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. . to both sides. The Settlement Act was the first Indian water rights settlement passed by Congress which fully addressed how an Indian reserved water right will look and be treated if used off- reservation. Many concepts included in the settlement were con- troversial, but in the end proved to satisfy not only Colorado and the two Ute tribes, but also the other users on the Colorado River. Whether these concepts are equally applicable in other parts of the west or for other water rights settlements is debat- able. They worked for Colorado and these two tribes, but may not work elsewhere. Attempts to fashion national Indian policy by making all Indian water rights settlements uniform are eminently unworkable. The key to the success of these negotiations lay in the powerful state/tribal coalition which ultimately proved insur- mountable. By identifying and respecting each other's needs, and resisting external pressures which attempted to weaken and under- mine their coalition, the tribes and the state were able to get what they wanted and needed from Congress. Ultimately, the expe- rience also reinforced what the parties already knew: when it comes to solving problems involving state and tribal lands and resources, the state and the tribes are better equipped to solve the problem than the federal government. The partnership of state and tribal government is one dedicated to resolving a shared problem and their solution can be carefully crafted. Resolving Indian water rights conflicts on the national level often means addressing the issues in terms of the lowest common denominator which fits all settlements, resulting in a crude solution which does not serve the needs of the parties. 1/ In addition, for the Animas and La Plata Rivers and the Mancos River, final resolution of the Indian reserved water rights claims will not occur until the federal government com- pletes construction of the Animas-La Plata Project and the reser- vation irrigation component of the Dolores Project, respectively. A May 4, 1990, draft biological opinion for the Animas-La Plata Project, which determines that the project may jeopardize the continued existence of the Colorado squawfish and that there are no reasonable or prudent alternatives to mitigate this damage is the most recent threat to construction of the Animas-La Plata Project. ~ 43 U.S.C. S 666, the McCarran Amendment authorizes joinder of the United States in state court as a party defendant in any suit for the adjudication of rights to the use of water or for the administration of the water rights when the United States is -11-