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<br />.' <br /> <br />. . <br /> <br />The agreement also requires the Bureau of Reclamation, the National Park Service, the U.S, Fish and <br />Wildlife Service and the Colorado Water Conservation Board to meet annually in <br />the spring to make estimates about the amount of water that is expected to flow through the Gunnison <br />during the year. BaR will then operate the Aspinall Unit in a way that allows the park to obtain the <br />flushing flows according to established schedules, <br /> <br />II'T'11'l-l'- ;;c-'" . 1 ~-- - -c ___:.LL~... ..1-_ __-3 _,c_ ~____~+~~_ ......1...:1 A~""_H+"" ",..........1 .... ......:......, 0....... n.f'I"^"np-r~t.jf'\n ,xrith thp <br />.1 ~ ~t;:lt1t:ll1ta1L Ullll~~ WIL!lll lHv c;;uu V.L a 5"-'lu",1J.aUV1.l-V.lU uJ."pt.u..... u.u......... H'-'H ............. V-'- ........"y........................A ......u ....__ <br />federal government that results in real environmental benefits," said Walcher. "Spending millions on <br />litigation is not the way to protect water rights and the environment, and we commend Secretary Gale <br />Norton and the U.S, Department of Interior for working with us on this innovative approach," <br /> <br />During the 1950s, Congress enacted the Colorado River Storage Project Act, which provides for the <br />development of much of Colorado's water supply. One of the main features ofCRSPA is the Aspinall <br />Unit (named after former Colorado Congressman Wayne Aspinall), which stores water on the Gunnison <br />River above Black Canyon, The Aspinall Unit stores water for agricultural, municipal, industrial and <br />power needs and also for preservation of fish and wildlife, The water stored by the Aspinall Unit would <br />otherwise flow through the Black Canyon, The Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the Aspinall Unit, <br />expects to expand the project sometime in the future to make project water available for Colorado's future <br />growth needs. <br /> <br />The 30,000-acre Black Canyon ofthe Gunnison National Park is located about 250 miles southwest of <br />Denver, It was designated a national monument by President Herbert Hoover on <br />March 2,1933, and upgraded to national park status by Congress on Oct. 21,1999, The park is named for <br />the Cambrian rock walls carved by the Gunnison River more than 2 million years ago, <br />Within the park boundary 15,180 acres have been designated as wilderness by Congress, The wilderness <br />comprises the inner canyon and most of the western uplands, <br /> <br />- 001 - <br /> <br />Page 2 of 2 <br /> <br />002351 <br />