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3. White riv~boating activity could be~urtailed by impoundment of spring flows. Present operational plans provide nearly the same number of boating days with controlled spills with the project as with- out the project. Indian Interests Up to this time, no water has ever been adjudicated or allocated to Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation. Under the terms of a treaty of 1868, the entire Dolores River basiLl and other lands in western Colorado were granted to the Ute Indian nation by the terms of which ". . . the United States now solemnly agree that no persons, except those herein authorized to do so, and except such officers, agents, and employees of the government as may be authorized to enter upon Indian reservations in discharge of duties enjoined by law, shall ever be permitted to pass over, settle upon, or reside in the territory described in this article. II Subsequent to the 1868 treaty, white prospectors illegally tres- passing upon Indian lands discovered large and valuable mineral deposits in the San Juan mountains area. As a result, the United States broke the treaty of 1868 and re-established the Indians on new lands by the so-called Treaty of 1873. This new treaty removed most of the Dolores River watershed from the Indian lands. In 1880, the United States broke the Treaty of 1873 and removed the remaining portion of the Dolores River basin from the Indian reservation. At the present time, no portion of the Dolores River flows through the remaining part of the Indian reservation, which is located in the extreme southwestern corner of the state. The Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribe now hauls its drinking water on a daily basis from the town of Cortez, a round trip of approximately 24 miles. The Indians have purchased a small amount of water from the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company and irrigate a small tract of land near the Indian community of Towaoc. As an interim solution to the community water supply, a small treatment and storage system has been constructed on the reservation to utilize the irrigation water for domestic purposes. The Dolores project will furnish irrigation water for about 7,500 acres of Indian lands in the Towaoc area and an additional 1,000 acre- feet of water annually for a domestic water supply for the tribal community. This supply for the Indian tribe is being planned as an integral part of the Dolores project. The pending water litigation in the federal courts concerning the waters of the San Juan basin does not include the Dolores River basin. What claim, if any, the United States intends to assert on behalf of the Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribe for the waters of the Dolores River basin is not known at this time. However, the Ute Mountain Ute tribe has indicated a willingness to forego any claim it may have on the Dolores River in return for water from the Dolores project. Current Status Advance planning studies were initiated on the Dolores project in -4-