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I. Introduction. <br />The Nature Conservancy is an international membership <br />organization dedicated to the preservation of natural diversity <br />largely through the acquisition of real estate in the <br />marketplace. Since water rights are marketable real estate in <br />Colorado, and since the instream use of water by the Colorado <br />Water Conservation Board is a legal use of water rights, the <br />Conservancy's basic strategy in Colorado is to acquire water <br />rights through purchase or donation and to turn them over to the <br />Conservation Board with certain strings attached. <br />The Conservancy is considering a similar strategy in Idaho <br />and Oregon which have similar statutory schemes for the <br />protection of instream flows. 1 In both of these states, The <br />Nature Conservancy has also acquired rights for the diversion of <br />water to maintain wetlands and ponds, at its Silver Creek, <br />Formation Spring, Sycan Marsh, and Warner Basin Preserves. Since <br />all of these water rights involved diversions, the instream flow <br />statutory schemes in these states are not implicated and the <br />water rights are privately held, except for the Warner Basin <br />Preserve where the Conservancy has turned both land and water <br />rights over to the BLM. <br />1 See, I.C. Sections 42-1501 to 42-1505, and O.R.S. <br />Sections 537.332 to 537.360. <br />2