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<br />0:1-]833 <br /> <br />Some of us would be comforted if the uno express or implied reservation" <br />clause in S8 1029 were removed, But that bill's prohibition of water works <br />may offer the best available protection. All but two of the 20 new areas also <br />are "wilderness on the rocks" and get their rain and snow from nature without <br />help from water rights. <br /> <br />The likelihood of a House bill emerging during the current session <br />diminishes day by day. Yet, a Colorado Wilderness Act may still have a chance <br />if our leaders develop a new consensus, present it to Reps. Campbell and <br />Skaggs, get the consent of the full Colorado Congressional delegation, and <br />then convince Reps. Miller and Vento to hold hearings. If we stop fighting S8 <br />1029. we may succeed in inclUding precious new wilderness areas. <br /> <br />UWilderness, Mark Pearson writes, should mean the same thing in every <br />stateN. But it doesn't and it can't. There is no discernible momentum in the <br />Congress or the courts to grant federal reserved water rights to all <br />wilderness nationwide. States each have their own water laws, and areas <br />proposed for wilderness have their own topography, depending for water on <br />water rights or not. case by case. <br /> <br />Stop the mantra! It kills SB1029, has no impact on wilderness <br />designations in other states, and will cause embarrassment to the Colorado <br />environmental movement. The bottom line is whether our leaders are willing to <br />sacrifice 640,000 acres of new wilderness to a string of fragile <br />hypotheticals. Donlt we hear the developers and water buffaloes laughing? <br /> <br />I'm not a water lawyer, but I interviewed some of the most experienced <br />in the profession to see whether they disagree. Instead they strengthened the <br />points above. By all means check me out and then save wilderness. <br /> <br />~ W.q <br /> <br />.;,-.):<>: <br />,,\i)' <br />Q\C" <br />.c~l 'i\i)...... <br />~,>'I,i. \Q~ <br />}/ <br />