm assumes 80mm oopoonoum omma

o:m coma muonoooa swoops» monooom no oommounooma "msoaaom mm sumo sawsooden
.ooaaoa use» canons

mowpflHfiomm Ham moosaocfl meson boom mom omdmfim ..o.H .o>HpmH:Eso one momswwmm

 

 

 

 

 

 

moowam
oda.d- ooa.oa a o.o aam.s- ows.d omm.m omda momenta
0mm.o- oma.ma owo.m Hom.a- mam.a maanm cams a tmoooa
ona.m- cam.a oaa.s moo.mu 005.: moo N coma atom
mmm.amn ooa.ma moa.mm Hoo.ai acm.a dmm.m omma no a
mma.amt oom.om mam.mfl Haa.m- ooa.o mom.m oaoa awe:
. a u a u a 0
mac ma- ooa am mac Ha cam a- 000 a cmo m coma
ooomomommam oohamdom namspo< econommmmHn oomflsmom pammpo< endow

 

 

mmmoh< omofiaoaoupos mo memo: pooh canvas mmmom< :mpHHoamnuoz mo usox omo cfinpwz

«sea momma: emasza 2H mmHeHaHoaa
oneammomm UHamsa mo meadow msHaomaam was so zoma<sq<>m

- OH mqm<a

O
O
A.
1“
4"- re
11
I
re
1"

,fi
."
.
n
.1
n
O
0
e .
‘i
I")
I'\

n ,
A A
1‘ A

x. ,—.
ms ‘
A »e
,‘ in

f. n

CHAPTER IV
ADJUSTMENTS NECESSARY TO FULFILL DEMAND

The major deterrents to current public and private
investment in facilities at Salton Sea are deteriorating
water quality and lack of elevation control. Conceding that
there is already economic stagnation at the Sea, the soon-
omic report contains nine tables projecting the dire effect
of declining recreational use if remedial measures are not
taken as soon as possible. These projections are designed
to measure the Sea's future utility under controlled and un-
controlled conditions. An assumption is made: under both
controlled and uncontrolled conditions there will be de-
creasing utilization beginning in 1970 and persisting through
1975. If controls are effected by 1975, recreational activity
and economic growth would show substantial improvement by
1980. The economic report projects net benefits for the
period 1975-2025 at $387,600,000. A table from the economic
report is condensed for presentation. Although it purports
to project all recreation days and benefits, it in fact

excluded waterfowl hunting and nature study.

California has through legislation created several

50

"mohflom

 

.mu .m .om canoe .mufimoCom oHSOGOom .mopmfloomm< sommomom omoemoao>om 80mm oopmmo<

Annmaaoo

0mm.mmav . . . . . . . n ma new“
. a cmm mafia cmm ccae ccm cede cam cmc Ha cmm mac Na -omoocaoaot

nomoom Hopoe any

com.cma ccm.cma . . . . . .c m.H memo doses
can mma ooo_mmo H 00m mmm H 000 o smooch Hmooe Amy

anompfioeoo ooaaomocoocb hood: Amy

Ammmaaoo

cam.AdH.d . . . . . . . . . as mode
a and one we cam cam as com cede cam dmo Ha cam moo Na -wmoocaoaoa

uohoop Hopes any

.1
-5

ccm.saa.m ccm.amc.m ccm.cca.m ccc.m~c.n com.mmm.a ccc.ccm.n memo soaps
nomoop Hopoe «my

mCOfipHoooo ooHHonpcoo noon: “av

 

Ammcm
swoops» mcwsoap

-aoo coal cccm coca coca maca cams .omaoc econ

 

 

Acmecmscmmv che<mmcmm has "mmazzcm meHamzmm cza mm: qaczza
- as mam<e

52
agencies to insure beneficial uses of public waters within
the state: the State water Resources Control Board, the
State Hater Quality Control Board, and the Colorado River
Basin Regional Control Board are all concerned with the study
area. The latter has primary reaponsibility for the Salton
Sea area, and is the agency which submits budget requests for
preserving beneficial uses of the Sea. Three studies recom-
mended by the Regional Board have been funded and completed
since fiscal year 1964-65: (1) the feasibility study which
deals with a control project (Pomeroy Report), (2) an identi-
fication and evaluation of federal, state and local interests
or Swajian Report and, (3) the economic study. The Pomeroy
firm specialises in the design of water supply and sewerage
facilities. Their engineering report suggests a diked ponding
area to control salinity and stabilize the level of the Sea
and also recommends that a special agency be established to
manage the conservation of the Sea. As of August, 1970, no
action had been taken on this recommendation. Primary re-
sponsibility for protecting the beneficial uses of the Sea
remains with the Regional Board.

Congressman John Tunney, Thirty-Eighth Congressional
District of California, in October, 1967 requested the De-
Partment of Interior to assist in initiating an action pro-
gram.to consider the major problems identified in the Pomeroy
study. Reacting to this offer of technical and advisory

assistance from the Bureau of Reclamation, Assemblyman Victor

Ye
vi

Re

53
Veysey of Brawley authored an act creating a Salton Sea Ad-
visory Committee and a companion feature, Assembly Joint
Resolution Number 28, which memorializes the federal agencies
to confer with and advise the Committee. Both were passed
and signed by the governor June 27, 1968.

Preliminary information gathered in the joint federal-
state reconnaissance study is now available. It includes
benefit-cost analysis for one of the plans involving a per-
manent diked fifty square mile impounding area at the south
end of the Sea. The dike itself would be forty-three miles
long; have an earthen, riprap, and concrete base; be fifty
feet wide at the top with seven feet of freeboard; and re-
quire five years construction time to complete.1 No part of
the dike itself would be closer than one-half mile to the
present shoreline, and the impounded area would be reached by
a causeway. A backwater would form between the southern rim
of the dike and the shoreline; it is believed this could be
developed for waterfowl management. A problem involving
dredging to prevent silt deposits from obstructing flows from
the New and Alamo Rivers is acknowledged with $150,000 of the
annual operation and maintenance costs earmarked for this
purpose.2

It is believed that sufficient water could be removed
from the Sea through six forty-eight inch pipes to eventually

.¥

1U. S. Department of the Interior and the Resources
ASency of California, op. cit., pp. 98-106.

2;bid., p. 110.

SI

54
bring salinity down to 33,000 ppm.3 Brine within the im-
pounding basin would be below the level of the Sea for an
anticipated life for the project of 100 years.’+

,Rgpionale for Benefit-Cost Analysyg

It is plausible to assume that data from several
studies will be included in the final benefit-cost analysis.
A mix of two or more of the following methods of determining
benefits appear in the Pomeroy Report, the Economic Study,
and the Federal-State Reconnaissance Report (Joint Study).

1. A consumer's surplus method of valuing a general
recreation-day at the Sea that is used by the California
Resources Agency and is known as the Trice-W00d method. The
median travel expense per day is subtracted from the ninetieth
percentile travel expense per day, and zones are used to group
distances traveled into class intervals.5 An alternative
utilizing the same method would value an angling day.

2. Anticipated total annual expenditures by resident
and non-resident recreationists under controlled conditions
and at some future date. This is the approach used in Table
11, page 51, and the data appearing there were included for

benefit analysis undertaken in the Joint Study.
3
Ibid., p. 100.
“Ibid., p. 132.

5Andrew H. Trice and Samuel E. Whod, "Measurement of
Recrigtion Benefits," Land Economics XXIIV-B (August, 1958),
pp. 5‘207e

55

3. Anticipated increases in the value of land and im-
provements in the immediate vicinity of the Sea at some future
time. The increase in value could be attributed in part to
controlled conditions. This approach may be used by state
agencies in evaluating benefits, but is not included in cri-
teria for federal analysis for reasons to be cited.

An outcome of the Joint Study is that the report con-
tains items included as costs and benefits which in one case
might not have been included, and in another case could not
have been included, in a federal benefit-cost study.

First to be considered is an item added to project
costs. The cost of the impounding project given benefit-cost
analysis is $109,701,000. 0n the assumption that presence of
the control project would attract public and private capital
investment in recreational facilities, added value of
$20,150,000 was arbitrarily included in project costs.

Seventy percent of this value, which would be invested between
1976 and 2000, was assumed to represent private venture
capital. The report says nothing concerning the role an
administrative agency for the control project would have in
soliciting the investment, Specifying sites to be developed,
or being a party to any leases pertaining to the investment.

Enhancement of raw land values is an indirect benefit
included in the Joint Study. A summary of benefits presented
as Table 12 shows that an annual increase in raw land values
has more impact than does recreation or fish and wildlife-~a

situation that has to be considered in the context of what may

.
\hv

56

be included in federal benefit-cost analysis.

TABLE 12
SUMMARY OF BENEFITS

 

 

 

 

Project Function Annual Equivalent Benefits
Recreation 8 4,215,000
Fish and Wildlife 3,179,000
Enhancement of Raw Land Values 4,651,900

Total $12,045,000

Source: Federal-State Reconnaissance Report, Table 20,
p. 143.

—‘

Within the framework for federal benefit-cost analysis
are rigid restrictions upon what can be added to primary
benefits prior to comparing benefits to project costs. Senate
Document Number 97 of 1962 delineates those benefits accruing
to the nation, and those which accrue only to specific sectors
(such as the PMA or local area). In theory, only net increases
in the national productivity can be added to primary benefits
and compared with costs. This prevents identifying as
benefits that which accrues to the immediate shoreline area,
but which at the same time may occasion costs or decrease
productivity elsewhere in the state or nation.

Costs and benefits discounted to current worth may be
examined once it is established that the Joint Study did not
Operate within the restricted framework required for federal

analysis. The total project investment costs discounted to

Present worth is $133,196,000 and the annual equivalent

It

|
I'Q'

.dl‘

57

investment cost is $6,549,000. Annual equivalent operation,
maintenance, and repair costs are $1,825,000 for total annual
equivalent project costs of 88,374,000. When these costs
are compared with the summary of benefits presented in
Table 12, a favorable benefit-cost ratio of 1.4 to 1.0 is
established.6

The Joint Study does not dwell on the dire conse-
quences of ignoring the salinity problem, although treatment
of these consequences was one of the major contributions of
the Economic Study. As shown in Table 11, page 51, the total
recreation benefits will forever be impaired if a control fa-
cility is not constructed. However, any data that purports
to project declining benefits is forecasting future physical
and economic conditions largely upon conjecture. The fact
is that no one really knows when large number of corvina are
going to die as a result of increasing salinity. It may be
soon, however.

Some of the ways the costs of a control project could

be met are discussed in Chapter VI.

Integrating_Public Develgpment
Salinity and water stabilization controls are the two
most important adjustments needed to accommodate recreational
use of the Sea, but other conditions exist that will retard
future development of public facilities unless an integrated

—_1

6U. S. Department of the Interior and the Resources
Agency of California, op. cit., p. 140.

58

planning and funding program can be instigated.

Three-fourths of the Sea lies in Imperial County and
one-fourth in Riverside County. Both counties have planning
commissions, recreation committees, and county general plans
(land use, highways, recreation). Imperial County in par-
ticular does not have the tax base to adequately provide
public facilities for recreationists from the metropolitan
area.7 The county has no facilities in the heart of its
famous sand dune area, yet 12,500 people from metropolitan
areas Spent at least part of the 1968 Thanksgiving holiday
weekend encamped near Glamis where there was a dune buggy

rally.8

The county supervisors would like to encourage
tourism in areas that do have facilities, but recognize there
must first be wide publicity through metr0politan news media.
Fortunately institutional arrangements for new planning have
been made through the creation of the Southern California
Associated Governments (Los Angeles, Riverside, Orange,
Imperial, and Ventura counties). Although the organization
is not empowered to raise capital funds, it had approximately
$100,000 in planning funds for fiscal year 1968-69, and has
shown an inclination to support open space type recreation.

Occasionally the state authorizes some improvement at

a county facility, such as a recent $94,000 Small Craft

7Interview with Dale Pike, Imperial County Recreation
Director, March 31, 1969.

8Idem.

 

Ha
Re

59

Harbors Division grant for a jetty extension and lighting at
Red Hill Marina. The most extensive current plan is for
Niland Marina, where the recreation director would like to
install additional flush toilets, showers and 100 improved
trailer Spaces. He would then extend unimproved camping
into an adjacent section of land fronting on the Sea which
the Bureau of Land Management is willing to convey to the
county for $2.50 per acre. The recreation director placed
improvement of Niland Marina as the first priority on his
capital improvement proposal for the 1969-70 fiscal year. In
spite of the prospect of state support for some of the fa-
cilities, the supervisors overruled this and placed this
improvement last in priority. One reason given was un-
certainty about the future potential for recreation at the
Sea.9

This "wait and see' policy also characterizes the
situation in Riverside County, where the general plan calls
for a shoreline park facility and a game refuge near the Sea.
No further action is contemplated until a salinity control
plan is implemented.10

Taxpayer organizations may regard the curtailment of
public investment prudent in view of current conditions.

Public officials whose duties bring them into contact with

 

9Idem.

10Personal correspondence from Philip Garofalo
Egggner I, Riverside County Planning Commission, April 15,

n“

60
the recreational utilization of the area feel there is too
much primitive camping, however. People congregate in areas
where there are absolutely no sanitary facilities, and they
use these areas in a manner that could cause an epidemic.11
Such conditions as well as a lack of routine policing of re-
mote areas constitute unrestricted use in a manner poten-
tially harmful to public health, safety, morals and the
general welfare. Officials who are cognizant of the situ-
ation would like to provide additional facilities and promote
safe and orderly utilization. If demand is to be met in a
way that will bring about consumer satisfaction and the best
use of the areas under public control, better facilities must
be provided.

A prime example of a currently non-functional improve-
ment exists at Red Hill Marina. An old volcano adjacent to
the marina has been graded to provide thirty or more trailer
sites on each of four tiers. The view of the shoreline and
Sea from each of the tiers is magnificent. Grading of each
tier was well planned to provide easy access by road from the
marina. No funds are available to complete the project at
this time, although the plan is sound and reasonable. Modest
user fees at Red Hill and Niland marinas provide sufficient
income to meet current operating costs and provide a small

surplus.12

_

11Interview with Dale Pike, Imperial County Recre~
ation Director, March 31, 1969.

12Idem.

61

Upgrading Quality in Private Develogments
The develOper of Lido Palms Marina at Sand Point
secured financing through the Small Business Administration
for the facility which opened September 2, 1968. Funding was
insufficient to complete every improvement summarized in
Table 13, but building priorities were recognized with some

improvements designated "Phase I" and others "Phase II".

TABLE 13
LIDO PALMS MARINA: INITIAL INVESTMENT ESTIMATE

 

 

 

Facility Estimated Investment
Marina Store and Wet Storage 3 73,000
Campground‘ b 23.500
Restaurant, Bar & Ggme Room 55,LOO
Fish Cleaning ngse 5,900
Boat &.Car wash 17,000
Gas Storage 7,200
Recreation Buildingb 33,300
Boat Storage, Boat Rental, & Boat Repaira 17,600
Earthwork 53,000
Underground Improvementsa 33,h60
Grading & Compaction 2,000
Landscaping & Sprinklera 10,000
Jetty Surfacing 5,000
Lagoon Dewatering h,000
Sea Wall 10,000
Launching Ramps 1,500
Gas Facilities 15,h00
Chain Link Fenceb 9,750
Offsite Improvements 1,500
Engineering a Inspection £0,000
Overhead &.WOrking Capital 16,h90

Total $u40,000

a

Not on site as of June 1, 1969.

Source: Lawrence wetstein, "Feasibility Report for Sandpoint

 

bActual investment below proposal estimate.

Marina" (Unpublished report, 1967), p. 2b.

(I

(‘0

62

Permanent facilities at Lido Palms Marina are of
uniformly high quality, but the camping area along the shore
is typically primitive. Two showerheads (not enclosed) rise
above small concrete platforms in the center of the beach.
There are a few portable chemical toilets, scattered trash
barrels, and a few picnic tables. By noon on.Memorial Day,
1969, there were 350 camper units and tents registered for
overnight use and more were expected.13 Trucks were backed
into position so that the camper living units faced the Sea.
These were the choicest locations, and space was so limited
that outside rear-view mirrors almost touched. Many families
brought household pets, and dogs were observed running freely.
The overnight camping fee of one dollar per vehicle could
well be interpreted as a bargain, because the beach at Sand
Point is the best on the Sea. The total effect was also a
prime example of extreme overcrowding, with littering and the
danger of pollution likely to have an adverse effect on the
resource base.

Assuming that quality is a feature of outdoor recre-
ation sought both by the consumer public and recreation
interests, it is pertinent to inquire as to what the charac-
teristics of a quality experience would be. Some assumptions
by an advocate of quality in outdoor recreation have explicit
implications for Lido Palms:

l. A campground that covers a smaller acreage for a

13Interview with Wilda Bennett, Lido Palms Manager,
May 30, 1969.

63
given number of sites will decrease capital and maintenance
costs. An economy of scale is involved as the unit cost per
site decreases. In the case of Lido Palms Marina, if the
camp units were confined to an area adjacent to, but not
right on the beach, utilization would actually improve, as
would the quality of the recreation experience.

2. Concentration can actually reduce apparent crowd-
ing. In the case of Lido Palms Marina, freedom of movement
was curtailed because of the extended string-bean pattern of
utilization. A grid pattern of campsites adjacent to the
beach would actually increase freedom of movement in a
natural environment.

3. Policing problems are reduced when camping facili-
ties are concentrated. Lido Palms hires additional personnel
whose duty it is to enforce reasonable regulations at maximum
use periods. Their task would be easier if camping were
confined to a smaller area.

4. The natural landscape ought to be in evidence from
a variety of vantage points. Under present conditions of use,
there is from the beach only an unobstructed view out over the
water. During maximum use periods at the marina, parked
vehicles obstruct the view in any other direction.

5. Different forms of water based recreation should
not compete with each other at the same site. At Lido Palms
everyone anchors his boat at a site immediately in front of
his camping unit. People fish from share at the same time and

in the same places that swimming, water skiing, and boating

6#

are being pursued. These activities compete with each other
because they are not confined to specific areas by means of
zoning.lh

All residential communities on the Sea now have a
public water system. Bombay Beach voted approval of $125,000
in water bonds on March 18, 1969.15

An adjustment in the thrust of promotional activities
by real estate operations is advocated. A land developer
"created" Salton City with a subdivision plan for 29,200 lots
submitted to Imperial County for approval. The land boom
resulting in $30,000,000 worth of lot sales the first year
was a remarkable accomplishment considering the fact that
almost immediately the aspirations of the purchasers came in
conflict with the economic patterns of utilization inherited
from the past. The developers did not have access to a
supply of high quality potable water, and the agricultural
irrigation interests at first were not anxious to have a
separate district develop a ground water source that was
discovered! Even after this dilemma was resolved through
annexation to the Coachella Valley County Water District, the
small investors found they had made an unrealistic evaluation
of the demand outlook for second homes at the Sea. Neverthe-
less, proceeds from initial sales enabled the promoters to

‘

l"Assumptions adapted from a paper read at the 1969
Annual Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast Geographers
by Bob R. O'Brien entitled "Concentration--The Key to Quality
in Outdoor Recreation.”

lsBrawle News, March 20, 1969, p. 3.

81'

65
erect motels, restaurants, trailer parks, a yacht club and
marina, and a camping area. In addition, the Holly Corpo-
ration sponsors water skiing and speedboat contests and has
provided an eighteen hole golf course.

Land sales are continuing with busloads of prOSpective
buyers brought from Los Angeles County to Salton City's Hos-
pitality Center every weekend. Brochures and a newspaper,
2hg_Salton Citngesorter, are given to prospective buyers
before they are shown lots. The available lots for a small
investor are zoned R-lA, which are restricted to single-
fanily dwellings of not less than 800 square feet. These are

sold on a sales contract with low monthly payments.16

Pros-
pects are told of elaborate plans for the area and more than
likely data indicating that all lodging for holiday weekends
had been booked weeks ahead would be cited. Accommodations
had in fact been filled to capacity for each weekend for
eight weeks prior to the 1969 Memorial Day weekend.17
Because of demand, the operator of Salton City‘s
largest motel-marina complex has contracted for an expansion
program to double capacity.18 The sales effort is geared to
what is assumed to be of prime interest to the small in-

vestor, however. Emphasis is placed upon Salton City's

k

16One brochure refers to a monthly lay-away plan for
as little as twenty-nine dollars per month.

17Verified through interviews with motel operators and
Jayne Kleeman, secretary of the Salton City Chamber of
Commerce, May 30, 1969.

18Idem.

66

potential as a residential-resort community of second homes.
Regarding this potential, most existing houses were built be-
fore 1961, when construction in the immediate shoreline area
was equal to approximately five percent of the potential
second home market in the PMA.19 There is no evidence of
current new home construction, a fact which may be attributed
to transitory high mortgage rates or "tight money" which are
convenient terms used in the sales campaign.20

Those who purchase property may find themselves in a
dilemma unless they gain satisfaction from the prospect (how-
ever remote) of holding their lot until it appreciates in
value. Alternatives Open to purchasers of some other types
of land do not Operate in this market. For example, the
option of shifting land zoned R-lA to a lower use, such as
moving a mobile home onto the site, is not open to the pur-
chaser. No public notice need be given if a purchaser fails
to perform with payment as specified in the sales contract.
When abandonment occurs, the seller merely puts the property
back on the market. A buyer's equity may be hard to estab-
lish if the purchaser attempts to use his contract as

collateral in securing a loan.21 Many lots bear small, often

 

19DevelOpment Research Associates, op. cit., p. 79.

20Inactivity in the second home market is apparent not
only at Salton City, but also at North Shore Beach Estates
where resident Jack Stowe (state park manager) said only one
new dwelling was completed between June, 1966 and June, 1969.

21Harry Haskell, Bank of America manager at Salton City,
said the bank does not participate in the financing of lot
sales. Interview held at the bank April 3, 1969.

67
poorly lettered signs announcing that the property is for
sale. The economic report made several pertinent observa-
tions about the current situation:

. . . This history of speculation has had lasting ef-
fects on the Sea's potential for future recreation/resi-
dential development. Our survey indicated a substantial
amount of ill will remaining between property owners and
the land develOpers, as a result of facilities that were
anticipated or promised, but failed to materialize. . . .

. . . A number of factors have been at work in recent
years to restrict a growth in the permanent retired popu-
lation at the Sea. . . . The lack of facilities in the
shoreline area has inhibited the growth of a secondary
home market. In particular, survey responses stressed
the shortage of retail shopping and other services, as
well as a lack of convenient medical care--a necessity to
many older couples.

Widening the Economic Base at Salton City

Primary industry at Salton City is in reality a service
function--providing goods and services for recreationists. At
the present time it is apparent that this function alone will
not support a viable community. If nothing is done to widen
the economic base, the area could become a recreational slum.
The community now supports one general contractor and one
small machine shop. An 18,000 square-foot Atlas Plastics
factory that was once thought to be the answer to the com-
munity's need for a basic manufacturing establishment (it was
hoped it would eventually employ 200 people) is closed. Still,
there is a surprisingly active Chamber of Commerce for a com-

munity of A50 permanent residents. A project under investi-

gation would advertise and develop what is felt to be a

22Development Research Associates, Op cit., pp. 56-57.

na‘

V8

de

me

n;

.1 53!: l 0! half, if". loin

68
natural advantage as a health spa for the elderly and infirm.
Funding is currently being sought for a combination con-
valescent hOSpital and rest home facility.23

Current research into what desirable features a resi-
dential-resort development ought to have stresses that com-
mercial success has been realized when development has been
nodal and provides recreation and shopping areas with easy
access, circulation, and a spatial agglomeration of invest-
ment.”+ Salton City has a business center with a bank,
markets, a county office (where a public health nurse main-
tains hours as posted and the branch library is located), the
sheriff's office, chamber of commerce, and a few service
facilities such as a beauty parlor, laundromat, and dry
cleaning establishment. A restaurant and service station are
adjacent to this area. Other than the golf course there are
few recreation facilities unrelated to the Sea except some
playground equipment at Sea View Elementary School. The
school is also the site of community social activities.

In summary, Salton City is the most appropriate site
for successful future private development to occur. The other
resort communities are not only very small, but (North Shore
excepted) border federal and state lands, or Indian lands, in

such a manner that institutional arrangements would have to

23Interview with Jayne Kleeman, secretary of the Salton
City Chamber of Commerce, May 30, 1969.

24Robert A. Harper, Theodore H. Schmudde, and Frank H.
Thomas, "Recreation Based Economic Development and the Growth-
Point Concept," Land Economigg, XLII-l (February, 1966),
pp. 95-101 0

(I)

(‘7'

nu

69
be made to provide for growth. Salton City on the other hand
not only has an abundance of available land, but can provide
many essential public services which are at present under-
utilized, and can provide a variety of sites as well as the
nucleus of a labor supply. It is unfortunate that the manu-
facturing of sheet plastic did not succeed as the needed
industry. Local people are anxious to attract some other
venture to the area, enabling the community to become the

growth-point center for new private investment at the Sea.

Promoting_Safe BoatinggConditions

The Department of Harbors and Watercraft made a special
survey in 1963 to gather data for its "California Small Craft
Harbors and Facilities Report." The survey showed that ap-
proximately 21,500 boat owners used the Sea during 1962. On
the basis of ten usages each, this figure represented 215,000
boater-days, and on the basis of four persons per boat,
860,000 boater-visitor-days.25 On a state-wide basis, there
were approximately 282,600 boats registered in 1962 and ap-
proximately AO6,000 registered in 1967.26 Pleasure craft
boating is increasing at a rapid rate. Salton Sea can play
an important role in meeting the demand for cruising waters.
Some adjustments to control boating at the Sea will undoubtedly
have to be made if future conflicts and a potential threat to
public safety are to be avoided.

_*

25Letter from N. W. Sprow, Director of the Department
of Harbors and watercraft, to Arthur Swajian, July 14, 1967.

26Ibid.

70

Problems associated with powerboating on the Sea fall
into several categories. One example is the possibility of
conflict with governmental use of the Sea for a waterfowl
refuge and for naval gunnery practice. Then there is the
threat to public health from boating and water contact in those
portions of the Sea where pollution exists. For that matter,
the boaters themselves pollute the water when they permit
litter and other waste to enter the Sea. Rental houseboats are
scheduled to be introduced at the Sea. They will be equipped
with functional holding tanks, but there is bound to be some
pollution associated with their use.

Powerboating and water skiing both are known to inter-
fere with bathing at the better beaches, and both conflict with
angling. Occasional windiness presents hazardous conditions,
and nighttime angling by those unfamiliar with the Sea, while
permitted, is not in the best interests of public safety.

These problems will be dealt with in more detail after a dis-
cussion of the legal framework under which power-boating takes
place, and identification of the agencies functioning as the
police power at the Sea.

General regulations concerning boating are found in the
State Harbors and Navigation Code, and Title 1A, Chapter 5,
Sub-chapter A (Aquatic Regulations) of the California Adminis-
trative Code. Section 19 of the Penal Code of California sets
forth the punishment for violation of the codes. The most
frequently abused regulations concern the maximum speed per-

mitted under certain conditions. For example, under section

71
267 of the Harbors and Navigation Code, it is a misdemeanor for
anyone to operate a powerboat at a speed greater than five
miles per hour within 100 feet of any person engaged in the act
of bathing, or within 200 feet of any beach frequented by
bathers. Beaches at Salton City, North Shore, and Niland
Marina are clearly marked off and posted, but at other sites
there are less clearly defined areas restricted to bathing.

No single authority exercises police power over boating.
The Imperial County Sheriff's Department maintains an office
and patrol boats at Salton City, and state park personnel
exercise police power over waters along the northeastern
shoreline.

Salton Sea is a mecca for water skiers. National water
ski champions practice there, and the operator of the ski
school at Salton City holds the speed record of 112 miles per
hour.27 For the safety of those engaged in water skiing,
regulations require that a person other than the powerboat
Operator stand with one fully extended arm bearing a flag
whenever the tow rope is not taut.

Scheduled practice sessions for water skiing and speed
boat contests at Salton City are cleared with the sheriff's
aquatic detail so that safety measures may be coordinated.
Conflicts are avoided by preventing different types of ac-
tivities from occurring simultaneously in the same area.

The naval gunnery range at the southwest and of the Sea

27The Salton Seafarer, January-February, 1969, p. 17.

SE

pf

 

72
sends out patrol boats when the area is being utilized for
practice. At other times the area is open to use.

Salton Sea is dangerous during windstorms. Short, heavy
swells may rise three to six feet high, causing boaters to set
a course for the nearest shore where they may beach their
craft. The gradual slope of the beach combined with the swells
sometimes can cause shoreline features such as posts and con-
crete abutments to be temporarily concealed under the rising
waves. It is under such conditions that the hulls of power-
boats are sometimes smashed. Boaters are advised to check with
marina Operators before venturing out onto the Sea and to watch
for dust clouds which usually indicate the approach of strong
winds.

The state park maintains a warning beacon which can be
seen for miles. It operates automatically, with the color of
the beam changing from green to amber when the wind exceeds
twelve miles per hour, and from amber to red when the wind
exceeds nineteen miles per hour.

Angling is permitted twenty-four hours a day, every day
of the year. many anglers prefer to fish at night during the
hot months. Boats out at night must have port and starboard
lights. Marinas will not rent boats for night use, for reasons
of public safety. Flares may be used for nighttime emergencies,
and some shore installations monitor citizen band radio to pick
up distress calls at any time.

Powerboating will do much to stimulate economic growth,

and in meeting the demand, private enterprise can capitalize on

Lh‘

3V

bi
ti

 

curt...

.4.

.v [‘7 libl‘l'rfi.’ I '1I.L

O

.I.. i

73
the attraction of the Sea. At the same time, boating activity
will have to be better regulated and probably zoned in order to
avoid conflicts with other uses and to control pollution in

high use areas.

Measures to Improve the Fishery

A marine biologist has suggested that measures to up-
grade the fishery need not be deferred until a salinity control
plan is effected. Steps can be taken immediately which will
help maintain and perhaps even improve the angling. Some of
his recommendations have been summarized:

1. Additional Species should be introduced. The
greater the number of species existing in an adverse environ-
ment, the greater the probability that some forms will be
tolerant. In particular it is suggested that new species of
marine worms might be more adaptable to a changing environment.
In any case, new species would broaden the base of the food
chain.

2. Introduction of additional corvina, sargo and hair-
diella would establish greater genetic variety. It is likely
that the initial selection established individuals adapted to
low saline waters. They constitute a poor breeding stock in
view of present conditions.

3. Fresh water spawners might survive high salinity in
the adult stage. These could be reared in a hatchery and
planted in the Sea to maintain the fishery.

A. Salton Sea is overfertilized and underfished. Re-

moval of a far greater number of fish could reduce the amount

of

pr

a:

7A
of organic matter and inorganic constituents. Oxygen depletion
problems due to organic decay could be curtailed. The intro-
duction of a commercial fishery might help achieve this
adjustment.28
This study concurs with the major tenet contained in the
above recommendations. Every attempt must be made to conserve

the fishery during the critical period that lies ahead.

28Walter Thompson, op. cit., p. 9.

CHAPTER V
RATIONALE FOR CHANGES IN UTILIZATION OF AVAILABLE SPACE

Current literature dealing with the economics of recre-
ational develOpment stresses criteria for finding the "mix" of
activities appropriate for given sites.l Also prominent in
this literature are findings that have shown that the consumer
will utilize quality facilities within the shortest driving
distance if these facilities are not overpriced or over-
crowded. When these findings are applied to this study, it is
immediately apparent that the Borrego and Coachella valleys
have a distinct advantage over the Salton Sea with respect to
a mix of facilities and activities designed to appeal to the
weekend recreationist, retiree, or those who have the means
and leisure to enjoy seasonal desert living.

The Coachella Valley abounds with health Spas and
swimming pools, large scale tourist attractions and Spectator
sport arenas. Besides festivals and pageants, tennis and
horseback riding (including a polo club at Palm Desert), the
Coachella Valley has twenty-one golf courses. Borrego

Springs has a mix of facilities including three eighteen hole

8 101‘. Keith McClellan and 311101; A. Medrich, op. cit.,
p. 1 2.

75

76

golf courses. The metropolitan recreationist must drive
through these well developed areas with their many amenities in
order to reach Salton Sea.

By way of contrast, the Salton City golf course and
Holly House MOtel jointly advertise a thirty-six hole golf
holiday that includes overnight accommodations for two at a
cost of less than ten dollars. The offer must be taken during
the week when the golf course is underutilized and business is
slack. Whereas weekend business at Salton City motels has been
reasonably good, there is a notable absence of affluent re-
sorters who stay a week or more. Their presence is so unusual
that they are usually interviewed by the neWSpaper and their
visit publicized.

Mention has been made of the extensive area comprising
Salton City and its zoning to provide for growth. Despite the
roads and available utilities, there is nowhere near the
density of improvements that was anticipated. There are fewer
than 300 permanent buildings, or one improvement for every
sixty-four acres.2

As to a market for desert living per se, the problem is
whether the unimproved R-lA lots ever will be developed. About
10,000 of these lots will be deeded to purchasers who will have
met their sales contract obligations by 1970.3 It is hoped

that unencumbered ownership will serve as an incentive to

 

2Based on the Pomeroy estimate of 250 permanent homes.

3DevelOpment Research Associates, Op. cit., p. 79.

77
second home construction. MOrtgages for construction at such
a remote place in an era of high interest rates and tight
money may be hard to come by, however. This condition would
serve to retard population growth in the immediate shoreline
area, where the current permanent population is estimated
at 3,000.

If demand for lodging accommodations by the week, month,
or season should improve, perhaps some sites could be developed
as clustered bungalow units, a plan followed successfully at
Palm Desert's Sun Colony Lodge. Other innovative proposals
may be advanced which will prove to be worthy of consider-
ation. In the meantime, it is recommended that no further sub-
division featuring R-lA lots take place.

In view of the current state of development, this chap-
ter will concentrate on adjustments to meet effective demand;

a demand for camping and boating facilities and overnight
lodging. One characteristic of this demand, unfortunately, is
the inclination of consumers to arrive en masse on weekends
and holidays. This means that facilities will have an under-
utilized capacity much of the time. In an attempt to stimu-
late demand during what is supposedly the desert off-season
(June through September), the Resources Agency authorized the
park to reduce the camping fee by one-half. This may be an
incentive for retirees who come to the park for an extended
period, but probably does not effect demand on the part of
those who utilize the facility on weekends. Because normal

fees are so low as to make utilization for short periods

III. Elli! naiu’r, A ‘1 l

oi? . I

78
almost free, a non-cost factor is more prominent:

. . . Total attendance and use of a facility is in a
large measure the resul of the individual's preference
for certain activities.

At the present time, the Salton Sea must be considered

a marginal area in terms of its overall attractiveness; it
currently is serving only the overflow and bargain seekers
for all but its water contact activities. The Sea has ap-
parently no appeal for the affluent such as the recreationist
who holds a membership in one of the many yacht clubs located
along the Southern California coast. There are, however,
motel accommodations, a yacht club, restaurant, convenience
stores, and a protected mooring basin at North Shore that
reflect a considerable original investment and are widely
known and recognized as high quality facilities and amenities.
This fact is reflected in the prices charged, and full util-
ization many weekends without apparent crowding. Desert
Shores is comprised of five fingers of land created by
dredging. MObile homesites on the "waterfront" are leased by
the developer, and of the 500 available, few vacant sites were
noted in July, 1969. Desert Shores not only has the largest
bait store on the Sea, but the business has expanded to in-
clude the wholesaling of mudsuckers to bait distributors
throughout the PMA.

Salton Sea Beach resort is a development where mobile

homes are permitted on individually owned residential lots, as

 

181 hKeith McClellan and Elliot A. Medrich, Op. cit.,
p0 o

 

I}: riflliljitlu: LF FM. “his .

79

is also true at Bombay Beach. It may be that such an arrange-
ment is undesirable from the standpoint Of there not being
effective controls over the upkeep of the individual sites, a
factor avoided with leased mobile home sites and enforced
restrictions. Many of the lots at the two resorts are neg-
lected eyesores. Both Salton Sea Beach and Bombay Beach have
extensive improved campgrounds and adequate launching sites,
which are serving significant elements of effective demand.

Excellent duck hunting has led to the leasing of land
by wealthy Sportsmen, but their visits are seasonal and in-
frequent. Their specialized interest has little impact on the

local economy.

Undeveloped and Underutiliged_§ipes

Several sites have potential for improved camping,
boat launching, angling, and lodging facilities. These sites
are currently vacant, for other than recreational use, under-
utilized, or restricted by a lack of facilities to occasional
use for primitive camping. The sites listed below could help
meet the demand for a high quality recreational experience
Providing institutional arrangements can be made and develOp-
ment capital secured. In the case of the state and county
facilities included in the list, progress has been retarded
because funds have not been appropriated.

l. Lands Of the Torres~Martinez Indian Reservation.
Figure 14, page 82, shows the unsubmerged reservation lands
including nine shoreline sections of which three are con-

tiguous. These trust lands are convenient of access from

80
highway 86 and may be leased for develOpment when demand for
facilities related to boating is great enough to insure pro-
fitable Operation of whatever improvements the lessee chooses
to put on the site. A communication from the Bureau of Indian
Affairs Field Office states the present situation:

There are no present plans for development and very
little development has taken place on the trust lands.
Some interest has been generated in the past, however.
The Band and the individual owners have not elected to
develop their own lands or lease them for develOpment
at this time.5

This communication included a statement that the time may not
be far off when outside interest will be great enough to bring
about some leasing arrangement.

2. Elmore Farms Lagoons. An agricultural enterprise
at the southwest corner of the Sea farms 7,000 acres Of highly
productive land. Fields closest to the Sea lie at approxi-
mately -2AO, or eight feet below the surface of the Sea.
Drainage water in ditches is even lower and has to be pumped
twelve or more feet to an outfall on the Sea. A seawall is
carefully maintained and junked automobiles have been placed
on the seaward side of the dike to protect the dike during
storms. One of the farm managers believes the drainage
ditches should be enlarged to create lagoons, and a fresh

water fishery established in them. The project would not

require additional drainage from the irrigated land. The

5Personal correspondence from William H. Gianelli,
Acting Field Representative, Bureau of Indian Affairs, River-
side Area Field Office, April 16, 1969.

81

public would be permitted to fish the lagoons on a fee basis.

3. Salton Sea Test ngg Facilipy. The facility en-
compasses approximately eighty square miles, but the usable
land area is less than ten square miles. An attractive lodge,
a good beach, and launching facilities are on the site. MOre
than 150 personnel were employed by the facility prior to
July, 1961, when it was vacated by the Atomic Energy Com-
mission and transferred to the Navy Department. It is
currently underutilized, and should the Navy Department decide
to dispose of it, the permanent buildings could serve as the
nucleus for a resort.7

A. Unimproved State Park Beaches. Approximately one-
eighth of the nineteen mile shoreline at the state recreation
area has the facilities necessary for improved camping. As
water mains are extended south to Bombay Beach and appropri-
ations are made for improvements, the primitive camping areas
will be eliminated. Landscaping can then be provided for
these areas and the quality of camping improved for those
utilizing the facility on weekends and holidays. These an-
ticipated improvements will serve an average of 18,000 recre-
ationists on Memorial Day weekend.8 Because the public comes

"all at once" there has been discriminatory treatment of the

 

6Interview with Roy Harris, tractor manager of Elmore
Farms, July 3, 1968.

7An earlier study of the area concurs in this sug-
gestion: cf. William L. Thomas, Jr., op. cit., p. 39.

196 8Interviewwith Jack Stowe, Park Manager, June 2h,
9.

82

.oa .mem

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

thHwomm once Hm>mz one momma omflocHuu
4.0.3
‘8st QEotoom ”mohaom
0 JIM/A AA
wJ // x
2 V
5 $32 E 28m r\\ fl
1... (fists O
m m e m m _ o “C /
GJ \
. /
3:65 amok :02 .wjlfiaflwqo‘uaoolmualm %// . /
cozomeom 35:02 Step .8 wcozomm vooamEpamca JA/
//- a
./P / / /
//.-.‘ 3g.
>m<0230m mm<m Emmi. 02d. moz<._ zo_._.<>mmmmm Jazz.

 

 

 

 

 

 

CC

TV

0'"; \

83
consumer who cannot reach the park ahead of the crowd.

5. BombaygBeach and Nilgnd Marina. Proposals related
to Niland Marina have previously been discussed, but if a
section of land is conveyed to Imperial County by the Bureau
of Land Management, a new area will accommodate demand for
camping. It may be some time before action on the proposal is
taken, and improvements may come even later. There is, how-
ever, water available adjacent to the site. At Bombay Beach
improvements can be expected now that annexation to the
Coachella Valley County water District has been approved.

6. Whitewater Cove. Just to the east of the mouth of
Whitewater River, this new development is adjacent to the
polluted area. Plans call for a harbor, launching facili-
ties, and a camping area. Nothing is said about beaches or
swimming.9 New standards for camping and trailer park im-
provements took effect just before plans were to be approved
for this facility. As a result, inadequate financing has
caused a delay in the completion of essential facilities.
There is duck hunting in this general area during the winter,

and probably some hunters will camp at the site.

Impact of Adjustments
A number of the above sites could be affording the
Public a quality recreational experience in the near future.
The demand for this type of experience has exceeded the supply
on weekends and holidays. Recreation has a "product" to

¥

9Development Research Associates, op. cit., p. 53.

81.
market, and the purpose of this chapter has been to suggest
how the supply might be increased and the quality of the
"product" (or experience) improved. As the resource base is
extended and improved to meet the demand, the image that the
Sea projects will improve also. The density of use will in-

crease, and property in the immediate vicinity of the shore-

line will increase in value.

CHAPTER VI
INSTITUTIONAL ARRANGEMENTS FOR CONSERVING THE SEA

A text that is regarded as a standard work in the field
of recreational development defines three types of recre-
ational sites: user, intermediate, and resource oriented.l
Criteria for differentiation is based on size and upon the
Spatial relationship of the site to the population using it.
The Sea can almost be classified as resource oriented in terms
of criteria because of its size and the travel time required
to make use of it. More than ninety-seven percent of anglers
interviewed in two Department of Fish and Game surveys drove
thirty miles or more to use the Sport fishery.2

In developing the above classification, however,
Clawson and Knetsch stipulated that a resource oriented recre-

ational site ought to have a unique characteristic of quality.

The site Should abound with natural beauty or possess a

 

lMarion Clawson and Jack L. Knetsch, Op cit., p. 38.
A user oriented recreational Site is local, whereas a resource
oriented site draws from a very widely dispersed population.
Intermediate sites have regional significance.

I 2Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, op. cit., Table II-6,
Po I-ZOO

85

86
combination of characteristics that are highly regarded by the
public. Because of the current water quality problem and the
barrenness of the desert surroundings (accompanied by summer
heat), the Sea really fits the criteria for an intermediate
resource. The fact that its market area is almost entirely
confined to the population of urban centers in Southern Cali-
fornia is another reason for placing it in the intermediate
category.

Designating the Sea as an intermediate type resource
will not restrict the program to conserve it, however. Local,
state, and federal study teams have been involved in formu-
lating an integrated program that goes beyond the engineering
and financing problems to consider the characteristics of a
supervisory agency that would operate the salinity control
works and maintain water quality in the Sea. Although final
decisions as to how recommendations are to be implemented have
yet to be made, it is possible that actual construction could
be under the direction of the Bureau of Reclamation.

Provision will also have to be made to insure that im-
proved conditions anticipated as a result of the project are
sustained. This will be the reSponsibility of an agency over-
seeing the maintenance and functioning of the control works.
In its makeup this agency will reflect far more than a local
interest in preservation of the Sea.

A ponding facility to preserve the beneficial uses
involves considerable cost. The federal government has

policies which permit the funding of major projects which

25. EP .

87
provide a capacity for use far greater than will be immedi-
ately utilized. Initial diseconomies of unused capacity can
be weighed against future efficiency and increased demand.
Clawson and Knetsch state the favorable position of government
in develOping sites:

Another argument in support of public develOpment con-

cerns the question of scale economies. In many cases,
the scale of development is unavoidably large relative

to existing capacity and demand. A major federal res-
ervoir, for instance, may provide a recreation capacity
far in excess of immediate demand for this type of recre-
ation; yet the reservoir must often be managed as a unit
for recreation purposes. The time factor may be impor-
tant here also; the enterprise may have to Operate for
some years at a scale where costs per unit are relatively
high before volume builds 3p to the larger and more
efficient operating level.

The cost of a control project will be so great that the
plan advanced will probably allocate a large part of the
expense to non-reimbursable recreational benefits. Senate
Document Number 97 of 1962 states that all forms Of recreation
are legitimate purposes of water resource development. Under
the provisions of this document, more than $40,000,000 in
costs for Auburn Reservoir on the American River were al-
located to the recreational value Of this facility.‘+

Rationale for funding the control project must emphasize~
recreational value because the project would not produce nor
control potable water, and there is no electric power po-

tential. In a strict cost accounting sense the benefits are

3Marion Clawson and Jack L. Knetsch, op. cit., p. 266.

hAllen V. Kneese, "Economic and Related Problems in
Contemporary Water Resources Management,“ Natural Resources
Journal, V-2 (October, 1965), p. 242.

II

A")

Fl

U)

88
non-consumable.

Taxes and user fees will almost certainly be imposed to
repay part of the cost and to support a conservation agency
responsible for operating the project. Probably some com-
plaints will be raised that the project is "too large" (which
actually means that property owners or consumers feel that

improved conditions are costing them too much).

Control Prpject Administration

 

The foregoing discussion has assumed that the Salton
Sea Advisory Committee is going to recommend an engineering
plan be adopted to control the salinity and elevation of the
Sea. This recommendation will require a proposal for an
agency authorized to Operate and maintain the engineering
works. Control over water quality is presently exercised by
the state through the water Quality Control Board and its
nine subordinate units. Under present California law, how-
ever, no agency is authorized to build or maintain a control
project such as that proposed for the Sea.5 Through enabling
legislation an agency could be created which would be em-
powered to own land, maintain and operate facilities, control
discharges into the Sea from areas within its boundaries, and
perhaps levy a tax on shoreline develOpments and adjacent
properties whose values are related to beneficial uses of the

Sea. Such an agency might also be authorized to collect a

 

5Nor for that matter, could the federal government
undertake the project without congressional authorization.

(I)

89
user fee through a special fishing license stamp, boat
launching tax, or some other means. A special assessment of
one-half of one percent of property market value in the im—

6

mediate area would not be excessive.

How the Agency Will Function

 

The conservation agency will be empowered to control
direct discharges into the Sea from areas within its juris-
diction, and may have certain jurisdictions over uses of the
Sea as well as limited powers over properties ". . . whose
values are substantially affected by Salton Sea."7 In
addition, the agency would be empowered to receive industrial
wastes into its facilities at a fee set by the authority. The
agency would also be authorized to own land in order to carry

out its functions.

Agency Board Representation

 

If the agency is created by means of a referendum, the
electorate within the boundaries of the authority should have
representation on the board. In such a case the board of
directors would be made up of elected and appointed members,
for state and county officials will be appointed to represent
the interests of these two levels of government. It would be
desirable to have a representative of the Colorado River
Regional Control Board on the board as well.

6Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, 0 . cit., p. V-S.

71bid., p. v-o.

9O

Non-Agricultural Jurisdiction

 

The agency would not be empowered to apply its regu-
lations to agricultural land or agricultural drainage water.
Any attempt to place controls on the agricultural return flow
could be interpreted as a threat to the agricultural economies
of the Imperial and Coachella Valleys. Strong resistance from
agricultural interests could prevent the control project from
being implemented. The agency also would have no taxing
authority over the agricultural lands. Irrigated areas are
supplying approximately 1,500,000 acre-feet of water annually
to maintain the Sea and agricultural interests could argue
that they are in no way reimbursed for supplying this re-
source. Imperial irrigation District and Coachella Valley
County Water District are publicly owned utilities which have
assumed a burden in purchasing fee title or flooding rights on
almost all lands below -230 feet elevation. The utilities
have an investment of approximately $119,000,000 in water
works dependent upon the reservoir capacity of Salton Sea.8
The agricultural interests also feel that they have borne a
substantial share of the costs involved in providing recre-
ational facilities at the Sea through the taxes they pay to
the county. Attitudes about their assuming additional costs
are expressed by a county official:

The County of Imperial has expended several hundred

thousand dollars in creating and protecting various
developments in and around Salton Sea. The County

8Arthur Swajian, op. cit., p. EA.

91

explains that the mass of users of Salton Sea are not
local people, but are people from the greater metro-
politan areas of this state and the nation. The County
would be happy to contribute whatever technical assis-
tance it may be able to render, and considers that it
should be involved in technical and policy plans for multi-
use control of Salton Sea. However, the County's fi-
nancial resources are limited; and it considers that
funding should be provided from other sources.

Without the cooperation and expressed approval of the
counties and irrigation districts, there undoubtedly would be
no control program. The irrigation districts have done much
to promote the current water quality control studies. Both
the general manager of CVCWD and a member of the IID board of

directors are members Of a Citizens' Committee for Water

Quality Control in Salton Sea.

Disassociating_Benefits and Costs
This study has already examined criteria for federal
benefit-cost analysis as made explicit in Senate Document
Number 97 of 1962. There is a real need to focus on the
recreationist as a beneficiary of a control project and to

consider some of the intangible benefits the recreationist

derives from having a large body of water within easy access;

providing, of course, that the Sea retains its recreation

potential. Three intangible benefits can be identified as a

result of this research. First, Salton Sea provides a social

benefit of opportunity to the recreationist in the PMA.

Utilization of the Sea also helps prevent crowding elsewhere.

 

Imperial County

9Correspondence from David G. Stump
Planner, to Arthur Swajian, October 17, 1967

92
In both of these cases, the recreationist stands to gain if
the utility of the Sea is preserved, although the benefit
viewed in this manner cannot be quantified for analysis.

The third intangible benefit involves environmental
enhancement. The resource is currently endangered. It could
be despoiled forever, whereas studies have shown that it ought
to be maintained to '. . . ensure an adequate recreational
environment for the future."10

In summary, the welfare of even a potential recre-
ationist--perhaps one not yet born--needs to be considered in
weighing the need for institutional arrangements to conserve

the Sea.

 

10U. S. Department of the Interior and the Resources
Agency of California, Op. cit., p. 1AA.

CHAPTER VII
POSSIBILITIES FOR FUTURE RECREATIONAL DEVELOPMENT

This study has surveyed the potential for recreational
develOpment of the Sea and its immediate shoreline. It has
been shown that an extensive area has not been developed for
recreational use, but that in many cases these lands are in
some other use. It is possible to examine and evaluate these
other uses in a spatial context as well as in terms Of their
highest and best use. Barlowe has said:

Land resources are at their highest and best use
when they are used in such a manner as to provide an
optimum return to their operators or to society. De-
pending upon the criteria used, this return may be
measured in strictly monetary terms, in intangible and
social values, or in some combination Of these values.
Land is ordinarily considered at its highest and best
use when it is used for that purpose or that combination
Of purposes for which it has the highest comparative
advantage or least comparative disadvantage relative to
other uses. This concept necessarily calls for con~
sideration of both the use-capacity of the land and the
relative demand for the various uses to which it might
be put. Large areas are sometimes suited for high-
priority uses such as industrial or residential sites;
but the limited need for these sites Often causes many
qualified tracts to find their highest and best use in
lower~priority uses.

lRaleigh Barlowe, Op. cit., p. 13.

93

94
Two irrigated, productive agricultural areas reach to
the shoreline, one at the southwest side of the Sea, and the

other at the northwest side. The first of these, Elmore

Farms, is adjacent to the Naval Test Facility and has more than

7,000 of its 10,000 acres in production at the present time.
The scale of operation is so large that the corporation manu-
facutres and installs its own plastic tile, some of which is
draining land twelve feet below the surface level of Salton
Sea. A 150 acre cotton field adjacent to the seawall (dike)
produced a record 6.81 bales of cotton per acre in 1967.2
Salinity has been effectively fought for thirty years on the
Elmore property. Fields planted to melons in the spring of
1968 yielded 160 crates to the acre at a wholesale value of
five to eight dollars per crate.3 Scientific farming,
salinity control, and crop management are practiced with
such a high degree of efficiency that there is no doubt this
operation, considered as a unit, is providing an optimum
return to its operators. Furthermore, the off-shore area at
this location is unsuited to water contact sports because of
pollution.

A different situation exists along the northwest
shoreline where the land has only marginal utility for

high cost but intensive agricultural production on irrigated

 

2Interview with Roy Harris, tractor manager for
Elmore Farms, July 3, 1968.

3Idem.

95
land:

Between Indio and the Salton Sea, the terrain is
very flat and the soil is of a fine silt quality from
lake deposits. A relatively high salt content is present
probably as a result of marshy land during the period of
Lake Cahuilla, thus making this a less desirable area for
agriculture.

What would be the best use of this land? Because land values
are rising, it will probably be subdivided for residential-
resort use. A Riverside County administrative officer be-
lieves the entire shoreline at the north end of the Sea is
destined for develOpment:

Recent development in the Salton Sea area has been Of
a high type, including the construction of a marina in-
tended for residential and commercial use. The market
value of unimproved lands in the narrow strip between the
state highway and the -220 contour and northwest of the
state park varies between $1,500 and $5,000 per acre
decreasing rapidly in the western portion to SAOO. Lots
in North Shore Beach, in the area near the Shore, are
large and vary between $12,000 and $30,000. Northeast of
the state highway, lots are small and vary between $3,500
and $5,000.

There is every reason to believe land values such as
these will eventually extend for the entire north shore
of the sea, proviged the recreational use of the sea
remains possible.

While it is agreed that recreational-resort use of this
land will ultimately occur, it is felt that subdivision at
the present time would be inappropriate. It is likely to be
some time before the market has improved sufficiently to make
lot sales profitable. In the meantime owners of this shore-

line property will have to absorb "ripening costs," which are

 

#David N. Hartman, op. cit., pp. 127-128.

5CorreSpondence of Robert Fitch, Assistant Adminis-
trative Officer for Riverside County, to Arthur Swajian,
August 8, 1967.

96
currently borne in the form of higher taxes.6 Barlowe uses the
term to apply to the costs of holding prOperty which is bearing
the burden of increased assessments due to the tax assessor's
recognition of a potential shift to higher use.7 Ripening
costs in the form of higher taxes sometimes encourage pre-
mature subdivision, however, and costs incurred in holding
subdivided prOperties for longer periods than anticipated
(either because demand is nil or the asking price is set too
high) are also included in this concept of ripening costs.8

The General Plan for Riverside County contains an ad-

monition against premature subdivision in a commentary about
the entire Coachella Valley:

This important part of the county is dependent upon
retaining the public favor. Various things contribute
to this popularity: winter sunshine and warmth, pure
air, the spectacular mountain backdrop, long vistas
across the open desert, peculiar desert plant and animal
life, the luxurious residential and resort development
so in contrast to its rugged environment.

This public image has been endangered in the past by
the unfortunate disturbance of the desert by premature
subdivision of land and uncontrolled sale of small tracts
from the public domain and the resistance Of 30mg areas
and individuals to proper planning and guidance.

It is obvious that a shift to recreational use has had

a spectacular effect on property values in that part of the
Imperial County shoreline area from Salton City north to the

6Northshore News, July, 1968, p. 2. Some assessments
on vacant land and unimproved lots increased as much as 100
percent over the previous year.

7Raleigh Barlowe, op. cit., p. 234.
31b1d., p. 235.

9Riverside County Planning Commission, General Plan
(Riverside: County Planning Commission, 1966), p. 28.

97
county line. Table 1A shows the historical growth of actual

assessed valuations (based on twenty-three percent of market

value) for this area.

TABLE 1A

PROPERTY VALUES: SALTON CITY NORTH TO
COUNTY LINE COMPARED WITH TOTAL
COUNTY VALUATION 1957-1968

 

 

 

Fiscal Tax Area Imperial County
Year 82a Total valuation
1957-53 3 87,710 $103,306,252
1958-59 ##3,635 105,918,016
1959-60 4,135,130b 113,218,971.b
1960-61 6,156,965 120,525,314
1961-62 6,657,A05 133,h70,138
1962-63 6,780,535 l3h,201,000
1963-64 10,252,780b 111,590,23hb
196h-65 10,610,A75 148,132,340
1965-66 11,210,305 159,604,680
1966-67 11,962,305 177,657,365
1967-68 15,350,155 188,428,960

aShoreline area from Salton City north to county line.
bAssessed value of resort land exceeds one-third of the
total county assessment increase for the year.

Source: Imperial County secured and unsecured tax rolls.

When raw land was being acquired for Salton City,
property not in agricultural use had little value. The origi-
nal developer acquired vast tracts comprising the present
19,200 acres for as little as fifty to two-hundred dollars per
acre.10 An additional two and one-half sections Of land con-
tiguous with Salton City to the north has been subdivided and
named Lido Palms. The tract's unsold lots constitute a real

—__

10Interview with David G. Stump, Imperial County
Planning Commission Planner, April 1, 1969.

98

tax burden to the developer because assessments are based on
a market value of $2,000-810,000 per acre.11 Areas within
this development were required to be set aside for various
types of community facilities in order to Obtain county ap-
proval for lot sales, and there was an understanding that one
recreational facility was to be operational. The developer
has borne the burden of this eXpense over a long period of
poor market conditions. Developers with large holdings may
choose to wholesale their subdivisions in twenty acre parcels.
Abandonment might thus be avoided, but such measures would
jeopardize large scale planning.

The Imperial County Planning Commission is cognizant
of problems inherent in a weak market and intends to view
future subdivision plans in the light of market conditions.12
Certainly the fanfare attendant with original development will
not be seen again in the area under current market conditions

(Figure 15, page 102).

Military Reservation Land
In July, 1961 the Atomic Energy Commission Test
Facility on the west shore ceased operation (Figure 14,
page 82). High altitude layers Of smog drifting eastward from
the Los Angeles Basin were interfering with the tracking of

simulated missiles.13 The land and buildings were turned over

g

 

 

l3w1111am L. Thomas, Jr., op. cit., p. 39.

99
to the Department Of the Navy. Without a detailed knowledge
of national defense needs and the value of the facility to the
Navy for gunnery practice, it would be difficult to ascertain
whether the facility is presently operated as a high priority
installation, or whether the Navy is actually serving as care-
taker of a prOperty valued in 1967 as a 8A,438,36A invest-
ment.l# If the Navy Department should decide to cease
operations at the facility, lands currently under its juris-
diction could come onto the market. In the meantime, it is
assumed that gunnery practice at the base is a prior use that
will continue at the same time that recreational use of the
Sea increases.
The Navy Department is cognizant of the prOposed
salinity control works, and has reacted favorably:
Preliminary studies indicate that the proposed diked

area (for salts retention) might encompass a portion of

the submerged land under Navy Department jurisdiction.

The Department informs that their usage is flexible

enough so that no serious problems should exist, pre-

suming that the Department will be given Opportunity to

review and comment on engineering plans during develop-
ment. 5

The author knows of no opposition to the proposed

location of the engineering works at the present time.

Other Lands
The entire south end of the Sea is frequented by mi-

gratory waterfowl during the months of December through March.

a ll’Correspondence of J. E. Samson, Director of the Real
Estate Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command at
San Diego, to Arthur Swajian, October 13, 1967.

lSIbid.

lOO
Hundreds of acres of leased land are in feed crops grown for
the birds at government expense. Much of the land is marginal
for commercial agriculture because of soil salinity. If the
birds were not fed at government expense, they would invade
private land (as they sometimes do) where their depredations
would result in incredible losses. One flock of geese de-
voured thirty acres of lettuce valued at $1,000 per acre in
February, 1968.16 The lands planted in feed crops (some of
which are open to controlled hunting) are probably in their
highest and best use. A few rare species winter at the
federal refuge, and the marginal lands are being utilized to
preserve the ecosystem of the shoreline.

Many lots are for sale in small resort communities
along the east and west shores of the Sea. Even in a de-
pressed market, the residential R-lA lots are by no means
cheap. An average lot fronting on a paved road with utilities
available would be placed on the market at a price anywhere
from $2,500 to $A,500 depending upon a number of locational
factors.17 In some of these small communities, zoning permits
mobile homes rather than permanent construction on private
lots. This arrangement is attractive to recreationists of
modest means who want a retirement or second home. The market
for these lots should be good once a control project is as-

sured. Many mobile home sites should be vacated and

g

1968 16Interview with Robert Ellis, Refuge Manager, July 1,

17An article from NapgpnalpObserver, February 10, 1969,

reprinted in Salton Cit Resorter, April, 1969, p. 2, cited an
average lot price of ‘Z,OOO.

|.IIIIIIII’.“*L'. . D)

101

redeveloped, however. RedevelOpment potential could attract
large scale private investment when market conditions improve.

Some lands bordering the Sea are currently vacant.
These include Indian lands and lands under the jurisdiction of
the government. It is unlikely that this government land
would be patented for private development, but the Indian
lands will be leased if suitable arrangements can be made. It
is difficult if not impossible to determine the highest and
best use of these lands. Much of the area has not been
classified through land use surveys, although the federal
government has been undertaking such surveys in Southern Cali-
fornia. The Bureau of Land Management has explained why

classification has been postponed:

Under the Classification and Multiple Use Act of 196A,
BLM is in the process of classifying certain public lands
for multiple use management. This program includes the
identification of those lands needed for publlc purposes,
wildlife management and open space. The claSSlflcatlon
program is being approached on an area basis, concentrat-
ing efforts on a well-blocked public domain first. The
Salton Sea area is characterized by a checkerboard pattern
of public ownership, and is consequently low in prlorlty.
It will pg at least two years before Salton Sea is

Stlldiede
Status of 102 miles of shoreline is shown in Figure 16.

Coachella Valley: Recreational-Industrial Growth

The north shore of the Salton Sea is actually a part of

Coachella Valley, an area that has accommodated irrigated

 

18 H McClain Manager BLM
Corres ondence of Hall . , .
District and LaHd Office, Riverside, to Arthur Swajian,
October 13, 1967.

102

 

Fig. 15.--A Carnival Atmosphere Accom anied Salt '
Land Boom in 1958 p on Clty

 

STATUS OF |02 MILES OF SHORELINE

     

    

Federal and stole
wildlife sanctuaries
and hunting
areas.

      
    
    

Improved and unim—
proved privately
owned non-agricul-

 
   
 
 
 

 

Compiled from county,
slate, and federal agency
maps.

J.C.AJ

Fig. 16.--Ownership or Utilization of Shoreline Lands

 

103
agriculture along with resort development all the way from
Palm Springs to Coachella. Economic growth throughout the
valley is attributed to recreational develOpment and to new
industry. Low cost electric power and comparatively cheap
industrial water are investment incentives. A manufacturer
needing 2,000,000 KWH and 10,000,000 gallons of water per month
would pay $22,570 and $3,200 respectively for service in San
Diego. Coachella can provide the same quantities for $18,525
and 8860 respectively. The difference represents an annual
savings of $76,620. POpulation and telephone service data for

incorporated Coachella Valley towns is given in Table 15.

TABLE 15
INCORPORATED CITIES: POPULATION GROWTH AND TELEPHONES

 

 

 

 

 

Population Number of Telgphongg
City 1950 1960 1968 1950 1960 1968
Palm Springs 7,660 13,h68 21,61A b.956 16,433 24,391
Indio 5,300 9,7A5 15,568 2,113 5,260 9,783
Coachella 2,755 4,854 7,601 503 1,149 2,A87

Source: Data furnished by the Riverside County Department of
Development and dated January, 1969.

In recent years large scale investment in recreational
facilities has moved toward the southern part of the valley~-in
the direction of the Salton Sea. As recently as 1956 none of
the golf courses were south of a line drawn between Palm Desert
and Indio (dividing the valley approximately in half). There
are now seven eighteen hole golf courses south of the line.

Palm Springs, located at the extreme north end of the valley,

104
was a well established and growing resort community in 1954.
A decade later the same could be said for Palm Desert (where
College of the Desert was founded in 1962). It is entirely
possible that by 1975 the demand for recreation and desert
resort living may bring about the development of resort com-

plexes all along the north and west shores of the Sea.

Conclusions

Approximately one half of the shoreline and adjacent
lands are used, or according to the findings of this research
probably will be used, primarily for recreation and resort
living (this does not include wildlife management lands).
Current conditions are such that much land which could be used
for recreational and residential development is idle, or not
developed and maintained in a manner that will permit it to
reach its highest use-capacity. This research has emphasized
that subdivision of large properties has in many cases been
premature and ill-advised, resulting in unforeseen time and
social costs. It is possible, however, that residential and
commercial construction Of new recreational facilities will
eventually be resumed at a pace similar to that of a decade
ago. Natural and cultural conditions stimulating recreational
demand (set forth in Chapter I) will prevail providing there is
authorization and completion of a salinity control project.19
The control project is the key to the future; without it there

__

19K. C. McMurry, "Recreational Geography," op. cit.,
pp. 251-252. Reference is to conditions stimulating demand.

105
will be economic stagnation far worse than that existing at
the present time.

The Southern California recreationist has limited
alternatives in terms of sites suitable for water based recre-
ation. Due to the scarcity of sites, this study has empha-
sized the Sea's assets which include: (1) favorable location
as an intermediate-type resource, (2) year-around suitability
for angling and water contact sports, and (3) a use-capacity
far greater than that now being realized. Effective demand
for the type of recreational Opportunity afforded by Salton
Sea is strong and growing.

The Sea is being utilized as a multi-purpose resource.
As a recreational site it has both boosters and detractors.
Thomas felt recreational develOpment was hampered because the
Sea was ". . . being interpreted by different people in
different and even mutually contradictory ways."20 A meager
natural vegetation and very hot summers were liabilities
mentioned in Zierer's appraisal.21 This desert lake is
marginal in its present condition. Reference has been made to
problems other than water quality and elevation control. The
more significant of these problems are dwarfed by the imminent
threat to the Sea's ecology and utility for recreational use.
Something will have to be done about anoxia, a condition which

sometimes causes a stench to pervade shoreline communities.

20William L. Thomas, Jr., Op. cit., p. 32-
ZIClifford M. Zierer, op. cit., pp. 469-470.

106
Recreational activities contributing to pollution will have to
be controlled.

Stricter zoning of water-based activities is recom-
mended. Primitive camping should be eliminated for reasons of
health and safety and because it constitutes an inappropriate
practice if Salton Sea is to achieve status as a properly
developed resort. Improved camping areas will help meet
future demand and also bring about a higher use-capacity.

Current legislation has provided funds for reconnais-
sance studies of salinity and nutrient problems, and for
feasibility studies related to a control project. The question
as to whether the United States Congress or the State of Cali-
fornia is to authorize and fund a salinity control project has
not been resolved. In the meantime, steps must be taken to
preserve the fishery. Year-around angling has been shown to
generate more visitor-days at the Sea than any other activity.

Businesses catering to the public's desire to use the
Sea enjoy relative prOSperity in spite of uncertainty about
the future. A recommendation of this study concerns potential
legislation authorizing a water quality control project. The
legislation should include arrangements both for overall en-
vironmental planning and for additional recreational facili-

' ties. Not all of these facilities would be constructed as
public works; some would involve private funding in con-
junction with long term leases of public land.

A potential site for growth is Salton City, where paved

streets, utilities, and other improvements (all under-utilized)

107
have been provided. Here, awaiting large scale diversified
investment, is an area promoters predicted would someday be
acclaimed a "Palm Springs by the Sea."

Boosterism has had its day. A course must be set to
achieve pertinent goals. Measures which will conserve the Sea
must be implemented soon. A control program will serve to
promote recreational use and facilitate both orderly develOp-
ment and economic stability. An affluent public has created
a demand for the type of recreation Salton Sea should be able
to provide. Projections of the economic growth to be derived
from proper planning and management Of the physical resource
justify the expenditure required to build and Operate a
control project. Enhancement of the Sea's ecology and utility
Will provide both tangible and intangible benefits for

society.

LIST OF REFERENCES

LIST OF REFERENCES

Books

Barlowe Raleigh. Land Resource Economics. Englewood
Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1958.

Clawson Marion. Land and water for Recreation. Chicago:
Rand McNallky and Company, 1963.

Clawson .Marion, and Knetsch, Jack. Economics of Outdoor
Recreation. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press, 1966.

DeStanley, Mildred. The Salton Sea Yesterday_and Today.
Los Angeles: Triumph Press, 1966.

Hartman, David N. California and.Man. Dubuque: wm. C.
Brown and Company,_l968.

Jahns, R. H., ed. Geology of Southern California. San
Francisco: California Division Of Mines,’l954.

McGinnies, William G.; Goldman, Bram J.; and Paylore,
Patricia, eds. Deserts of the WOrld: An Appraisal
of Research into their Physical and Biological
Environments. Tucson. University of Arizona Press,

9 .

Nelson, Richard L. The Selection of Retail Locations. New
York: F. W. Dodge Corporation, 1958.

Visher, Stephen S. Climatic Atlas of the United States.
Cambridge: Harvardt University Press, 195A.

Monographs, Reports, and Contributing Chapters

Bauman, Duane D. The Recreational Use of Domestic Water
Supply Reservoirs: Perception andEChoice. Chicago:
University of‘Chicago Department OTTGeography, 1969.

California Division of Mines and Geology. EXploration and
Develo ment of Geothermal Power 3 ecial Re ort Number
‘15. San Francisco: California Division of Mines and
G601ogy’ 1963 e
108

(fl

0‘

109

California Resources Agency. California Public Outdoor
Recreation Plan, Part I and Part II, ”Sacramento:
State of California, 1960.

Colorado River Board of California. Salinity Problems in
the Lower Colorado River Area. Sacramento: State of

CaIifornia, 1962.

 

Development Research Associates. Economic Benefits Derived
from the waters of and Lands Surrounding the Salton
Sea. Los Angeles: DevelOpment Research Associates,

T969.

Dowd, Munson J. Historic Salton Sea. Imperial: Imperial
Irrigation District, 9 .

Hely, Allen G.; Hughes G. H.; and Irelan, Burdge. Hydro-

lo ic Re imen of Salton Sea California. washington,
D. 0.: Government Printing OTTice, 1965.

Imperial County Board of Supervisors. Im erial Count A ri-
culturg, 1961. El Centro: Imperial County Board of
Supervisors, 1968.

McMurry, K. C. "Recreational Geography." American Geography:
Inventory and PrOSpect. Edited by Preston E. James.
Syracuse—University Press, 195A.

Molof, Jerome. Salt Balance: Imperial Valley, California.
El Centro: Imperial Irrigation District, n. d.

Outdoor Recreation Resources Review Commission. water for
Outdoor Recreation: Values and Opporpunities. ORRRC
Study Report 5. Washington, D. 0.: Government Print-
ing Office, 1962.

Pomeroy Richard D.; Johnston, Carl B.; and Bailey, Harry H.
A Reconnaissance Study and Preliminapy Report on a
Water Qpality Control Plan TOP Salton Sea. Pasadena:
Pomeroy, Johnston, and Bailey, Engineers, 1965.

Riverside County Planning Commission. General Plan.
Riverside: County Planning Commission, 1966:

Sharpe, R. P. "Physiographic Features of Faulting in

Southern California." Geolo of Southern California.
Edited by R. H. Jahns. San Francisco: CaIifornia

Division of Mines, 195A.

Swajian Arthur. Identificatipn and Evaluation of Federal,
State and LocaI Interests in SaIton Sea California.

Sacramento: The Resources Agency of California, I967.

 

I.

110

Thomsen Walter. Water Pollution Problems at Salton Sea.
acramento: CalifOrnia State water Quality Control
Board, 1964.

Ullman, Edward; Boyce, Ronald; and Volk, Donald. The Meramec
Basin: Re ort of the Meramec Basin Research Pro’ect.
St. Louis: WasHIngton University, I95I.

U. S. Department of the Interior and the Resources Agency of

California. Salton Sea Project-California. Boulder
City: Bureau OTRecIamation, 1969.

gpprnal Articles

Carlson, Albert S. "Recreational Industry of New Hampshire."
Economic Geography, XIV-3 (July, 1938), pp. 255-270.

Deasy, George F. "The Tourist Industry of a 'North WOods'
County." Economic Geography, XXV-A (October, 1949),
PP. 2h0-2h9.

Harper, Robert A.; Schmudde, Theodore R.; and Thomas, Frank
H. "Recreation Based Economic DevelOpment and the
Growth-Point Concept." Land Economics, XLII-l
(February, 1966), pp. 95-101.

James, John W. "A Modified Koeppen Classification of
California's Climates According to Recent Data."
The California Geographer, VII (1966), pp. 1-12.

Jones, S. B. "Mining and Tourist Towns in the Canadian
Rockies.” Economic Geography, IX—A (October, 1933),

pp. 368-378.

Kneese, Allen V. "Economic and Related Problems in Contem-
porary water Resources Mana ement." Natural Resources
Journal, V-2 (October, 1965 , pp. 2364258.

McClellan, Keith and Medrich, Elliot A. "Outdoor Recreation:
Economic Considerations for Optimal Site Selection
and Development." Land Economics, XLV-2 (May, 1969),
pp. l7h-182e

McMurry, K. C. "The Use of Land for Recreation." Annal§_of
the Association of American Geographers, XX-l (March,

, pp. 7-20.

Mercer, D. C. "Urban Recreational Hinterlands: A Review and
an Example." ProfessionalpGeographer, XXII-2 (March,
1970), pp. 7A-78.

111
Terjung Werner. "Physiological Climates of California."
Association of Pacific Coast Geographers Yearbook,
IIVIII (1966), pp. 55-73.

Thomas, William L., Jr. "Competition for a Desert Lake: The
Salton Sea, California." The California Geographer,
II (1961), pp. 31-39.

Trice, Andrew H., and Wood, Samuel E. "Measurement of Recre-
ation Benefits." Land Economics, XXXIV-3 (August,
1958), pp. 195-207.

WOlfe, R. I. "Perspective on Outdoor Recreation: A Biblio-
graphical Survey." Geographical Review, LIV-2 (April,
196h), PP. 203‘2380

Wolfe, R. 1. "Summer Cottagers in Ontario.” Economic
Geography, XXVII-l (January, 1951), pp. IO-35.

Zierer, Clifford M. "Tourism and Recreation in the West."
Geographical Review, XLII-3 (July, 1952), pp. A62-A81.
Newspaper Articles
Brawley Newp. March 20, 1969.

Los Angeles Times. April 17, 1966.

National Observer. Feature, February 10, 1969. Reprinted
in'Salton Cgpy Resorter, April, 1969.

North Shore News. July, 1968.
Salton City Resorter. April, 1969.

Salton Seafarer. January-February, 1969.

San Diego Evening Tribune. September 16, 1968.
San Diego Union. June 1, 1969.

Correspondengg

Letter from Professor Homer Aschmann, University of Cali-
fornia at Riverside, March 6, 1968.

Letter from Robert Fitch, Assistant Administrative Officer

{357Riverside County, to Arthur Swajian, August 8,

Letter from Philip Garofalo, Riverside County Planner, April
15 g 19690

112

Letter from William H. Gianelli, Acting Field Representative,
Bureau of Indian Affairs Riverside Area Field Office,
April 16, 1969.

Letter from Hall H. McClain, Manager, BLM District and Land
gggice, Riverside, to Arthur Swajian, October 13,
7.

Letter from J. E. Samson, Director of the Real Estate
Division of the Naval Facilities Engineering Command
at San Diego, to Arthur Swajian, October 13, 1967.

Letter from N. W. Sprow, Director of the Department of
Harbors and watercraft, Sacramento, to Arthur Swajian,

Jilly ll}, 1967e

Letter from David G. Stump, Imperial County Planner, to
Arthur Swajian, October 17, 1967.

Letter from D. B. WOltersdorf, Bureau of Reclamation En-
gineer, June 30, 1969.

Unpublished Materials

Gunn, Clare Alward. "A Concept for the Design of a Tourismn
Recreation Region." Unpublished Ph. D. dissertation,

University of Michigan, 1965.

Hubbard, Fred Harvey. "Planning and Control of Recreation
Use on Public Inland Lakes." Unpublished Ph. D.
dissertation, University of Michigan, 1963.

O'Brien Bob R. "Concentration--The Key to Quality in
Outdoor Recreation." Paper read at the 1969 Annual

Meeting of the Association of Pacific Coast
Geographers at Northridge, Californla.

Wetstein, Lawrence. "Feasibility Report for Sandpoint
Marina." Unpublished report, 1967.
Ipterviews
Wilda Bennett, Lido Palms Marina manager, May 30, 1969.

Robert Ellis, Salton Sea National Wildlife Refuge Manager,
July 1, 1968.

Roy Harris, tractor manager for Elmore Farms, July 3, 1968.

Harry Haskell, manager of Salton City Branch, Bank of
America, April 3, 1969.

 

113

Jayne Kleeman, secretary of the Salton City Chamber of
Commerce, May 30, 1969.

Dale Pikea Imperial County Recreation Director, March 31,
19 9

Jack Stowe, Salton Sea State Recreation Area Manager, on
July 2, 1968, April 2, 1969 and June 2A, 1969.

David G. Stump, Imperial County Planning Commission Planner,

William L. Thomas, Jr., geography professor at California
State College at Hayward, August 11, 1969.

Richard A. Weaver, Imperial waterfowl Management Area
Wildlife Manager, July 2, 1968.

 

 

lllllllllllllllllllll

2 3409