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<br />. <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />both of the reservations. After passing through the reserva- <br />tions, these rivers continue to flow southwesterly directly into <br />the States of Utah or New Mexico. These rivers are tributary to <br />the Colorado River and are, by and large, either fully or over- <br />appropriated. <br /> <br />Although significant agreements have been negotiated and <br />necessary legislation enacted, the long and laborious journey of <br />quantifying the Indian reserved water rights claims on these <br />rivers is still not over. Final judicial resolution of the <br />claims will occur only after the federal government fulfills its <br />commitments and makes the remaining two annual appropriations to <br />the tribal development fund accounts established by the settle- <br />ment.ij <br /> <br />Despite the lack of a finality, significant progress has <br />been made and Colorado and the the Ute Indian Tribes feel a well- <br />deserved sense of pride: the agreements reached and legislation <br />passed to date occurred as a result of their extraordinary part- <br />nership and commitment. By working together, the state and <br />tribes both obtained far more than each could have obtained alone <br />or through litigation. <br /> <br />The settlement has been particularly controversial because <br />it provided the two Ute Indian Tribes with the ability to use, <br />sell or lease their reserved water rights off-reservation and <br />out-of state. It is the first Indian reserved water rights set- <br />tlement to grapple in detail with the difficult questions raised <br />by the off-reservation use of Indian reserved water rights. <br /> <br />The fact that there were no existing settlement models to <br />follow was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing <br />because the parties were forced into creativity, to examine the <br />issue free from preconceived notions and unhindered by expecta- <br />tions of what they should or should not give away or do. It was <br />a curse because, as a first, the settlement gained the attention <br />of the national Titans poised for battle over which side -- the <br />Indian or non-Indian -- would gain the most ground in establish- <br />ing the legal parameters of off-reservation use of reserved <br />Indian water rights. Unfortunately, this was a battle neither <br />Colorado nor the two Ute Indian Tribes wished to fight. <br /> <br />HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON THE SETTLEMENT <br /> <br />A procedural history of the negotiations and litigation is <br />helpful in understanding the terms of the final settlement. The <br />litigation started in 1972, when the United States Department of <br /> <br />-2- <br />