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" " . . Draft C""'-7~ IW(~ Briefing Pa.per 1-0 r;xu.-s #'?ore ~ Federal Reserved Water Right - PtZ:Ce!3 CLc+' ;r7.S Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument &> < Background In United States v Denver. 656 P.2d (Colorado 1982) an unquantified conditional instream flow right on the Gunnison River with a priority data as early as 1933 was decreed. The right is for fish culture and the preservation of "recreational, scenic and aesthetic conditions" within the National Monument. The United States must quantify the right within five years after the case is concluded. Because the case was remanded back to water court for modification of the decree and supplemental proceedings, it can be argued that a final judgement has not been entered. In January, 1991, the Bureau of Reclamation (BOR) asked Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWeB) staff to participate with them, National Park Service (NPS) and Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in development of a "contract/consent decree" in efforts to avoid lengthy litigation, and find a balance between the competing directives and authorizations of two agencies within Interior. The BOR formally announced on December 18, 1991, that they, the NPS and the BLM planned to enter into formal contract negotiations on a "Aspinall water delivery contract" to provide long term protection of stream flows in the Gunnison River through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument and Gunnison Gorge. The purpose of the contract is to develop a balanced resource management plan that will protect the environmental values of the Gunnison River through the National Monument and Gunnison Gorge, lead to quantification of the 1933 federal reserved right for the National Monument, maintain the authorized water storage and delivery purposes for Taylor Park Reservoir and the Aspinall Storage Units of CRSP, 000986