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<br />';'--' <br />h",',' <br />~~ ";'::1 <br />....,;; J ~ <br /> <br />,':';~ <br />'_i",?.$? <br /> <br />- 6 - <br /> <br />c. construction of future units of the Navajo Indian <br />Irrigation Project could be prevented; <br /> <br />d. a pending Indian Water Rights Settlement in New <br />Mexico could not be implemented; and <br /> <br />e. future sales of water from Navajo Reservoir would be <br />stymied. <br /> <br />Since the release of the Fish and Wildlife Service Draft <br />Biological Opinion in early May, the Bureau of Reclamation and all <br />project sponsors have been working diligently to produce a "reason- <br />able and prudent" alternative under the Endangered Species Act that <br />would permit the construction of the Animas-LaPlata Project to pro- <br />ceed instead of having all future depletions prevented as proposed <br />by the Fish and Wildlife Service. These efforts have led to the <br />formation of two independent study panels. One is a Biological Panel <br />consisting of State, Federal, academic, and private biologists. <br />The second is an Alternative Task Force consisting of State, local, <br />and Indian representatives to explore reasonable and prudent actions <br />that might insure full development of Colorado's and New Mexico's <br />legal entitlement to the use of water of the San Juan River Basin <br />while, at the same time, being responsive to the Endangered Species <br />Act. A review of the two independent panels and their purposes'is <br />in Appendix A. <br /> <br />The Southwestern Colorado Water Conservation District has secured <br />the services of a biologist. Dr. Rich Valdez, and hydrologist, Mr. Ross <br />Bethel, to assist these panels. <br />