Help Conserve Moab's Water - Drink Rare Utah Wines
During our October 2009, visit to Moab, Utah, we noticed that fall color had arrived in the Spanish Valley.
The deciduous trees showed bright yellow leaves, but the scarcity of
freezing weather had produced few of the burnt-orange or flame-red
leaves we had hoped to see.
Before the sun drops behind the Moab Rim, there is often good light to the north and east. From my vantage point at the Moab Rim CamPark, the Slickrock sparkled in the late afternoon sun. Likewise, the Moab Rim reflected light along the length of its crest. To the east, clouds shaded the La Sal Range.
Dark green foliage faded into dark gray granite near their summit. As
the cloud formation moved slowly across the sky, its virga veil trailed
below. With the recent warm, dry weather, there was no snow, even on the
highest peaks. In the high country, autumn was over, but winter had not
yet begun. From the top to bottom, the relict forest of aspen seemed to
have dropped its leaves all at once, leaving behind only a trace of
color.
The next morning, Carrie McCoy and I set off to explore in and around the Spanish Valley. Our first stop was at Johnsons on Top, a mesa bounded by Mill Creek Canyon
to the north and the Spanish Valley to the south. Several years ago,
Grand County and the State of Utah approved a low-density, high-end
residential development on that mesa. When the real estate market
dematerialized, that project, known as Cloudrock went on hiatus.
Since last year, the only “improvement” to the mesa
was additional signage admonishing off-road vehicle drivers to stay on
the road. For years, the access gate at the road has made it look like
an entrance to private property. Only the locals and a few Moab
old-timers know that there is an undeveloped mesa at Johnsons on Top. It
follows that marauding outsiders probably did not make the many
off-road tracks we saw that day. More likely, some locals felt entitled
to make a social road wherever and whenever they pleased, even if it was
across Utah Trust Land.
At the far rim of the mesa, we snapped our “MoabLive”
outdoor portraits. From that high ground, we saw Mill Creek Canyon
below. The dust storms of spring 2009 had hastened snowmelt upstream in
the La Sal Range. Pools of sand, terraced in the streambed, provided an
illusion of flowing water. A photo of the La Sal Range that we took from
that spot one year prior showed a snowpack at high elevation.
When the creek went dry, the Grand Water and Sewer Service Agency (GWSSA) had to close its Sheley Diversion Tunnel from Mill Creek.
When water no longer flowed down the tunnel to Ken’s Lake, the
reservoir had no other replenishment source. By October 2009, demand for
irrigation had drained the reservoir almost to the elevation of its
outfall pipe. Over-subscription and overuse of Ken’s Lake water
resources are now a fact. If early snowmelt becomes the norm, future
years may bring only one brief shot at filling Ken’s lake. As the major
source of irrigation water for the Spanish Valley, that resource may now
be too valuable to support large-scale alfalfa farming in the desert.
Using data collected in 2001, the Utah Department of
Environmental Quality/Division of Water Quality (DEQ/DWQ) found
increased temperature to be the major “pollutant” present in Ken’s Lake.
Blaming it on solar heating alone, the DEQ/DWQ petitioned the U.S. EPA
to reclassify the lake as a “warm water fishery”, rather than to find
ways to retain its old designation as a “cold water fishery”. In so
doing, they ignored the fact that only 400 acre feet of water is
normally present in Ken's Lake at the end of any summer season. Perhaps
it was not obvious to the state agency, but such a small pool of water
exposed to the summer sun near Moab would rise in temperature.
The solution to this dilemma rests largely with
farmers in the Spanish Valley. By leaving a higher residual waterline in
the lake each year, that larger mass should not heat up as quickly as
the smaller pool now does. That would require a "conservation
mentality", rather than the current "extraction mentality". In October
2009, there was barely enough water in Ken's Lake to support
a small warm water fish population. It would soon drop to its minimum
level, after providing Spanish Valley grape growers the final shot of
irrigation water necessary to protect their rootstock from the coming
winter freeze. In less than ten years, Ken’s Lake has gone from full to
empty and from cold to warm. If spring 2010 again brings dust storms to
the La Sal Range, expect to see hotter water and less of it at Ken’s
Lake. With the recent spate of regional dust storms and the continued
drying of the western climate, we believe that the new pattern of rapid snowmelt is likely to continue.
Departing the mesa, we came upon a ridge overlooking
the Spanish Valley. From there we saw a high desert environment,
sprinkled with irrigated fields, ranchettes and homes. With the Pueblo
Verde Tract directly below us, we scanned the valley for other signs of
irrigated life. In the center of the valley, we saw greenery that was
the vineyards at the Spanish Valley Vineyards and Winery.
According to their website, the estate comprises several acres of
vineyard and its attendant small farm winery, both of which are owned
and operated by the Dezelsky Family. There, they grow and produce wines
made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, Gewurztraminer and Riesling grapes,
as well as a unique cherry wine.
Having found the tasting room closed Sundays, on a
Monday afternoon we made our second attempt to visit the winery. Located
on Zimmerman Lane, just off Highway 191 South, the winery would benefit
from a “cultural location sign” on the highway. In California, each
wine-growing county provides tasteful highway signage directing
motorists to local wineries. Perhaps Utah will see both the economic and
the environmental light and then begin promoting their rare vineyards
and wineries.
When nearby Arches
Vineyards and Winery ceased production, the Dezelsky’s bought their
remaining stock of bulk wine, finishing it under the Spanish Valley
Winery label. In 1998, the owners of Red Cliffs Lodge
purchased Arches Winery, collocating it with the lodge and renaming it
Castle Creek Winery. When Castle Creek Winery opted to purchase grapes
from outside of the state, that left Spanish Valley Winery as the last
which grows, produces and bottles only Utah appellation wines. In almost
any state other than Utah, that alone would be enough to elevate the
winery to the status of a cultural landmark. In a state which legalized
bonded wine making only in 1988, the state's overall attitude towards
wineries and wine making remains one of indifference and neglect.
One needs to look only as far away as the Mimbres Valley near Deming, New Mexico to find St. Clair Vineyard and Winery
producing and bottling a fine New Mexico Zinfandel, among other
varietals. Luna Rossa Winery also grows and produces in the Mimbres
Valley, at an elevation similar to the Spanish Valley. Both valleys sit
atop large aquifers. The sensible way in which New Mexico supports
desert viticulture provides an example of how Utah might support its own
growers and producers.
As a
bonded winery, Spanish Valley Winery represents a way of life once
thought to have great promise in Southeastern Utah. Our friend Jim
Farrell told us that his Moab Rim Campark
used to include the phrase “and Vineyard” on its highway sign. Patrons
of the RV Park loved the ambiance that the vineyard provided. When
interest in viticulture waned in this century, Jim redeveloped the
vineyard into a row of rental spaces for recreational vehicles. Although
he enjoyed being a grower, economics dictated that Jim sacrifice
romance for economic necessity.
In the 1970s, a
University of Arizona viticulture survey found great promise in the
Spanish Valley. With its highly mineralized, gravelly soil, hot days and
cool nights, the study concluded that the Spanish Valley had potential
to become one of the premier viticulture areas in the country. That
survey, plus the backing of one Utah state agency encouraged locals to
plant grapes. In the late 1980s, just as the first viable crops matured,
another state agency declared that winemaking was illegal in Utah. By
1988, when winemaking became legal in Utah, many of the early growers
had abandoned or removed their vineyards. The few stalwart growers
remaining near Moab have only Spanish Valley and Castle Creek wineries
as outlets for the sale of their grapes.
More
recently, former Governor Jon Huntsman pushed the Utah legislature to
rationalize Utah's liquor laws. Until then, the unofficial stance by the
state was disdain for Utah winemaking and sales at its wineries. Since
the 1970’s, whenever latter-day Utah wine makers went up against the
moral strictures of the Latter Day Saints Church, the winemakers lost
every time. Even now, one cannot taste or purchase wine on a Sunday or
holiday at any Utah winery. An official summary of Utah Liquor Laws does
not even mention wineries or their tasting rooms. With almost sixty
days of forced closure each year, how can any business expect to
prosper? This is ironic in Utah, which retains a state monopoly on the
sale of all packaged liquor, except for beer. With politics, morality
and economics stacked against Utah’s small farm wineries, is it any
wonder that this potentially rich viticulture area grows alfalfa instead
of grapes?
As of this
writing, the Spanish Valley Vineyard and Winery is offered for sale.
For over twenty years, the Dezelsky’s have either worked for or owned
the operation. By their choice, it is time for them to move on. A sale
of the property will allow a new owner to build on their solid
reputation as producers of Utah appellation wines. For less than two
million dollars, a new owner could own acres of cultivated vineyards, an
abundance of high tech equipment and facilities that could handle far
larger production.
In 2009, the Christian Science Monitor wrote that the Four Corners area is already hotter and drier than it was fifteen years ago. Not since the Great Disappearance of Pre-Puebloan Indians
around 1200 CE, has the climate been this hot or dry. With that
knowledge, the State of Utah should actively encourage, rather than
discourage its citizens from growing grapes and producing wine. An easy
way to show that they care would be to allow bonded wineries to offer
tasting and retail sales on Sundays and some holidays. For the moralists
among us, the overall consumption of alcohol in Utah would not rise
perceptibly. Raising water-stingy grapes with drip-irrigation might then
become a viable economic alternative to growing water-thirsty alfalfa
in the desert. Additionally, Utah should allow tasteful highway signage,
directing visitors to each rare and unique winery in the state.
When dust bowl storms swept across the Great Plains in the 1930’s, the federal government Shelterbelt Program
encouraged farmers to plant trees as windbreaks, thus retaining loose
soil in their fields. Farmers and ranchers in Southeastern Utah should
likewise be encouraged to plant grape-arbor windbreaks
adjacent to their fields. By doing so, the arbors could help diminish
the intensity of regional dust storms that now plague the area. At Monument
Valley High School, Utah, a small plot of grapes grows near the
athletic field. Could this signal a renaissance in viticulture in
Southeastern Utah? For the sake of the few remaining warm-water fish in
Ken’s Lake and all of us who love Utah wines, we hope so.
After
leaving the winery, we spotted a large American Bison resting in the
well-watered yard of a home on Spanish Valley Drive. In the 1870s, bison
herds were so large that transcontinental rail traffic often halted for
hours so that the animals could cross the tracks. Despite their
historically large numbers, they did not destroy their natural
environment. As the wheels of off-road vehicles sink ever deeper into
the soft soils of Johnsons on Top and other mesas, we must face facts.
Creation of new social roads in the desert threatens both our soil and
our water. Inadequate water conservation threatens to leave us like that
lone bison, resting under the desert sun on the last patch of irrigated
soil in the Spanish Valley.
By James McGillis at 12:58 PM | Environment | Comments (0) | Link
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