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Critics fight canyon water settlement through the Black Canyon. Following a legal challenge. the Colorado Supreme Court set a Dec. 26 deadline for briefs from attorneys rep.. resentlng groups who want the water settle- mentJdlled. MFront Rangewaterlnterests have their eyes on the Gunnison River.~ said Drew Petemell an attorney for Trout Unlimited, one of the groupsflllngbrtefs.. More water !'lows through the river than Is covered by the settlement,leaving excess WK- }' Dt.'borah (<'ra.der )CKYloIQUNTAIN'-EWS Seven envlrorunental groups are challenging federal settlement on water tights in the lack Canyon of the Owmison National Park ,federal and state coutts. In ApriL the Bureau of Reclamation. the ate of Colorado and the National Park Ser- ee agreed to a minimum flow for the Jiver terthat could be tapped tor diversion to water- short Front Range communities south olDen- ver.criticssa)'. Environmental groups say the minimum now, set at 300 cubic feet per second, is tar too low, especially In the spring and tall when peak I flowscleansethenarrow.caI\YDn.,. _ .~_ ''It'stooUmited. "Peternell said. "'The United States is llhirldngltsdutles to protect the envi- . Flip 10 w.nF.R on 40:\ . .,~,,- .Water: A stay could block settlement for years Conlinut'd from J8^ lronmenL .. In October, PetemeU and the oth- er attorneys won a stay on the settle- ment from state water court Judge Steven Patrick. The !Ugh court set this month's deadline in that case. "The Colorado Supreme Court dJdn't thinkourarguments were fri.... olous, .. said PeternelL And on Mon. day, the court let several other envi- ronmental groups Join the sulL Peternell and attorneys for West- ern Resource Advocates also tiled sUit in federal court, saying the set- tlement is an improper glveaway of federal water rights. The stay would block the settlement until the feder- al case is resolved. which could take years.. --,- - --- -- Ray Christensen of the Colorado Fann Bureau, one of the entities supporting the settlement, said the federal suit could bring a half-dozen environmental laws into the case. But, he argued, "the water right in the settlement is sutnclent.. It goes back to protecting senior water rights and opposing federal domina- tion." He said letting the federal govern- ment set a larger water right could have undestrable implications. Christensen said Canners and ranchers in Mesa, ~Iontrose and Gunnison counties wanted the mini- mum flows to guarantee enough wa- ter for cattle and crops. Raising the minimum now could reduce the amount of water available tor agrt- .- cultural users. D "We thought the agreement was a good one that best protected the fanners and ranchers," he said. "We want the case settled as soon as pos- sible." Water district."1 In Gunnison and southeastern Colorado. Including Pueblo and Colorado Spring,!!. the state and representatives or mining lnterests are joining the Farm Bu- reau In t:l.ghting the stay. "We don't want agrkulturalland dried up," Chr1stensensaid. ~It's dis- turbing, but not une:...pected that It will go to federalcourt_~ ,/rrJzierd@RockyMf1UTIIahlNew.com 07303-892-5308 0013no