WSPC02585

• File Number: 8064
• Description: Indian Water Rights
• State: CO
• Basin: San Juan/Dolores
• Water Division: 7
• Date: 3/17/1997
• Author: Todd M Olinger
• Title: Summary of Indian Water 1997
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

Indian Water-1997: Trends and Directions in Federal Water Policy

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This seems like a long way around the question of environmental
management and its effects on water use, and I think that's because nobody
can predict with any confidence what impacts environmental water needs
will have on water development, at least not quantitatively, but we can be
certain that the environmental needs are going to be part of the mix.

I believe the single biggest change in western water policy-and challenge to
tribal water development-is budget politics. The United States Congress is
looking for ways to cut funding for basic human services, school lunches, and
welfare programs. It's unrealistic, I think, to expect that the government will
find large amounts of money to build the Animas-La Plata project, or other
expensive water projects, for tribes or for anybody else.

But it will take money to turn tribal paper water rights into wet water, and
it will take money and water to restore protected environmental resources.
Ifwe can figure out ways and situations where we can work together to raise
the money to acquire the water, to develop revenue generation, to enhance
water development and to facilitate water development, then I think we are
on the right track.

For the benefit of all of us, I guess, I would share the embarrassing
experience of conservationists, who in working to pursue solutions to
environmental water problems or other environmental problems, are
basically lousy at working together. We are only beginning to learn how to
work with ea.ch other to advance issues that we have in common.

What we find is that we can be successful, as coalitions, when we have
specific tasks and when we are dealing with certain defined issues. So we
don't have to agree on everything. Wejust have to agree on something. If
conservationists can agree on certain thresholds and criteria for success and
minimum goals, it turns out that we can work pretty effectively together,
much to our own surprise.

While conservationists and tribes are very different and have very different
cultures, there are certain issues we have in common. Where we can agree
on a set of goals and criteria, where we can contribute to a collaborative
effort based on our respective strengths and our technical abilities, and
where we can create an alliance that can succeed in those instances, I believe
we can and should work in that direction.

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