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<br />EXECUTIVE SUMMARY <br />This Citizens' Alternative consists of two primary elements: (I) the creation of a <br />dedicated fund for the purchase of water rights and lands within and in the vicinity of the <br />Southern Ute and Ute Mountain Ute Indian reservations, and (2) the use or purchase of water <br />available now and in the future in existing projects or through expansion of selected existing <br />projects and/or delivery systems. The two elements are complementary, rather than separate. As <br />is shown, various combinations of the two could be employed. Using conservative assumptions, <br />$115 million would be sufficient to acquire the full settlement amounts due to the two Tribes. <br />The Citizens' Alternative has the objective of supplying all of the water promised to the <br />two Tribes in the 1986 Settlement Agreement and of doing so in a way that is far more <br />environmentally sound, and far less costly, than any other proposed project configuration (Le., <br />the .An;ma.~-La Plata project or the .Anim,,~-La Plata Reconciliation Plan, commonly referred to <br />as "ALP Lite"). Moreover, the Citizens' Alternative provides the Tribes with "wet <br />water." Further, it delivers water to the reservations .- something that neither ALP nor" ALP <br />Lite" does. <br />The Citizens' Alternative harnesses the free market and makes more efficient use of <br />existing resources. It is consistent with policies of pressing, region-wide citizen concern, such as <br />the need for "smart growth," and with diligent preservation of the quality and character of the <br />incomparable land and water resources of Colorado and New Mexico. The Citizens' Alternative <br />incorporates up-to-date market and appraisal data on land and water availability and cost on <br />pertinent rivers and streams on and adjacent to the reservations. It also surveys the feasible <br />options for using water and storage in existing projects in which the Tribes already <br /> <br />ii <br />