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. environmental and endangered species issues in the final EIS on the Grand Canyon and to seek ., a formal legal opinion as to whether the releases violate the Law of the River. It may be in the . best interest of the Basin States to seek a legislative clarification as to the limits of the Grand Canyon Protection Act. During the Upper Colorado Commission and the Colorado River Water Users meetings in Las Vegas, Nevada in early November, we learned of Utah's desire to lease unused Upper Basin apportionments to the Lower Basin. This raised serious concerns among the other Upper Basin States. We will all have an opportunity to hear more about the proposal at the Water Congress Meeting on Friday morning. Seven Statesffen Tribes: The Seven States and Ten Tribes negotiations are continuing and a meeting is scheduled for January 19th in Phoenix, Arizona. We will attend the meeting and provide additional reports as they develop. Araoalroe County: Arapalroe County sent two letters to the Board which we shared with you. The first letter was a discussion of issues which previously have been raised and they requested a response. We responded by inviting the Commissioners to a meeting with the Director and staff. Attending the meeting were Commissioners Nicholl and Eggert. It was clear that we did not agree with their position, however we wade a genuine effort to respond to their concerns. They did not at that time request a formal written response. The second letter was comments on their position concerning the operation of the Aspinall Unit to benefit the endangered species, and ., in effect was a written restatement of their' oral presentation at our Gunnison Meeting. Since the . letter was in the nature of comments, a written response was not felt necessary. ~ Reclamation Reform Act/Water Conservation Guidelines: We cosponsored with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation a workshop to review the proposed water conservation guidelines. Ed Ossan, Director of Policy for the Bureau, and I participated in the day-long workshop which'included representatives from conservancy 4istricts, water contractors, CWCB staff and U.S.B.R. staff. In sununary, we improved not only our understanding of the Bureau's goals, but hopefully improved the Bureau's awareness of the water users' concerns. Mr. Ossan was very complimentary to our staff, and I wish to particularly express my gratitude to Chris Bridges and Randy Sealrolm who organized and coordinated the meeting. Ute Indian Settlement: The Ute Mountain Ute Indian Tribe has served notice that they are not accepting Dolores Project Water as of January I, 1995, and that they may wish to renegotiate or litigate their claims on the Mancos River. Under the conditions of the settlement agreement the Tribe must issue the notice or the decrees issued on the Mancos River by the Division 7 Water Court will become final. The Tribe has received delivery of water in accordance with the agreement, however, all lands have not been developed or received irrigation water. This is related to lag in funding by the Federal Government for the development of irrigation features on reservation lands. It was necessary that the Tribe issue the notice to protect their legal position. We have held informal discussions with tribal attorneys and will continue to monitor the situation, however, at the present time there has been no request to have a formal meeting. -