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<br />construction of the Colorado-Big Thompson Project by the Bureau of Reclamation in the <br />I 940s. 7 Beginning in the 1950s, recreational development in the headwaters of the Colorado <br />.. <br />River mushroomed; world class ski areas and resorts SIipport a strong and growing economy. <br />Water is in demand for snowmaking in the wintertime and to meet the needs of the permanent <br />and visiting population. <br />In short, the circumstances that so clearly favored the dedication of much of the water <br />of the Colorado.River in Colorado to agriculture in the Grand Valley have changed. Other <br />interests have emerged and are expressing a desire for modifications in water uses that will <br />allow these interests to enjoy more of the benefits of the river. This chapter explores the <br />commitment of water to the Grand Valley and considers opportunities for broadening the <br />beneficiaries of this water. <br /> <br />n. <br /> <br />J. <br /> <br />By treaty ratified by the U.S, Senate in 1863, the Ute Indians in Colorado ceded <br />claims to lands east of the Continental Divide, but were given dominant rights in the western <br />part of the territory. A subsequent treaty in 1868 established a reservation for the Utes in <br />western Colorado that was to be their exclusive territory. In l879,? disgruntled Utes in <br />northern Colorado killed Nathaniel Meeker, at that time Indian agent on the reservation and <br />formerly founder of the Union Colony at Greeley, Colorado. In response, the U.S. decided in <br />1880 to remove the Utes from all of western Colorado except for two smaIl reservations in <br />the southwest comer of the state. In August 1881, Utes residing in the Grand Valley were <br />forced to move to the Uintah Reservation in Utah. Settlers immediately came into the valley <br />and laid out claims to land. I According to one account: <br /> <br />, Daniel Tyler. The Last Water Hole in the West (Univenity Press of Colorado, 1992). <br /> <br />· The Grand Valley was considered as a site for a reservation but, according to one source, was viewed as more <br />valuable for settlement by the U.S.: "Mr. Mears [one of the U.S. commissionen sent to survey the valley as a <br />possible reservation location] at once saw that, for the benefit of Colorado, it would be better to keep the Indians out <br />of the state, as the land in the Uncompahgre and at Grand Junction would become very valuable, if settled by whites." <br />Jerome G. Smiley,ed., vol. 2 Semi-CenteMial Historv of The State of Colorado (Chicago: The Lewis Publishing <br />Company. 1913) at 441. <br /> <br />');", . <br /> <br />4 <br />