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allow the passage of fish through or around man -made structures. <br />Here the boat chute and fish ladder are part of an existing <br />diversion dam which spans the river. <br />Fort Collins seeks to transform the purpose of passage <br />for which such structures are intended into an appropriative <br />water right which would call water past upstream future <br />appropriations and changes of water rights. If Fort Collins <br />succeeds in this portion of its application, any government, <br />private organization, or individual could effectively command a <br />substantial portion, if not all, of the remaining unappropriated <br />flow of a stream. The implications for further development of <br />Colorado's interstate compact and equitable apportionment <br />entitlements could be dramatic. Boat chutes and fish ladders at <br />or near State lines on the Rio Grande, Arkansas, Platte, and <br />Colorado mainstem and principal tributaries could command a <br />significant portion of the flows in perpetuity. <br />This Court and the United States Supreme Court have <br />carefully and cautiously defined federal reserved water rights. <br />See United States v. City and County of Denver 656 P.2d 1 (Colo. <br />1982) and United States v. New Mexico 438 U.S. 696 (1978). It <br />would be extremely ironic and adverse to Colorado's best interest <br />to confer upon Bureau of Land Management boat chutes, for <br />example, the status of qualifying for appropriative water rights <br />under Colorado law. <br />The legislature has explicitly stated that instream <br />flow appropriations are reserved to a State agency, the Colorado <br />Water Conservation Board. See Colorado River Water Conservation <br />-3- <br />