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, ">, , , ~iG) area of about 10,600 acres will be affected most seriously by these pending water rights. The Ute Mountain Ute Indian tribe has potentially irrigable lands located downstream from Mancos that are several times larger in area than that of the area irrigated by the Mancos project. If the tribe receives a first priority water right for their lands and builds facilities to put the right to beneficial use, there will be essentially no water left for the community of Mancos. The entire financial economy of the area could be lost. Probably the community with the second most serious impact would be Fort Lewis Mesa. This areas's economy has already dwindled seriously as a result of the administration of the Colorado-New Mexico Interstate Compact on the La Plata River. During the 1920's there were about 20,000 acres of irrigated land on Fort Lewis Mesa that produced good crops. Marvel, the trading community of the area, had a thriving economy with about 15 businesses, including a bank. The irrigated acreage has now decreased to about 3 or 4 thousand acres with only a meager water supply. There is only one small general store in Marvel now. The impact resulting from prior Indian water rights could finish the area's economy. \; .-~ ~~ ':~ '; The Animas-La Plata project provides the only practical solution to the critical social and financial problems that would otherwise develop as a result of the Indian water right claims. It would make about 80,000 acre-feet of water available for the development of land and mineral resources of the two Ute Indian tribes. As the definite plan report for the project is currently being formulated, an effort is being made to further maximize Indian participation. The tribes have indicated they are much more interested in receiving "wet" water from the project than they would be in receiving a "handful of paper water rights" with no facilities with which to put them to use. They have further indicated they would be willing to enter into an agreement whereby they would fore- go the use of their potential water rights in lieu of receiving water from the project. I i.., Conclusions and Recommendations The Animas-La Plata project offers the best and possibly the only solution to the settlement of the Indian water rights problem in the area. Up to the present time, no water has ever been adjudicated or allocated to the Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservation. The small amount of water which the tribal members use now for domestic purposes was obtained by purchase from the Montezuma Valley Irrigation Company and is delivered to the Indians through an open irrigation ditch. The principal -6-