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The Rio Grande Water Conservation District, the Southwestern Water Conservation <br />District, the City and County of Denver, acting by and through its Board of Water <br />Commissioners, the Southeastern Colorado Water Conservancy District, the Upper Yampa <br />Water Conservancy District, the Town of Oak Creek, the Town of Yampa, the Colorado Farm <br />Bureau, and the City of Aurora, acting by and through its Utility Enterprise, by their respective <br />attorneys, move the Court pursuant to C.A.R. 29 for leave to file a brief as amici curiae. This <br />appeal arises out of a water court's final decree awarding the Upper Gunnison River Water <br />Conservancy District conditional water rights for large flows on a stretch of the Gunnison River <br />for recreational boating purposes under the Recreational In- Channel Diversion ( "RICD ") statute, <br />Colo. Sess. Laws 2001, Ch. 305, codified at §§ 37- 92- 102(5) & (6), 37 -92- 103(4), (7) & (10.3), <br />37- 92- 305(13) through (16), 10 C.R.S. (2003). Amici believe that their participation in this <br />matter can aid the Court in its consideration of the issues in this case by illuminating important <br />matters of public policy and legal precedent impacting the future utilization and distribution of <br />water within the State of Colorado by these parties and all similarly situated entities. <br />The Rio Grande Water Conservation District ( "Rio Grande District ") was created <br />pursuant to state statute in 1968 based on a legislative declaration that "the conservation of the <br />water of the Rio Grande and its tributaries for beneficial use and the construction of reservoirs, <br />ditches, and works for such purposes are of vital importance to the growth and development of <br />the entire area and the welfare of all its inhabitants ...." § 37 -48 -101, -102, 10 C.R.S. (2003). <br />The General Assembly further declared that to promote the health and general welfare of the <br />state of Colorado, an appropriate agency for the conservation, use, and development of the water <br />resources of the Rio Grande and its tributaries should be established "and given such powers as <br />2 <br />