Citizens for a Responsible Central Utah Project, correspondence 1980

Page 48

-4- Wildlife Federation, Trout Unlimited, etc. Some 24 environmental groups are meeting in Washing this weekend to address the issue of dam construction and water issues. My data has been provided them. In order to get a legal handle on water issues and the Reservation Doctrine, I attended a Water Law Symposium in Albu-cuerque the last week of March. This was sponsored by the Instream Flow group of the Fisrrand Wildlife Service, Ftl Collins, and by the U. of New Mexico. Speakers were the leading legal people in the field of developing the Reservation Doctrine - the'rights of the Federal Government to water on its reserved lands (iFer§s!8a$ffional Forests). The Federal Government gave away its water rights in the Desert Land Act of 186 6 and now has to establish, Iggally, the rights to water it needs for^its resource management. But the Fed. Gov* has to be pushed to do this. The course was invaluable and I asked some good questions, relevant to my needs in Utah as well as got'promises of aid. If we are unable to get anywhere with Secretary Andrus, I plan to help develop a suit to force the Forest Seryice to adequately deal with instream and riparian issues. Prior to submitting Forest Service recommendations for instream flows to Governor Matheson, by Regional Forester Vern Hamre, I wrote Hamre asking what flows he would recommend and on what basis was the needed flow determination being made. He finally answered my letter and the recommended flows do not equal those recommended by the Fish 8 Wildife Service. So, we must battle the Agency to do what is is required to by the Multiple Use-Sustained Yield Act - manage and sustain wildlife on the Uinta Range in Utah. I should indicate that the stream flow issues I am dealing with are outside the existing High Uinta Primitive Area but access to^this area in two stream s drainages is through magnificent stream canyons which are proposed for damming. I'm fighting this dam proposal. An added issue here is one of the water demands of the Ute Tritae but for the moment I am not working with the Tribe. It appears that their water purposes are in agreement with what the Forest Service should be'requesting - but Salt Lake City lawyers have pursuaded the Tribe that they are better served by going along with the C.U.P. since it has been authorized and partly funded than to try to get funds for water storage projects on Tribal lands. Not all the Ute Trifce is in agreement with this decision! Whatever funding you can help provide me, it will be spent on wilderness issues. Time I use to pursue the^C.U.P^ will be on mv own and based on family sources of funding. In other words/l will try to carry on with the C.U.P. only as it does not infringe on wilderness- work. And this is O.K. with Dick. I appreciate being able to write you - and state my case. I might add'that Terry Williams, after returning to Utah from