KAYCEE - Dozens of local ranchers took time Wednesday to get a handle on a proposal to build a dam and reservoir on the Middle Fork of the Powder River west of here.

A dam would be of particular benefit to farmers and ranchers in the community of Sussex, east of Kaycee, who need the water for their operations, and it could also be a boon to recreation interests, according to Sussex rancher Don Meike, who organized a tour of the site Wednesday.

"Wyoming's water is Wyoming's gold," Meike said during the tour, which was attended by Mike Besson, director of the Wyoming Water Development Commission. "Virtually every water user on the Powder River has the opportunity of benefiting from this reservoir."

However, such a dam could seriously harm and potentially destroy existing ranching operations immediately surrounding the dam site at Barnum, particularly those of Wayne Graves and the Harlan family.

"It benefits a few people at the burden and expense of a few people," said Margo Harlan Sabec, a Casper attorney who grew up in Barnum. Salt and alkali levels in the dam site could sour the Harlans' hay meadows, and there are other concerns, she said.

"How this dam is filled and operated makes a huge difference (to my family)," she said.

Kaycee Mayor Allen Streeter said such a reservoir would help his town economically.

Meike and his Powder River Resources Corp. own the permit for the water that would be used for the reservoir. The permit was acquired in 1940, which exempts it from the regulations set out in the Yellowstone River compact, Meike explained. A reservoir in the area was proposed in the 1960s and studied extensively in 1983, but a dearth of funding and concern over historical artifacts effectively killed the plan.

"This is the best dam site in the state of Wyoming that has not been developed," said Floyd Bishop, who served as Wyoming's state engineer from 1963 to 1975. "I wish it had been built 30 or 40 years ago. It will be more difficult to build now."

Besson stressed the importance in working together as a community.

"It takes a lot of cooperation locally," he said. "A difference of opinion locally makes it a lot tougher later on dealing with the federal government," in terms of meeting provisions of the National Environmental Policy Act.

"I don't want Wyoming people beating up on Wyoming people," he added, explaining that much money was spent resolving arguments between citizens on either side of the High Savery Dam in south-central Wyoming, which is set for dedication Aug. 30.

He said the application for the project, for which a $1,000 fee is charged, must be made by Sept. 15 to the Water Development Commission, which will then decide whether to recommend the project to the Legislature's Select Water Committee for inclusion in the omnibus water bill.