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The Daily Camera: Legislature . 1l1l111 i' ~ Page I of2 The Daily Camera To print this page, select File then Print from your browser URl: http://www.daIIYCamera.com/bdc/Ie<;Jlslature/artlcle/0.1713.BDC_16336_3519438.00.html Allard hails cooperation on water issue U.S, Forest Service will defer to state Bv Judith Kohler, Associated Press February 3, 2005 DENVER - Sen. Wayne Allard, R.Loveland, said a pledge by federal officials to cooperate with water users on restoring the environment should settle a long-standing dispute and prevent cities, farmers and ranchers from being forced to give up water. Allard said Wednesday that a letter from Agriculture Undersecretary Mark Rey signals an end to past attempts by the U.S. Forest Service "to extort water rights ftOm Colorado citizensW by requiring thai some water be released from reservoirs strictly to maintain fish and habitat in rivers and streams. I IVo.'rn a Durango Vacation. IW/W,durango.org I "This Is very important. in my view. It's something I've been working on for years.M Allard said in a telephone interview. Although Rey's pledge addressed just Colorado. Allard said it could set a precedent across the West. Environmentalists, though, said the Jan. 19 letter from Rey simply reinforces recent decisions by the Forest Service that have stressed cooperation with the slate rather than mandates. They said the govemment still must comply wIth environmental laws and a federal court decision last year saying the Forest Service must ensure there's enough water for fish and wildlife habitat. "I think the agency continues to understand the need to protect aquatic habitat on forest land,M said Jim Martin, executive director of Westem Resource Advocates, a Boulder-based conservation group. The Forest Service has required so.called Wbypass flowsw when il renews permits to use water on or flowing through nationalloresl land. The water is released from reservoirs to sustain fish and wildlife habitat and bypasses facilities used by cities and irrigators, The issue has heated up as the statewide drought drags on and cities and farmers face water shortages. Greeley and water users in northern Colorado in 1996 proposed an alternative to bypass flows when their permits for Long Draw Reservoir, on forest land in Larimer County, came up for renewal. When the Forest Service agreed to the proposal. the conservation group Trout Unlimited sued. Last year, U.S. District Judge William Downes ruled that the Forest Service arbitrarily dropped its requirement for bypass flows. Greeley, state water officials and irrigators have appealed the decision to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Denver. No one is sure how the Agriculture Departmenfs pledge of cooperation will affect the lawsuit. Rey said in his letter that the department, which oversees the Forest Service, wants "10 manage water resources on federal land through cooperation with states, water users and other interested parties rather than through unilateral regulatory action on the part of the Forest Service.w Allard said the department rerognizes the validity of water rights, some in place Since the late 18005. and the state's right to manage water. Jim Witwer, a Denver lawyer representing Greeley, said one of the policy's far-reaching effects may be the renewal of more than 900 water permits held up since the mid-1990s. The letter from Rey foHows an agreement signed last year by stale and federal officials that says they will work together. "We have contended for a number of years that most of the protection that the U.S. Forest Service wanted hltp://\\"\\""w .dai lycamcra.cOIwbdc/cda'artic Ie yrintfO.1983.B DC _16336 _ 3519438 _ AR TI CLE- D ET... 2/311005