WSPP00108 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

! " ~ , . ~ ~ . both of the reservations. After passing through the reserva- tions, these rivers continue to flow southwesterly directly into the States of Utah or New Mexico. These rivers are tributary to the Colorado River and are, by and large, either fully or over- appropriated. Although significant agreements have been negotiated and necessary legislation enacted, the long and laborious journey of quantifying the Indian reserved water rights claims on these rivers is still not over. Final judicial resolution of the claims will occur only after the federal government fulfills its commitments and makes the remaining two annual appropriations to the tribal development fund accounts established by the settle- ment.~/ Despite the lack of a finality, significant progress has been made and Colorado and the the Ute Indian Tribes feel a well- deserved sense of pride: the agreements reached and legislation passed to date occurred as a result of their extraordinary part- nership and commitment. By working together, the state and tribes both obtained far mo~e than each could have obtained alone or through litigation. The settlement has been particularly controversial because it provided the two Ute Indian Tribes with the ability to use, sell or lease their reserved water rights off-reservation and out-of state. It is the first Indian reserved water rights set- tlement to grapple in detail with the difficult questions rais~d JQy the off-reservation use of Indian reserved water riahts. The fact that there were no existing settlement models to follow was both a blessing and a curse. It was a blessing because the parties were forced into creativity, to examine the issue free from preconceived notions and unhindered by expecta- tions of what they should or should not give away or do. It was a curse because, as a first, the settlement gained the attention of the national Titans poised for battle over which side -- the Indian or non-Indian -- would gain the most ground in establish- ing the legal parameters of off-reservation use of reserved Indian water rights. Unfortunately, this was a battle neither Colorado nor the two Ute Indian Tribes wished to fight. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ON THE SETTLEMENT A procedural history of the negotiations and litigation is helpful in understanding the terms of the final settlement. The litigation started in 1972, when the United States Department of -2- 0197