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<br />
<br />494 Colo. 7(4 PACIFIC REPORTER, 2d SERIES
<br />
<br />tion. c..ppaert v. Uniud Slates, 426 U.S.
<br />128, 138, 96 S.Ct. 2062, 2069, 48 L.Ed.2d
<br />523 (1976); lee also United Slaw v. New
<br />Mexico, 438 V.S. 696, 699-700, 98 S.Ct.
<br />3012, 3013-14, 57 L.Ed.2d 1062 (1978);
<br />DenveT 1, 656 P.2d I, 17 (1982). The im-
<br />plied federal right vests on the date of the
<br />reservation and is superior to the rights of
<br />future appropriators. Cappaert, 426 U.S.
<br />at 138, 96 S.Ct. at 2069. The United States
<br />Supreme Court has re<:ognU.ed implied fed.
<br />eral reserved water rights for varied feder-
<br />al reservations, including national forests
<br />monuments, parks, re<:reation areas wild~
<br />life refuges, and Indian reservations: See,
<br />e.g., New Merico, 438 U.S. at 698, 98 S.Ct.
<br />at 3013 (the United States implicitly re-
<br />.erved appurtenant water necessary to ac-
<br />complish the purposes of the Gila National
<br />Forest reservation); CappaeTt v. United
<br />States, 426 U.S. at 139, 96 S.Ct. at 2070
<br />(1952 presidential proclamation creating
<br />the Devil's Hole National Monument impli-
<br />edly reserved sufficient water to preserve
<br />the Devil's Hole pupfish); Colorado RiveT
<br />WateT Conse",ation Dist v. Unit.d
<br />States, 424 U.S. BOO, 805, 96 S.Ct. 1236,
<br />1240, 47 L.Ed.2d 483 (1975) (the reserved
<br />water rights of the Vnited States extend to
<br />Indian reservations, national parks, and na.
<br />tional forests); Arizona v. California, 373
<br />U.S. 546, 601, 83 S.Ct. 1468, 1498, 10
<br />L.Ed.2d 542 (1962) (the United States re-
<br />served water sufficient for the future re-
<br />quirements of the Lake Mead National
<br />Recreation Area, the Havasu Lake Nation.
<br />al Wildlife Refuge, and the Gila National
<br />Forest).
<br />
<br />The reserved water rights doctrine mllSt
<br />be narrowly construed, lee Denver l, 656
<br />P.2d at 26, and the right includes "only
<br />that amount of water necessary to fulfill
<br />the purpose of the reservation, [and] no
<br />more," CapfKUTt v. United Slaw, 426
<br />V.S. at HI, 96 S.Ct. at 2071. The applica.
<br />tion of the doctrine requires a careful ex.
<br />amination of the asserted water rights and
<br />the specific purposes for which the land
<br />was reserved and depends upon the conclu-
<br />sion that the purpose of the reservation
<br />
<br />.0 'Ibe above is not intended in any way to limit
<br />the sppUcalioo of the McCarron AmcndmcnL 43
<br />u.s.e. f 666 (1976), 10 manen wbich arise in
<br />
<br />L
<br />
<br />would be entirely rkfeated withaut tho
<br />claimed water. New Mexico, 438 U.S. 81
<br />700, 98 S.Ct. at 3014; Dent"'T 1, 656 P.2d II
<br />19.
<br />
<br />(31 In contrast to the doctrine of p~
<br />appropriation, which prevails in most of tho
<br />western states and recognizes only tho
<br />right to divert a quantified amount of ""
<br />ter at a specific location for a specific pur.
<br />pose, see ff 37-92-103(12), -1102, -1103, 15
<br />C.RS. (1973 & 1986 Supp.); Green v. Clu:f
<br />fee Diteh Co., 150 Colo. 91, 371 P.2d 775
<br />(1962), the federal doctrine of reserved ....
<br />ter rights vests the United States with a
<br />dormant and indefinite right that may not
<br />coincide with water uses sanctioned by
<br />atate law. Boles & Elliot., United Slates v,
<br />New Merico and the COUTSe of FerkraJ
<br />R.,.erved Water Rights, 51 V.Colo.L.Rev.
<br />209, 213 (1980) (hereinafter Boles & Elliat).
<br />In a 1973 report to the President and Con.
<br />gress, the National Water Commissioo
<br />identified four characteristics of federal....
<br />served water rights that are incampatibl.
<br />with the doctrine of prior appropriation: (I)
<br />the right may be created without diversian
<br />or beneficial use; (2) the priority of tho
<br />right dates from the time of the land with.
<br />drawal and not from the date of appropria.
<br />tion; (3) the right is not lost by nonuse:
<br />and (4) the measure of the right is quanti.
<br />fied only by the amount of water reasan.
<br />ably necessary to satisfy the purposes af
<br />the reservation. National Water Commis.
<br />sion, Water Policies fOT the FutuTe: Final
<br />Report to the President and to the Con.
<br />flT03S 464 (1973). Because the priority dste .
<br />of the reserved right relates back to the
<br />date of the reservation, reserved water
<br />rights threaten existing appropriators with
<br />divestment of their rights without compen.
<br />sation. Boles & Elliot., 51 V.Colo.L.Rev. at
<br />213.'
<br />
<br />II.
<br />
<br />RESERVED WATER RIGHTS IN THE
<br />
<br />NATIONAL FORESTS
<br />
<br />During the last half of the nineteenth
<br />
<br />century, forests on the public lands were
<br />
<br />specific cases. See. e.g., United Slates v. Bell
<br />n4 P.2d 631 (1986). '
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