BOARD00208

• Board Meeting Date: 3/16/2004
• Description: ISF Section - Federal Ditch Bill Easements and Associated Bypass Flow Requirements
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Memo

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Maynes, Bradford, Shipps ~
Attorneys at Law

Attachment A - Agenda Item 7
CWCB Mtg, - March 2004

FRANKE, (SAM) MAYNES
THOMAS H. SHIPPS
JANICE C. SHEFTEL
P ATRIOA A. RAnt
SAMW, MAYNES
JOHN BARLOW SPEAR
STEVEN C. BOOS*t

ASSOCIATES:

LARANNE A. BREAGY

BYRON V, BRADFORD (1907-1985)
t ALSO AD!\.1ITTED IN ARIZONA AND NA VAJD NATION
"'ALSO AVMITfED IN CALIFORNIA, NEW MEXICO AND UTAH

(970)247-175S
[phone] - FACSIMIlE
[e-mail]

MEMORANDUM

TO:

Don Schwindt, Representative to Colorado Water Conservation Board ("CWCB")
from Southwestern Colorado

FROM:

Janice C, Sheftel, Attorney, Southwestern Water Conservation District
("District")

RE:

Ditch Bill Easements

DATE:

November 17, 2003

The District would like to ask for assistance from the CWCB in resolving issues with the U.S,
Forest Service ("USFS") regarding the proposed USFS language for easements under the Ditch
Bill, a permanent easement guaranteed to owners of pre-I 976 irrigation ditches as an exception
to Special Use Permits under the Federal Land Policy Management Act.

Background on attempt to reach agreement with the USFS

In 1999, the USFS sent a draft Ditch Bill easement form to water users in the San Juan National'
Forest in Southwestern Colorado, That easement form, in effect, turne4 what is to be a
permanent easement into a renewable easement with opportunities for the USFS to extort bypass
flows, There were many, many other issues in the easement form which did not comport with
the language and intent of the Ditch Bill, Water lawyers from throughout the state conferred
among themselves under the auspices of the Colorado Water Congress, developed an extensive
list of specific easement changes and met with regional USFS officials in August 1999,
Background on Ditch Bill Easements and the proposed USFS Ditch Bill easement language is
attached as Exhibit "A",

The lawyer's group was told by Regional USFS representatives that we would hear back,
probably in OctoberlNovember of 1999, after the Washington, D,C, USFS office had reviewed
an upcoming solicitor's opinion on bypass flows, Only through an FOIA request from the
Colorado Attorney General's office did we receive a copy of the 1999 Solicitor's Opinion, We
have heard nothing else in four years, Greg Walcher sent a letter in 2002 to the USFS in
Washington, DC, requesting a USFS response on Ditch Bill matters, and included the extensive

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