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Presently 1.15 million acres of federally controlled land and 225,000 acres of State land in Boulder, Larimer, and Weld Counties help fulfill the recreational needs of Front Range dwellers. These national forests and parks, wilderness areas, and State recreation areas scattered throughout the foothills and mountains also help ensure the preservation of environmental quality. Protecting existing natural preserves should be of prime importance in Front Range development. Also, acquisition of additional open spaces and recreational areas, keeping pace with the projected population growth, should be a continuing objective. Despite the widespread foreboding of environmental degradation, future development can be accomplished with minimal adverse impacts. Land use planning and application of controls would permit a gradual, orderly transition and the preservation of areas of environmental quality. COAL CREEK PROBLEMS The earliest studies of the Coal Creek area by the Bureau of Reclamation occurred in the 1958-1959 period, and the "Report on the South Platte River Basin, Colorado-Wyoming-Nebraska" was issued in July 1959. This report identified problems, needs, and development potentials in the entire South Platte River Basin, which includes the Coal Creek area. A reconnaissance investigation of the St. Vrain Creek drainage area was made by the Bureau of Reclamation in the 1964-1967 period. This study identified critical water problems in the Coal Creek area and proposed a number of potential developments to meet irrigation water requirements. Studies conducted by the Coal Creek Water and Sanitation Association are discussed in Part IV. The water resources of the Coal Creek Basin are extremely limited since the stream prOduces only about 3,000 acre-feet of water annually. Present water users within the basin are largely dependent on water importations from nearby South Boulder Creek, which produces an average annual surface runoff of about 58,100 acre-feet. Present population of the four communities in the Coal Creek area, Erie, Lafayette, Louisville, and Superior, is estimated to total 12,400 people. The Coal Creek Water and Sanitation Association boundaries presently encompass approximately 31,000 acres. Local planners estimate a population of 50,000 people in the area by 1990. This rapid population growth will require an estimated annual water supply of 11,000 acre-feet. The Coal Creek area could be considered part of the Boulder-Denver metropolitan complex. Considerable pressure exists, and will continue to exist, for almost complete urbanization of this area. There is some question whether irrigated agriculture will continue as a viable economic sector within the basin because of pressures to convert irrigation water use to urban use. The present water systems serving the four communities are not adequate to meet the water needs of the existing population and the situation can only worsen with time. lEGAL AND INSTITUTIONAL CONSI DERA TIONS Colorado was the first state to adopt a pure appropriation system, and the doctrine is therefore known as the Colorado Doctrine. This doctrine, as set forth in the State constitution, declares that the unappropriated water of every natural stream is the property of the public, subject to appropriation, and that the right to divert unappropriated waters of any natural stream for beneficial uses shall never be denied. The constitution also provides that, as between those using water for the same purpose, priority of appropriation shall give the better 111-8