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<br />-----" <br /> <br />. .. <br /> <br />l;HEFNr" MEYI,H & Ml ELHOY <br /> <br />. AICEIVED <br /> <br />JUl 3 1 '90 <br />COLClAAoo WATE <br />CONSERvATION R <br />SOARD <br />Of Counsel <br />Barbara Ann Lavender <br /> <br />~ <br /> <br />. <br /> <br />Broce R. Greene <br />Elizabeth Meyer <br />ScOtt B. McElroy <br />Phoebe Anno Groyson <br /> <br />July 27, 1990 <br /> <br />John Turner, Director <br />United states Fish <br />and Wildlife service <br />Department of the Interior <br />Room 3256, 1849 C street, N.W. <br />Washington, D.C. 20240 <br /> <br />Dear Mr. Turner: <br /> <br />I am writing on behalf of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe <br />regarding the draft biological opinion for the Animas-La <br />Plata Project, dated May 4, 1990. Chairman Burch and I <br />appreciated the opportunity to meet with you on June 21, 1990 <br />to discuss this matter which is so important to the tribe. <br />Despite the conclusion of the draft opinion, the tribe is <br />convinced that there are "reasonable and prudent <br />alternatives" which would permit the construction of the <br />project consistent with the recovery of the Colorado <br />squawfish. <br /> <br />The tribal concern over the draft opinion stems from the <br />crucial role of the project in providing much needed water to <br />the tribe. Since its inception, the project has been viewed <br />as a way to provide the tribe with the water required to <br />develop the reservation into a home for the tribe and its <br />members. That water was originally promised to the tribe in <br />1868; that commitment was reiterated in 1968 when the project <br />was authorized by Congress. In 1986, the United states <br />renewed its still unfulfilled pledge to provide the tribe <br />with the water it needs so badly in the Colorado Ute Indian <br />Water Rights Final Settlement Agreement, dated December 10, <br />1986, which was implemented, in part, in the Colorado Ute <br />Indian Water Rights Settlement Act of 1988, 102 Stat. 2973. <br /> <br />The foundation for the resolution of the tribal claims to <br />water is the Animas-La Plata Project which, under the terms <br />of the Agreement, is to provide water to the tribe by the <br />year 2000. The draft opinion seriously threatens the ability <br /> <br />1007 Pearl Street, Suite 240, Boulder, Colorado B0302 303-442-2021 <br /> <br />A Professional Corporatlon <br />