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resource. Extrabasin use of Colorado River w~teL creates an interdependence with many other watersheds in the ~est. River-dependent areas must look beyond the basin to augment supplies as their entitlements or obligations under the law of the river limit the amount of Colorado water available to them. To the extent river water is inadequate for Southern California, water must be drawn from the California State ~ater Project which is supplied by river systems hundreds of miles to the North. At one point Exxon eyed imports from the Missouri River Basin in its planning for Oil Shale development in Western Colorado. From time to time the Southwest has focused on the far North as a potential source of imported water. Projects to move water from distant basins such as the Snake, the Columbia, the MacKenzie and the Yukon have been discussed. If water is not put to its most productive use in the Colorado River Basin, water availability and use in other areas may be affected. Ultimately, this means finding the highest economic uses. Serious conflicts may arise over two types of useS. First, agriculture, the principal inbasin use, has difficulty competing economically with municipal and industrial uses that f h b . 25 attract water out 0 t e aS1n. Second, instream uses tend to get short 26 shrift. Maintaining srream flow is essential to preserve habitat for fish and wildlife, to supp0rt many types of water-based recreation and to satisfy aesthetic preferences. But instream values may be overlooked or treated as unimportant when compared to many extra basin uses. The importance of instream uses also reaches beyond the basin. Those who benefit from instream values may live far away but visit the basin occasionally. And wildlife that depends on habitat in the basin may use it in connection with a several thousand mile migration. - 11 -