Correspondence on Bonneville Unit of Central Utah Project

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the study committee emphasized that the Tribe in accepting such a recommendation could do so only with the understanding that develop-meno wus being u.eferrec, noc aoar^cLonec. . !£he acreages of Indian land adopted by the study committee, to be irrigated and to be deferred, were based on a report prepared by a tribal engineering consultant, dated July 5/ I960, and revised October 1, 1961. This report includes a tabulation of Indian lands in the Uintah Basin under five groupings as follows: Group (l) includes lands on tributaries of the Duchesne River not involved in the Bonneville Unit, but for which a Federal Decree has heen entered. These lands are served or are to be served from the Lake Fork and Uintah Rivers and are involved in the Upalco and Uintah Units of the Central Utah Project. Group (2): Lands included in the Uintah Indian Irrigation Project, the water right to xjhich has been certified by the State. This includes all of that part of the Uintah Project served from the Duchesne River and the tox/nsite of Duchesne. Although certified by the State, a water right for this land is claimed under the "Winters Doctrine." ' Group (3): Lands that are or can be served from the Duchesne River through the facilities of the Uintah Indian Irrigation Project, a water right for which is claimed under the "Winters Doctrine". . . Group (h): Lands x/hich have been found to be productive and economically feasible to irrigate from privately constructed ditch systems diverting from the Duchesne River, now in operation or to be constructed, a water right for which is claimed under the "Winters Doctrine." Group (5): Lands presently unirrigated which have been found by Indian studies to be productive and economically feasible to irrigate right to these lands is claimed under the "Winters Doctrine." The water rights claimed for Groups (3), (4)> and (5) lands have not 'oeen certified by the State Engineer. The acreages that were included in the tribal engineering consultant's report have since been modified to reflect tox-;nsite lands not previously included in the tabulations. As modified and as included in the proposed Indian agreement, there are ^approximately 36,450 acres of Indian land that could be served from the Duchesne River and its tributaries in the Bonneville Unit area. This total land area consists of 18,613 acres of Group (2), 1,115 acres of Group (3), 1,480 acres of Group (4)^ and 15,242 acres of Group (5) land.