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<br />S~/Y25/03 DRAFT <br /> <br />MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT <br />BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR <br />NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AND <br />BUREAU OF RECLAMATION <br />AND THE COLORADO WATER CONSERVATION BOARD <br />CONCERNING THE ENFORCEMENT AND PROTECTION <br />OF WATER AND WATER RIGHTS <br /> <br />THIS MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT (MOA) is entered into this day of <br />,2003 pursuant to Articles 60 and 92, Title 37 of the Colorado Revised Statutes <br />(2002), [NOTE: Add federal statutes?] between the United States Department of the <br />Interior, National Park Service and Bureau of Reclamation, and the Colorado Water <br />Conservation Board, an agency of the State of Colorado. Hereinafter, the parties shall be <br />referred to respectively as the "National Park Service," the "Bureau of Reclamation," and the <br />"Board. " <br /> <br />FACTUAL RECITALS <br /> <br />A. The National Park Service is the federal agency responsible for protecting the <br />natural resources, including the water resources, of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National <br />Park (hereinafter referred to asthe "Black Canyon"). CITE. <br /> <br />B, The Bureau of Reclamation is the federal agency responsible for operating the <br />Wayne N, Aspinall Unit of the Colorado River Storage Project (hereinafter referred to as <br />"Aspinall") in accordance with the Colorado River Storage Project Act. CITE. <br /> <br />C. The Board is a state agency created for the purpose of aiding in the protection <br />and development of the waters of the state for the benefit of the state's present and future <br />inhabitants, ~ 37-60-102, C.R.S. (2002). <br /> <br />D. The Board is vested with the exclusive authority to appropriate such waters of <br />natural streams as the Board determines may be required for minimum stream flows to <br />preserve the natural environment to a reasonable degree. Prior to doing so the Board requests <br />recommendations from state and federal agencies, including the United States Department of <br />the Interior. ~ 37-92-102(3), C.R,S,(2002). The State of Colorado has for many years urged <br />federal agencies, including the Department of the Interior, to rely on the Board's instream flow <br />program to protect water resources on federal lands. <br /> <br />E, In 1971, the National Park Service applied for reserved water rights for the <br />Black Canyon (then a national monument) inCase No. W-437, Water Division 4, On October <br />2, 1978, the water judge in the consolidated cases in Water Divisions 4,5, and 6 entered an <br />interlocutory decree that granted the Black Canyon an unquantified, conditional instream flow <br />reserved right in the Gunnison River with a March 2, 1933 priority date for fishery, <br />recreational, scenic, and aesthetic purposes. The decree required the United States to file an <br />