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<br />under the Colorado River Compact of 1922. Our understanding is that the consumptive use <br />water rights reserved under the Compact are for the benefit of all the citizens of Colorado, <br />including the Front Range. <br /> <br />Here are some specific issues: <br /> <br />A. Retain Flexibility. Flexibility in the flow regimes should allow for future <br />depletions as they may be proposed. In the past, successful projects that divert water <br />from one basin to another have often included compensatory storage. In contrast to a <br />suggestion that there is no more water Aavailable@ in the Gunnison River Basin, is it not <br />possible that additional storage, combined with other forms of mitigation. might actually <br />advance recovery? <br />President Theodore Roosevelt said: AConservation means development as much <br />as it does protection. I recognize the right and duty of this generation to develop and use <br />the natural resources of our land; but I do not recognize the right to waste them, or to <br />rob, by wasteful use, the generations that come after US.@l An appropriate goal is to <br />avoid robbing future generations of the consumptive use of water by rigid protocols for <br />flow regimes. <br /> <br />B. Consider Conjunctive Use Scenarios. If Colorado is ever going to capture <br />its Compact Entitlement, inter-basin cooperation and collaboration are likely components <br />of that success. With the drought-proof aquifers of the Denver Basin available, many <br />Front Range municipal providers can rationally procure renewable water supplies that are <br />not available every year. Although this takes significant investment. the long term <br />benefits are both an extended life for the Denver Basin and more water in the river when <br />it is needed most. During average and wet years, some portion of the surplus water might <br />move out of the basin. In exchange. developed facilities that could move water, or <br />Apump-back,@ might be put on line specifically for endangered species. <br /> <br />c. Take a Long View. Fortunately for all residents of Colorado, historic <br />individuals like Delphus Carpenter took the long view on water resource development: <br />AMuch of the credit for the sometimes fitful peace that these interstate compacts have <br />brought to Colorado=s rivers can be attributed to the pioneering work of a man who was <br />considered to be a visionary in his time.@2 Anything less than an extended view might <br /> <br />lH. Paul Jeffer, Ed. (1998) The Bullv Pulpit: A Teddv Roosevelt Book of Ouotations. p 32. <br /> <br />Zpahmy, Peter A. (July, 1994). Six of the Greatest: A Tribute to Outstanding Lawyers in Colorado History. <br />The Colorado Lawyer., 23 (7) p. 1,479. <br />