WSPC04192

• File Number: 8210.761.09.D
• Description: Colorado River-Federal Agencies-US NPS-Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument
• State: CO
• Basin: Colorado Mainstem
• Water Division: 5
• Date: 4/2/2003
• Title: 2003 Settlement Agreement-Implementation-Trout Unlimited Condemns Bush Administration Decision to Give Away the Gunnison River
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: News Article/Press Release

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NEWS RELEASE
April 2. 2003
For Immediate Release
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Contact: Melinda Kassen [phone] x,l1
Drew Peternell [phone] x, 14

TROUT UNLIMITED CONDEMNS BUSH ADMINISTRA nON'S DECISION TO
"GIVE AWAY" THE GUNNISON RIVER

Organization fears deci5ion is the "tip of the iceberg" of how the admini5tration will treat water flowing
through public lands

Arlington, VA - Officials from the Bush administration and the state of Colorado
announced at ajoint press conferenc,e today that the administration has agreed to the
state's demands to reduce the federal claim to water flow for the Black Canyon of the
Gunnison National Park in western Colorado. Trout Unlimited, a national conservation
organization dedicated to conservatiorl, protection and restoration of North America's
trout and salmon fisheries and their watersheds, condemned the Bush administration's
concession, calling it an historic sell-out that would open the door for the Gunnison River
to be drained nearly dry. I

Carved ovcr millions of years by the Gunnison River, the Black Canyon is unique
for its narrow opening, sheer jagged walls and depth of over 2,000 feet. It was
designated as a national monument in 1933 to "protect the roar of the river," and elevated
to national park status in 1999.

Though thc United States is legally entitled to enough water to serve the purposes
for which the monument was established, as outlincd in a 1978 watcr court dccree, the
decision announced today would give thc United States a water right for the park of only
300 cubic fcct per second ycar round. In exchange for the federal concession, the state of
Colorado has promised to acquirc all unappropriated watcr in the Gunnison River for its
in-stream flow program, administered by the Colorado Watcr Conservation Board
(CWCB).

"The United States' decision basically gives away the entire river," said Drew
Peternell, staff attorney for Trout Unlimited's Colorado Water Project. 'The Colorado
Supreme Court has told us on more than one occasion that there is very little
unappropriated water left in the Gunnison River. Despite how the Bush administration
and the state of Colorado are trying to portray this arrangement, trading a healthy federal
water right, with a 1933 priority date, for what is left over in 2003 or 2004 is in no way a
fair deal for the Black Canyon."

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