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given to the needs of the dark, rocky canyo~ams released almost steady r flows through the yeaz, slowing a river's speed and limit inghigh water. Before dan[s stretched across the Gunnison River, water flows fed by snowmelt increased in the spring, reached a sudden peak for two weeks in the swnmer, then fell off as mountain streams dried up later in the yeaz. The peak flows, dependent on annual moisture, varied between 3,IX10 and 17,000 cubic feet per second. "That peak every year removes sediments, reoxygena[es gravel and removes seedlings," Wondzel said. "It basically maintains the river's health." Despite their concerns, park ser- vice officials for years have had lim- ited control of water flowing from the Aspinall Unit. To control the wa- ter it needed to restore the canyon, the park service had to establish its water rights. A U.S. Supreme Court judge in 1982 granted the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Monument a ' 1933 priority date to its water rights, subordinating all other rights to Gunnison River water that were en- actedsince then. However, the judge never determined the quantity of water the park service controls, making demands for specific amounts of water virtt[ally impossi- ble. 'T'hrough the state's water court, the park service is attempting to ob- ' fain rights to a specific amount of water so it can demand precise mid- summer releases of high water from the Aspinall Unit. The park service is a step closer to obtaining measurable rights to water flowing through the canyon. Tt negbtiafed an agreement last De- cemberwith the Bureau of Reclama- lion, said Chuck Pettee, park service water rights specialist, agreeing to manage its water without affecting 1 Bureau of Reclamation operations, ` such as flood control and hydroelec- 1 tricgeneration. `` But it could be months - or yeazs - before the pazk service obtains measurable water rights. The U.S. Supreme Court's 1982 decision prompted 169 objecftons, Pettee said, and the pazk service has yet to nego- I bate solutions to concerns spurred by its plan to restore natural flows. ~~ ~ "We've got the proposal out there," Pettee said. "Now we're be- ~,ginningthenegotiations." ^ Representatives of downsU~eant interests view the park service pro- posal guazdedly. { Like other longtime residents of Delta, farmer Jay Graff has wtt- iessed the unfettered power of the Gunnison River at flood stage. The giver eroded farmland for years process with the same p[•iorities they have now." The potential ct of a peak midsummer flow o recreation, is undetermined, Wondzel said, but the river's popular fisheries are like- ly to be Undamaged by the proposal. "{The DOW is) on the record as sayhtg it probably will not affect the fishery in the Gunnison Gorge;' said Sherman Hebien, a Division of W fldlife biologist. B[tt managed improperly, the park service plans could hurt fish populations in Blue Mesa Reservoir, which is above the Aspinall Unit, Hebien said. "Manipulations of water storage in Blue Mesa could affect the fishery in the reservoir," Hebien said. Attempting to obtain a "spike flow" through the canyon in a dry year could lower the reservoir enough to cause solaz heating, which damages fish populations, Hebien said. It could hamper access for fishermen, as well, he said. But the park service proposal would improve habitat for brown and rainbow trout in the Gunnison Gorge, he said, and assist endan- gered fish recovery efforts down- stream. According to Steve McCall, envi- ronmental specialist for the Bureau of Reclamation, heavy flood years aze generally beneficial to lower Gtnnison River fisheries. Irrigators are worried that the park service plan could damage downstream "diversion structures" in the Gunnison River, said Jim Ho- kit, director of the Uncompahgre Valley Water Users Association. Ir- rigators use diversion structures to turn water from the river into their irrigation systems. "We do have concerns that send- ingwater over [he spill-way at Crys- tal Dam could put logs and debris over the spill-way, which could hang up in diversion structures;' Hokit said. That problem already exists, Wondzel noted. Crystal Reservoir, which also is above the Aspinall Unit, is inundated with logs and de- bris washed th from local streams every year, he said. Hokit contends that a sudden peak pow cotdd send even more debris over the dam. The Bureau of Reclamation could mitigate the potential problem by better maintenance of the water sur- face at Crystal Reservoir, he said. ^ The pazk service is unsure when the proposal will become a reality. Beset by water rights litigation and negotiating a formal plan with other interests on the Gunnison Aiver, the pazk service could be in for a long wait. "This process is really just begin- ning;' Pettee said. "Hopefully, we'll develop a plan that everyone can agreeto."