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<br />OQ1360 <br /> <br />reserved water rights of the United States for the purposes <br /> <br /> <br />of the Act, compensation for the taking by such designation <br /> <br /> <br />of water rights vested by reason of state law, and the <br /> <br /> <br />supremacy of the Colorado River Compacts and Treaties. Not <br /> <br /> <br />only were these material subjects not discussed in the Draft <br /> <br /> <br />reports, but the Interior Solicitor apparently forbade <br /> <br /> <br />employees of the United States to publicly discuss the <br /> <br /> <br />issues thereby raised. The reason assigned for the "gag" <br /> <br /> <br />direction was the litigation regarding the Federal reserved <br /> <br /> <br />water rights pending now on anticipated appeal to the Colorado <br /> <br /> <br />Supreme Court. The failure to discuss such issues in the <br /> <br /> <br />Draft reports, and the refusal to allow any meaningful <br /> <br /> <br />public comment and input on these subject negates entirely <br /> <br /> <br />the efficacy of the Draft documents, and mandates a reappraisal <br /> <br /> <br />thereof in Draft form. <br /> <br /> <br />(2) As in the case of Federal reserved water ri~hts, <br /> <br /> <br />the Federal officials at the River District's public meeting <br /> <br /> <br />at Craig. Colorado, September 22, 1979, refused to publicly <br /> <br /> <br />discuss the allegedly endangered species in the area, and <br /> <br /> <br />the effect, if any, thereof on upstream development. The <br /> <br /> <br />subject was, however, treated with in the Draft reports. <br /> <br /> <br />While acknowledging the status and habitat requirements of <br /> <br /> <br />endangered species to be totally within the sphere of expertise <br /> <br />-3- <br />