BOARD01512

• Board Meeting Date: 8/26/1988
• Description: CWCB Meeting
• Board Meetings - Doc Type: Meeting

Duane Woodard
Attorney General

Charles B. Howe
Chief Deputy Attorney General

Richard H. Forman
Solicitor General

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DEPARTM~NT OF LAW

STATE SERVICES BUILDING
1525 Sherman Street
Denver, Colorado 80203
Phone [phone] & 866-3621

OFFICE 0,. THE ~TTORNEY GENERAL

August 11, 1988

M E M 0 RAN DUM

TO:

FROM:

All Counsel and Interested Parties
on attached distribution list

Marie sansone1rlS
Assistant Attorney General
Natural Resources Section

AUG 1 2 1~33

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RE:

National Forest Instream Flow Claims
Federal Reserved Rights

On August 2, 1988, Attorney General Duane Woodard wrote to Bill
McDonald, Director of the Colorado Water Conservation Board, in
response to the Board's July 15th Resolution concerning the chan-
nel maintenance cases. Attorney General Woodard advised that the
State continue settlement negotiations with the Forest Service,
and that the Board defer its recommendation as to litigation or
settlement of these claims until after the Board has had the
opportunity to review the factual basis of the claims and the
defenses; to study the impacts of the claims on vested rights and
future development; to consider the relative strengths and weak-
nesses of the Forest Service case; and to weigh carefully the
be~efits of a negotiated settiement against the probable outcomes
ot litigation. The Conservation Board and the water users may
rest assured that the Attorney General's Office has and will con-
r.inue to zealously defend the interests of the State in the
national forest instream flow proceedings. A copy of the Attor-
ney General's letLer is attached hereto.

Also, this memorandum will confirm that at the August 1st trial
preparation meeting, we agreed that the channel maintenance
claims should go forward first in Water Division 1; that it is

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