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2212 . B10 GAZETIE TELEGRAPH . FRIDAY, DEe, 26,1987 r' \/ Wilderness legislation put on hold until water rights issue is resolved By BaIT)' Noreen Gazette TelegraptJ A panel of wateT developers and environmentalists has met 12 times since mid-October but has made little progress to- ward compromise on a wilder. ness water rights iSSllt" that has prevented the crealion of new wilderness areas in Colorado. As a result. wilderness legis- lation co-sponsored by Colo- rado $ens. Tim Wirth end WH- liam Armstrong, and planned for introduction in Januar)'. will bt' placed on hold Th(> sen. ators have agreed to place a moratorium on creation of fur- ther wilderness areas in the state until the water rights battle is resolved. The panel was to ha".e reached an agreement concern- ing the future of wilderness .....ater by the end of October, but since has missed twO dead- lines for completing the work. Panel member Harold Miskel of Colorado Springs said the sena- tors "evidently are not con- ~rned that we missed the deadline as long as we are making progress." Panel members have agreed not to reveal details of the ne- gotiations, but asked how much has been produced by the meetings so far, Miskel re- plied, "I wouldn't say a lot." Sierra Club atwrney Maggie Fox said the environmental half of the panel is dealing from a position of strength. "We have the Kane decision and I don't like w sound righteous - wilderness areas do have a right." Sierra Club attorney Maggie Fox said tht' environmental half of the panel is dealing from a position of strength. "We ha\'e the Kane dedsion and I don't like to sound righ- teous _ wilderness areas do have a right." But the senators have th~eatened to settle the issue themseh'es, should the negotia- tions fail. "My perspective is I'd rather do it mvself," Fox said. "We rea II)' believe this wilderness bill needs to be passed in 1988:' Wirth spokesman Jim Spell- man said the senators haw" not considered settling the Issue. "We're not anywhere near an impasse." The legislation would add more than a million acres to Colorado's wilderness inven- lor}'. and the senators gen- erally agr('(' upon the new boundaries, The controversy began when the Sierra Club sued the Colo- rado Water Congress and the U.s. Forest Service in 1984, claiming that whene\'er new wilderness areas are creatf'd. a corresponding water right ca- pable of maintaining wilder. ness values is implied, The au. lomatic federal reserved watt'r right .....as not quantified. but U.S, District Judge John Kane Jr. ruled in favor of the Sierra Club. That decision has been ap- J.l(.'aled. In the meantime, 8"C- cording to State Engineer Jeris Danielson, 1,569 adjudicatE'd prh'ate water rights on na. tional forestlands arE' include-d in lands to be designated wilderness.