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WI I <br />i <br />3 <br />P � <br />is <br />i;. <br />i. <br />I� <br />1: <br />576 Colo. 594 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES <br />ity." Swisher v. Brown, 157 Colo. 378, 402 <br />P.2d 621 (1965). The legislature must make <br />the law even though "it may delegate the <br />power to determine some fact or state of <br />things to effectuate the purpose of the <br />law." People v. Giordano, 173 Colo. 567, <br />481 P.2d 415 (1971). <br />The Districts rely upon the fact that the <br />General Assembly did not define the phrase <br />"natural environment ", nor specify what it <br />meant by requiring "such minimum flows <br />. . . as are required to preserve the <br />natural as <br />to a reasonable de- <br />gree." (Emphasis added) The Districts ar- <br />gue that such definition and specification <br />are insufficient here since the terms do not <br />have any commonly accepted meaning. In <br />this respect, they contend that the instant <br />delegation differs from those approved in <br />Giordano, supra, and Swisher, supra, where <br />the legislative directives could be interpret- <br />ed in light of objective scientific and eco- <br />nomic standards .8 <br />While we agree that the standards set <br />forth call for evaluations by biologists rath- <br />er than assessments regarding public health <br />or economics, we cannot agree that the <br />standards are not such as could be imple- <br />mented by agencies having specific exper- <br />tise regarding the preservation of flora, <br />fauna and other aspects of the natural envi- <br />ronment. Nor do we believe that the term <br />"natural environment," anymore than simi- <br />lar terms commonly coined such as "natural <br />resources," is so vague that it does not <br />indicate the task which the General Assem- <br />bly intended the Colorado Water Board to <br />accomplish. <br />what life forms are presently flourishing or <br />capable of flourishing should be delegated <br />to an administrative agency which may <br />avail itself of expert scientific opinion. <br />This is particularly true, considering that <br />the General Assembly undoubtedly antici- <br />pated that the considerations for each locale <br />might vary. Indeed, the Districts assert <br />this as to the environs of the three stream <br />segments here in question. <br />Moreover, combining the legislative di- <br />rective to preserve the natural environment <br />with the power to appropriate minimum <br />stream flows narrows the delegation so that <br />it involves only that part of the natural <br />environment where survival is affected by <br />stream flow and lakes. <br />The Districts argue that one indication <br />that the term "natural environment" is <br />vague is that the Colorado Water Board is <br />considering preservation of five nonindige- <br />nous fish species which are now in the <br />stream segments: Colorado River Whitefish <br />and Cutthroat, Rainbow, Eastern Brook and <br />Brown Trout. They claim that these spe- <br />cies should not be considered "natural." <br />The parties' stipulation of facts states that <br />related species of fish have existed in the <br />streams in question in recent years, but <br />have been destroyed due to natural or man - <br />related causes. All of the existing species <br />are naturally reproducing in the stream sys- <br />tems, except some stocking is necessary for <br />the Rainbow. <br />We think that the Districts' interpreta- <br />tion of "natural" is strained. The General <br />Assembly clearly intended to have the Colo- <br />rado Water Board preserve various life <br />forms. To consider the introduction of de- <br />sirable life forms as improper substitutes <br />for former fish species that no longer exist, <br />would inhibit accomplishment of the legisla- <br />tive goal. <br />In addition to the contention that the <br />term "natural environment" is vague, the <br />Districts object to the General Assembly's <br />failure to define what it meant by the <br />To require an enumeration of the forms <br />of plant and animal life, as well as natural <br />formations, which the legislature wished to <br />preserve would be to impose an impossible <br />task. The legislative objective is to pre- <br />serve reasonable portions of the natural en- <br />vironment in Colorado. Factual determina- <br />tions regarding such questions as which ar- <br />eas are most amenable to preservation and <br />i <br />8. Giordano, supra, concerned sanitary regula- 1939 which employed such terms as "orderly <br />tions promulgated by the Colorado Department marketing ", "uniform grading" and "economic <br />of Health; and Swisher, supra, was interpret- waste." <br />ing the Colorado Agricultural Marketing Act of <br />� <br />3 <br />f <br />`: <br />