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<br />f <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />6 <br /> <br />water resource development on those non-Federal lands situated in a position to <br />have an effect on wilderness water resources. <br /> <br />a. Analysis of ExistinK Water RiKhts <br /> <br />The information contained in the State Engineer's tabulation shows <br />that all of the decreed absolute water rights in or upstream of the <br />Colorado wilderness areas are senior in priority to designation dates <br />of the various wilderness areas, except for five rights discussed <br />below. Also, the records indicate that all of the dates of appropria- <br />tion for the conditional water rights are senior to the designation <br />dates of the various wilderness areas. The data related to the abso- <br />lute and decreed conditional rights within or upstream from each <br />wilderness are set out in Appendix III. This information consists of, <br />among other items, the location and name of the water resource devel- <br />opment, the amount of water, dates of appropriation and adjudication, <br />date of wilderness designation, relation of water development location <br />to wilderness, and whether location is in Federal or non-Federal <br />ownership. <br /> <br />Absolute Rights. As previously stated, all of the decreed absolute <br />water rights, except for five small rights, were appropriated, put to <br />beneficial use and decreed as absolute rights prior to the designation <br />of the related wilderness areas. Of the five exceptions, three appro- <br />priations had been initiated prior to wilderness designation, and <br />another is related to a diversion that has been in place since 1918. <br />All five were adjudicated as absolute rights after the dates of <br />wilderness designation. <br /> <br />Two of the five exceptions, Lost Trail Springs 1 and 2, are above the <br />Weminuche Wilderness, which was designated in 1975. Both of these <br />were appropriated beginning in 1938 and were adjudicated as absolute <br />rights in 1985. Lost Spring 2 is on private land; Lost Spring 1 is on <br />NFS land and received a special use permit from the Forest Service in <br />1955. 'One right is for 0.03 cfs of water for domestic use; the other <br />is for 0.03 cfs for stockwater. Two other rights are located on non- <br />Federal land within the Flat Top Wilderness, which was established in <br />1975. These rights, Dawson Spring 1 and Chambers Spring 1, are also <br />for domestic uses and are entitled to 0.02 cfs and 0.04 cfs of water, <br />respectively. Dawson Spring 1 was appropriated in 1972; Chambers <br />Spring 1 in 1983. Both were adjudicated as absolute rights in 1984. <br />The last of the exceptions is the Thompson Enlargement of Sawmill <br />Ditch on the Eagles Nest Wilderness, which was designated in 1976. <br />The diversion for Sawmill Ditch is on wilderness lands, but was <br />initiated in 1918, well before establishment of the wilderness. In <br />1937, two absolute rights for a total of 6 cfs of water were adjudi- <br />cated for Sawmill Ditch. The Thompson Enlargement was initiated in <br />1979 and adjudicated as absolute in 1985, resulting in a right to draw <br />