[MUSIC] [MUSIC] - WATER TIME MEANS YOU MEASURE PROGRESS IN DECADES AND NOT YEARS.

- YOU HAVE MORE USES FOR THAT WATER THAN THERE IS WATER.

SO, THE DILEMMA IS HOW DO YOU ALLOCATE THAT WATER FAIRLY?

- BEFORE THE 1980S, IT WAS PRETTY ROUGH, REALLY THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

- THE STATUS QUO WORKED FOR MOST PEOPLE, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK FOR THE TRIBES.

- THERE'S SO MANY DIFFERENT SYSTEMS IN PLACE FOR TRIBES NOT TO BE ABLE TO USE THEIR WATER.

WE NEED TO BREAK THAT DOWN.

- OUR WATER HAS BEEN SITTING IN LAKE NIGHTHORSE FOR OVER A DECADE, AND IN THIS TIME PERIOD, WE'VE BEEN IN A 20 YEAR DROUGHT.

WE TOO WANT THAT SAME EQUITY TO DO THINGS WITH WHAT WATER THAT WE HAVE.

- IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST DROP.

WHO'S GOING TO LEGALLY GET IT?

THE UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT WAS REALLY A METHOD OF SHARING, NOT TAKING IT ALL FOR ONE AND NONE FOR THE OTHER.

[MUSIC] - WE AS THE UTE PEOPLE ARE THE MOUNTAIN PEOPLE.

THE CREATOR GAVE US THESE LANDS, THESE MOUNTAINS, NOT TO OWN, BUT TO RESPECT AND TO VALUE WHAT HE CREATED SO THAT WE MAY UTILIZE THESE THINGS FOR OUR OWN BENEFIT.

- WE BELIEVE WATER IS SACRED.

WE BELIEVE ALL OF OUR NATURAL RESOURCES ARE SACRED.

IF WE TAKE CARE OF NATURE, SHE'S GOING TO TAKE CARE OF US.

SO, OUR STORY STARTS HERE WITHIN OUR HOMELANDS.

WE ARE THE FIRST INHABITANTS OF WHAT IS NOW KNOWN AS THE STATE OF COLORADO.

WE DON'T HAVE A MIGRATION STORY.

WE WERE ALWAYS IN THE ROCKY MOUNTAIN REGION, AND WE HAD ALSO OCCUPIED A LARGE PORTION OF UTAH, A SMALL PORTION OF ARIZONA AND NEW MEXICO.

- SO, MY RESERVATION WAS CREATED IN 1868, AND WE CEDED A LARGE PORTION OF OUR LAND TO THE EUROPEANS FOR COLONIZATION DURING THAT TIME PERIOD.

AND SO, OUR WATER RIGHTS ALSO TIE BACK TO THAT HISTORICAL DATE OF 1868.

SO, WE HAD ONE OF THE MOST SENIOR WATER RIGHTS, PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE STATE OF COLORADO.

- DURING THAT TIME WHEN OUR RESERVATION WAS CREATED, AN IRRIGATION SYSTEM WAS PUT INTO PLACE.

AND THIS WAS MEANT TO FORCE THE UTE PEOPLE INTO BECOMING FARMERS, WHICH IS A FOREIGN CONCEPT TO US.

AND SO, THIS IS SOMETHING THAT THEY USED TO HELP ASSIMILATE THE UTE PEOPLE INTO THE AMERICAN CULTURE.

THE AREA THAT THEY PUT US ON IS SOMETHING THAT THE GOVERNMENT DEEMED UNDESIRABLE BY OTHERS BECAUSE THEY WANTED THE PRIME LAND FOR THEMSELVES.

OUR PEOPLE WENT THROUGH A LOT OF HARDSHIPS DURING THIS TIME.

THEY WERE NO LONGER BEING ABLE TO BE NOMADIC, TO ROAM WHERE THEY WANTED TO, TO HUNT WHERE WE WANTED TO.

- WE LOST A LOT OF OUR ABORIGINAL LANDS IN A 40-YEAR EXPANSE, BUT WE WERE PUT HERE BY THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT.

SO, IT'S BEEN A LITTLE BIT HARD DOWN HERE IN THE SOUTHWEST BECAUSE THERE'S NOT A WHOLE LOT OF WATER RESOURCES.

UTE MOUNTAIN UTE IS ON A MUCH MORE ARID RESERVATION WITH NO RIVERS RUNNING OR STREAMS RUNNING REALLY THROUGH THEIR HEADQUARTERS IN TOWAOC.

ON THE OTHER HAND, SOUTHERN UTE WITH SEVEN STREAMS AND RIVERS.

AND SO, THEIR CHALLENGES WERE DIFFERENT, BUT THEN THERE WERE SIMILARITIES.

- BEFORE THE 1980S, IT WAS PRETTY ROUGH, REALLY THIRD WORLD COUNTRY.

WE HAD A WATER TRUCK GOING TO CORTEZ DAILY, WHICH IS 15 MILES AWAY.

OUR TRIBAL MEMBERS WOULD HAVE THESE BIG TANKS OUTSIDE OF THEIR HOMES.

THE WATER TRUCK WOULD COME AND PUT WATER INSIDE OF IT.

AND THAT'S WHAT THEY DEPENDED ON FOR POTABLE USE, COOKING, DRINKING.

MOST HOMES HAD OUTHOUSES.

THEY HAD VERY LITTLE PLUMBING OTHER THAN A SPIGOT OUTSIDE.

- I GREW UP IN A HOUSE WITHOUT RUNNING WATER UNTIL I WAS ABOUT 12 YEARS OLD.

THERE'S OTHER HOMES LIKE THIS WITHIN MY RESERVATION BOUNDARIES THAT STILL DO NOT HAVE ACCESS TO WATER.

THE SOUTHERN UTE RESERVATION IS 110 MILES LONG AND 75 MILES WIDE, SO IT'S A SMALL STRIP OF LAND.

BUT MY RESERVATION WAS ALSO OPENED UP TO THE SETTLEMENT ACT.

SO, THIS MEANS THAT SETTLERS CAME IN AND TOOK THE LAND THAT WAS NOT OCCUPIED BY THE NATIVE PEOPLE IN THIS AREA.

AND SO, WHAT THIS DID IS CREATE A CHECKERBOARD RESERVATION, A CHECKERBOARD LAND STATUS.

IT VERY MUCH COMPLICATES WATER AND WATER INFRASTRUCTURE, WATER DELIVERY SYSTEMS.

- IN 1908, THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT HAD DECIDED IN THE CASE OF WINNERS AGAINST THE UNITED STATES THAT TRIBES HAD WATER RIGHTS UNDER THEIR TREATIES TO SET UP THE RESERVATIONS.

THEY REASONED THAT SETTING UP THESE LANDS FOR TRIBES TO EXIST PERMANENTLY WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN WORTH ANYTHING UNLESS THERE WERE WATER RIGHTS BY IMPLICATION RESERVED FOR THOSE TRIBES.

THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT HOLDS OUR LAND AND OUR NATURAL RESOURCES IN TRUST FOR US.

THEY HAVE A FIDUCIARY RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP US PROTECT THOSE LANDS AND NATURAL RESOURCES.

THE WATER LAW IN THE WEST IS BASED UPON WHAT THEY CALL THE PRIOR APPROPRIATION DOCTRINE.

AND THAT IS FIRST COME, FIRST SERVED.

WHOEVER WAS THERE FIRST AND STARTED USING THE WATER FIRST.

TRIBES HAVE THAT PRIORITY, AND THOSE WHO CAME AFTERWARDS, THE NON-INDIANS, AND STARTED USING WATER, HAVE A LESSER PRIORITY.

SO, IN TIMES OF SHORTAGE, THEY HAVE TO GIVE WAY TO THOSE WHO WERE THERE FIRST.

THIS BASICALLY GIVES THE TRIBES PRIOR AND PARAMOUNT RIGHTS IN MOST OF THESE INSTANCES OVER STATE WATER USERS.

- IT COMES RIGHT DOWN TO THE LAST DROP.

WHO'S GOING TO LEGALLY GET IT?

IT'S GOING TO BE NATIVE PEOPLE.

FORTUNATELY, WE'VE ALWAYS BEEN PEOPLE TO SHARE.

THE UTE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT ACT WAS REALLY A METHOD OF SHARING, NOT TAKING IT ALL FOR ONE AND NONE FOR THE OTHER.

- LEADERSHIP KNEW THAT ONCE THEY SETTLED THEIR WATER, THEY WERE ALSO SETTLING WATER FOR THEIR FUTURE GENERATIONS, WHICH IS US TODAY.

- CHIEF JACK HOUSE WAS THE LAST OUTGOING TRADITIONAL CHIEF.

HE WAS REALLY LOOKING FORWARD TO WHAT THE FUTURE HAD TO HOLD.

HE ACTUALLY STARTED ON SOME OF THESE PROJECTS IN THE LATE 50S, AND IT TOOK ALMOST 50 YEARS FOR THEM TO COME FRUITION.

THE PROCESS OF IT JUST TOOK SO LONG BECAUSE ORIGINALLY, WE JUST STARTED JUST AS THE TRIBE BY ITSELF.

WE COULDN'T DO A WHOLE LOT JUST DOING IT BY OURSELVES, SO WE HAD TO PARTNER WITH OTHERS.

SOUTHERN UTE CAME IN, WE COMBINED THAT IT WAS UNDER THE 1868 WATER TREATY SETTLEMENT THAT THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OWED US.

- MY UNCLE WAS THE LATE CHAIRMAN LEONARD C. BURCH.

HE WAS THE CHAIRMAN FROM 1966 TO 1987.

SO, OVER 30 YEARS.

HE CREATED THE FOUNDATION FOR WHAT WE HAVE RIGHT NOW BECAUSE OF HIS LEADERSHIP STYLE AND THE COUNCILS BACK THEN.

THEY FORMED HOW WE WORKED WITH THE STATE OF COLORADO, AND OTHERS WITHIN THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SYSTEM, AND ALSO WITH OTHER ENTITIES.

[MUSIC] - WATER TIME PROJECTS MEANS YOU MEASURE PROGRESS IN DECADES, NOT YEARS.

AND I ALWAYS SAID ANIMAS LA PLATA IS THE MOTHER OF WATER TIME PROJECTS.

THE FIRST STUDIES WERE IN 1908.

- THE ORIGINAL DESIGN OF THE ANIMAS LA PLATA PROJECT WAS FOR IRRIGATION.

IT WAS TO PUMP WATER FROM THE ANIMAS RIVER UP AND OVER TO ANOTHER WATERSHED.

THE LA PLATA RIVER.

- THE DRY SIDE IS WEST OF THE LA PLATA RIVER, WHERE IT'S REALLY DRY.

THERE'S NO WELLS, THERE'S NO IRRIGATION.

IT'S ALL DRY FARMING.

YOU'RE AT THE MERCY OF MOTHER NATURE, AND YOU LEARN TO DEAL WITH THINGS AS THEY ARE.

- SO, THE VISION OF ANIMAS LA PLATA WAS TO TAKE THIS PART OF THE COUNTY WITH A LOT OF EXTRA WATER, BRING IT OVER TO THE SIDE OF THE COUNTY WITHOUT MUCH WATER, WITH BETTER SOILS, AND THEN START RAISING CROPS HERE THAT WAY.

THE CHALLENGE WAS HOW DO YOU GET THE WATER FROM ONE SIDE OF THE COUNTY TO THE OTHER?

INITIALLY, IT WAS THAT IDEA OF A LARGE CANAL FROM WAY ABOVE DURANGO CLEAR OVER TO THIS SIDE OF THE COUNTY.

I THINK THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT WAS WAY TOO HIGH FOR THAT.

SO, THE OTHER VISION WAS TO BUILD A RESERVOIR NEAR DURANGO.

- THE CURRENT VERSION OF THE PROJECT WOULD DIVERT WATER FROM THE ANIMAS AND PUMP IT 525 FEET UPHILL TO RIDGES BASIN RESERVOIR.

THIS STORED WATER IS THEN PUMPED ANOTHER 330 FEET UPHILL TO A SERIES OF PUMPS, PIPES, AND CANALS FOR IRRIGATION, SUBDIVISIONS, AND INDUSTRIAL USE.

ELMER TAYLOR WOULD BE MY FATHER'S FATHER.

HE WAS INVOLVED, FROM STORIES MY FATHER TELLS ME, CLEAR BACK IN THE 20S AND 30S TO TRY AND GET WATER TO THIS AREA.

AND MY FATHER, BOB TAYLOR, WAS INVOLVED IN THAT ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ANIMAS LA PLATA FOR MANY, MANY YEARS, FROM THE 60S CLEAR THROUGH THE 90S.

AND I GREW UP THINKING, "WELL, WHEN I GET BIG, WE'LL HAVE ANIMAS LA PLATA WATER HERE.” IT WAS KIND OF THE HOPE THAT I'D BE ABLE TO COME BACK AFTER COLLEGE, AND THEN FARM AN IRRIGATED FARM IN THIS AREA.

- THE PROJECT EVOLVED TO SOMETHING DIFFERENT THAN ORIGINALLY IMAGINED.

[MUSIC] THE SETTLEMENT DISCUSSIONS ACTUALLY GOT STARTED AROUND 83 AND 84.

THE IDEA OF SETTLING THE TRIBES' WATER RIGHTS THROUGH NEGOTIATION RATHER THAN LITIGATION WAS A VERY ATTRACTIVE CONCEPT TO EVERYONE, SO THAT IT COULD BE MADE CLEAR WHAT HISTORICAL USES WOULD REMAIN, HOW THE TRIBES WOULD RECEIVE AND USE WATER.

I THINK BACK THEN, IT BECAME CLEAR KIND OF EARLY ON THAT IT WAS IMPORTANT TO THE TRIBES TO RECOGNIZE THAT THEY SHARED THAT RESOURCE WITH THEIR NON-INDIAN NEIGHBORS.

- THE KEY THING THAT THE TRIBES WANTED IS THAT THEY WANTED REAL WATER, NOT PAPER WATER RIGHTS.

SO, THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A PAPER WATER RIGHT IS YOU JUST HAVE THE PIECE OF PAPER AND NO ABILITY TO USE THE WATER.

WET WATER MEANS THAT YOU NOT ONLY GET THE WATER RIGHT, BUT YOU GET FACILITIES TO HAVE THAT WATER DELIVERED TO WHERE THE TRIBES NEEDED THEM.

- THE POINT OF STORING WATER IS TO CAPTURE IT FOR USE IN DRY YEARS.

YOU CAN CONTROL AND MANAGE ITS DELIVERY BY RELEASING OUT OF THE RESERVOIR THE AMOUNTS OF WATER YOU NEED, AS OPPOSED TO JUST DEPENDING ON THE FLOW OF THE RIVER AND GETTING IT OUT OF THE RIVER ONTO THE LANDS.

IN 1986, THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE TRIBES AND THE STATE OF COLORADO WAS SIGNED.

THE FEDERAL SIDE, THE DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR, THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, GET INVOLVED, AND THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS HAS A ROLE TO PLAY BECAUSE SETTLEMENTS REQUIRE CONGRESSIONAL ACTION, AND OFTENTIMES THE AUTHORIZATION OF RESOURCES TO IMPLEMENT THEM.

THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT ACT WAS PASSED IN 1988.

- IT WAS A GLOBAL SETTLEMENT FOR BOTH UTE TRIBES IN COLORADO, AND SO IT INCLUDES SETTLEMENT ON EACH OF THE RIVERS FROM ANIMAS OVER TO CLOVER TO THE SAN JUAN.

AS PART OF THIS ARRANGEMENT, THE FACILITIES WOULD BE CONSTRUCTED FOR THE TWO TRIBES SO THAT THEIR WATER WAS REAL WATER THAT THEY COULD USE WHEN THEY NEEDED TO.

IT PARTICULARLY WORKED FOR THE UTE MOUNTAINS BECAUSE THE FACILITIES OF THE DOLORES PROJECT WERE CONSTRUCTED, AND THEN THE ANIMAS LA PLATA PROJECT WAS A JOINT SETTLEMENT WHERE BOTH THE TRIBES GOT WATER OUT OF THAT PROJECT.

- LOCATED IN THE SOUTHWESTERN CORNER OF COLORADO, THE ANIMAS RIVER RUNS RIGHT THROUGH THE TOWN OF DURANGO.

IT IS ONE OF THE LAST FREE-FLOWING RIVERS IN THE WEST.

- OTHERS GOT INVOLVED, PARTICULARLY THE LOWER BASIN STATES, WHO DIDN'T WANT TO SEE ANY WATER RESOURCE DEVELOPMENT IN THE UPPER BASIN BECAUSE THEY COULD CONTINUE TO USE WATER THAT WAS FLOWING FREELY DOWN THE COLORADO TO THEM.

NEGOTIATIONS WENT FROM BEING BETWEEN THE TRIBES AND THE STATE AND THE NON-TRIBAL WATER USERS WITHIN OUR STATE BOUNDARIES TO THIS MUCH BROADER UNIVERSE.

[CHATTER] - BUT ONE ISSUE IS RIPPING THIS COMMUNITY APART.

THE UPROAR IS OVER THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT.

- THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT WAS A DIFFICULT PROCESS FOR THE COUNTRY TO UNDERSTAND, PARTICULARLY THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY, ABOUT THE NEED TO BUILD WATER PROJECTS TO EFFECTUATE SETTLEMENTS BETWEEN INDIANS AND NON-INDIANS ON THESE WATER RIGHTS CASES.

- THE ENVIRONMENTALISTS WERE PARTICULARLY CONCERNED ABOUT, OBVIOUSLY, THE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF A DAM, WHICH WOULD FLOOD AN AREA, WHICH WOULD CHANGE THE WATER FLOWS, WHICH WOULD EFFECT THE VIABILITY OF FISH IN THE RIVER.

THE NEEDS OF LOCAL PEOPLE WERE THOSE WHOSE BUSINESSES DEPENDED ON THE FLOW OF WATER, SO RAFTERS WERE OBVIOUSLY A VERY BIG THING.

PEOPLE WERE CONCERNED ABOUT FISHING, THEY WERE CONCERNED ABOUT ALL OF THE RECREATION NEEDS, AND THEY WANTED TO MAINTAIN A FLOW OF WATER, NOT HAVE IT ALL BOTTLED UP BEHIND A DAM.

- SO, IN THE 1990S, THE RIVER RECREATION INDUSTRY WAS REALLY VERY SMALL, BUT A LOT OF PEOPLE WERE STARTING TO MOVE HERE FOR THE AMENITY OF THE RIVER.

AND WE KNEW THAT IT WAS GOING TO TAKE OFF AS A MAJOR THING FOR THE TOWN, AND THAT'S INDEED WHAT'S HAPPENED.

MY PERSONAL CONNECTION TO THE ANIMAS IS AS A KAYAKER AND A RIVER USER, BUT THAT ALSO BREEDS A DEEPER APPRECIATION FOR THE RIVER ENVIRONMENTALLY.

AND WE FIND THAT A LOT OF THE FOLKS WHO ARE INVOLVED IN PROTECTION OF THE ANIMAS ARE ALSO RIVER USERS.

- YEARS AGO, WHEN WE WERE TALKING ABOUT THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT AND THE DEMAND FOR A DAM, I WAS THE LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR, AND THE GOVERNOR ASKED ME TO ORGANIZE A NEGOTIATION TO TRY TO COME UP WITH A SOLUTION TO THE WATER NEEDS OF THE WHOLE BASIN AROUND DURANGO.

THE ROMA SHETLAND PROCESS WAS REALLY THE ATTEMPT TO NEGOTIATE A SETTLEMENT TO GUARANTEE THE UTE TRIBES THEIR WATER RIGHTS, BUT ALSO TO MAKE SURE THAT ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS WERE TAKEN CARE OF, THAT ALL OF THE VARIOUS WATER GROUPS HAD THEIR NEEDS MET.

IF CONGRESS OR THE COURTS DETERMINED THE OUTCOME, THEN THE TRIBES WERE GOING TO GET THEIR WATER, AND EVERYBODY ELSE WAS GOING TO GET LESS WATER OR NO WATER, DEPENDING ON WHERE THEY STOOD IN THE HIERARCHY OF RIGHTS.

YOU HAVE MORE USES FOR THAT WATER THAN THERE IS WATER, SO THE DILEMMA IS HOW DO YOU ALLOCATE THAT WATER FAIRLY?

- I THINK THE FIRST THING WAS HELPING TO FACILITATE DISCUSSIONS THAT KEPT ALL THE PARTIES TOGETHER SO THAT IT WAS ONE STORY, NOT THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST STORY AND THE TRIBE STORY OR THE CITY OF DURANGO'S STORY.

IT WAS THE SUM TOTAL BENEFIT OF BUILDING THIS PROJECT.

IT ADDRESSED SO MANY CONCERNS ABOUT FUTURE GROWTH, WATER FOR AGRICULTURE, AND WATER FOR THE TRIBES.

SO, WHEN THERE WERE EFFORTS TO DILUTE THAT MESSAGE AND SAY, "WELL, THAT'S AN AWFUL LOT OF MONEY TO BUILD A PROJECT FOR THESE TRIBES,” I REMEMBER ONE YOUNG LADY SAYING TO THE HOUSE BUDGET COMMITTEE, "FOR THIS AMOUNT OF MONEY, YOU COULD BUY BOTTLED WATER FOR LIFE FOR EVERY TRIBAL MEMBER.” AND THAT JUST INDICATED HOW MUCH THEY WERE MISSING THE POINT.

THIS AERIAL PHOTO SHOWS YOU THE JUST NATURAL WATER OCCURRING IN RIDGES BASIN, WHICH WAS A NATURAL BASIN THAT WAS CHOSEN AS THE BEST SITE FOR THE STORAGE FACILITY.

- THE PROBLEM WITH THE PROJECT IN THE 1990S AND PRIOR WAS THAT TWO-THIRDS OF THE PROJECT WAS FOR NON-INDIANS.

ON THE OPPONENT'S SIDE, IT WAS A GROUP OF RIVER USERS AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY WHO HAD STUDIED THE USE OF THIS WATER AND JUST WERE VERY CONCERNED THAT IT WAS NOT IN SOCIETY'S BEST INTEREST.

- THE PROJECT WOULD BE BUILT IN TWO PHASES.

INITIALLY, THERE WOULD BE CONSTRUCTION OF THE PUMPING PLANT AND MAIN RESERVOIR TO PROVIDE WATER FOR MUNICIPAL AND INDUSTRIAL USE.

THE SECOND PHASE WOULD DELIVER IRRIGATION WATER TO INDIAN TRIBAL LANDS BUT WILL NOT RECEIVE FEDERAL FUNDING.

WITHOUT FEDERAL SUBSIDIES, THIS WATER MAY NEVER BE DELIVERED, CASTING A SHADOW OVER THE SETTLEMENT AGREEMENT WITH TWO INDIAN TRIBES.

- CERTAINLY, SOME OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUPS, MAYBE MOST OF THEM, WERE VERY SYMPATHETIC TO THE TRIBES' RIGHTS.

THEY WANTED A SOLUTION THAT PRESERVED THE ENVIRONMENTAL VALUES, BUT THEY FELT THAT THE TRIBES HAD RIGHTS THAT HAD BEEN IGNORED.

BUT BEING SYMPATHETIC AND COMING UP WITH A SOLUTION WHEN YOU DON'T HAVE ENOUGH WATER FOR EVERYTHING ARE TWO VERY DIFFERENT THINGS.

THERE WASN'T ANY SENSE THAT WE COULD HAVE SOME COMMONALITY.

- BUT THE SOUTHERN UTE TRIBE IS SPLIT ON THIS ISSUE, AND MANY OF ITS 1,300 MEMBERS ARE QUESTIONING THE PROJECT'S BENEFITS.

- THE LEADERSHIP DURING THAT TIME REALLY TOOK TIME TO REALLY UNDERSTAND THE OPPOSITION, PARTICULARLY FROM THE MEMBERSHIP THAT WERE OPPOSING THE PROJECT.

- I KNOW SOMETIMES WE HEAR OUR TRIBAL ATTORNEY MAKING STATEMENTS FOR THE SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE.

- THEY ALSO TOOK TIME TO EDUCATE OTHERS IN WHAT WAS REALLY GOING ON AND HOW AND WHY THEY WERE MOVING IN THE DIRECTION THAT THEY WERE DOING.

- PEOPLE WERE BEGINNING TO TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE AND GLOBAL WARMING, BUT IT WAS NOT A FACTOR IN THE DISCUSSIONS AT ALL.

WE DIDN'T KNOW MUCH 25 YEARS AGO.

THERE'S NEVER BEEN ENOUGH WATER IN THE WEST, BUT IT WASN'T A CRISIS LIKE IT IS NOW.

WHAT REALLY FINALLY HAPPENED IS THE PEOPLE JUST DIDN'T WANT TO COME TO AN AGREEMENT.

THE STATUS QUO WORKED FOR MOST PEOPLE, BUT IT DIDN'T WORK FOR THE TRIBES.

- THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT IS THAT THE ONLY WAY TO IMPLEMENT THE INDIAN WATER RIGHTS SETTLEMENT BUT DROP THE COST OF THE PROJECT WAS TO MEET THE DEMANDS AND THE ARGUMENTS OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL COMMUNITY AND THE FISCAL CONSERVATIVES ON THE COST OF THE DELIVERY SYSTEM TO THE LA PLATA BASIN FROM THE ANIMAS BASIN FOR AGRICULTURAL USE.

- YOU OFTEN HEARD THE TERM THAT YOU NEGOTIATE AGAINST YOURSELF.

WE, BY WE, AND THIS IS I MEAN BOTH STATES, ALL THE LOCAL USERS, THE TWO TRIBES, MADE THIS OFFER.

AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT SAID, "OKAY, THAT'S GOOD.

WE WILL JUST MAKE IT HALF THAT RESERVOIR SIZE AND TAKE OUT ANY POTENTIAL FOR IRRIGATION.” AND THEN, SO THE PROJECT KEPT GETTING SMALLER AND SMALLER.

IT WASN'T A SURPRISE TO THE IRRIGATORS BECAUSE YOU COULD KIND OF SEE THE WRITING ON THE WALL.

THESE ARE PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN SECOND, THIRD GENERATION PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN THINKING THEY WERE GOING TO GET WATER OUT THERE.

THE AMOUNT OF DISAPPOINTMENT IS JUST DIFFICULT TO DESCRIBE BECAUSE IT'S SO DEEP AND SOWED THROUGH GENERATIONS.

- WHEN THAT TRICKLED DOWN TO ME, I JUST REMEMBER THINKING THAT, "WELL, I GUESS WE'LL KEEP FARMING LIKE WE'VE BEEN FARMING FOR THE LAST 40 YEARS.” WE'RE PROBABLY FARMING IN AN AREA THAT WE SHOULDN'T BE FARMING IN, BUT YOU KIND OF GROW WHERE YOU'RE PLANTED.

AND THIS IS WHERE I WAS BORN.

THIS IS WHERE I HAD A FARM TO WORK ON.

AND IN THE SOUTHWEST AREA, THIS IS THE WORST DROUGHT IN 1200 YEARS.

I THINK EVERYBODY AGREED THAT THE INDIAN TRIBES NEEDED SOME WATER.

I THINK THEY ALL REALIZED THAT THEY NEEDED AND DESERVE MORE WATER THAN WHAT THEY HAD.

- ANASAZIS, I GUESS, LIVED HERE AND DECIDED TO MOVE ON.

- WHETHER THE PROJECT WAS A GOOD WAY TO DO IT OR NOT, THAT'S PROBABLY STILL UP IN THE AIR.

- IF YOU HAD TO NAME A PERSON-- - GO A LITTLE CLOSER TO IT AND JUST SMILE FOR ME.

- --WHOSE ROLE CAME AT THE MOST CRITICAL DECISION MAKING TIME IN THE UNITED STATES CONGRESS, THEN YOU HAVE TO SAY IT WAS BEN.

BEN NIGHTHORSE CAMPBELL SAW SETTLEMENTS THAT WERE REAL BATTLEGROUNDS BETWEEN TRIBES AND NON-TRIBAL WATER USERS, AND HE KNEW THAT THIS COULD BE A MODEL FOR HOW PEOPLE CAN COME TOGETHER AND COMPROMISE.

- I WAS THE GUY THAT KIND OF PICKED UP THE PIECES THAT WERE NEVER IMPLEMENTED AND GOT IT STARTED OVER.

WHAT YOU'VE GOT TO FIND IS A CRITICAL MASS SOMEWHERE IN THE MIDDLE.

THE TRADITIONAL NATIVE WAY WAS TO SIT IN A CIRCLE SO EVERYBODY IS EQUAL.

EVERYBODY HAS A SIMILAR VOICE AND THE SAME VOICE.

AND THE UTES HAVE THAT TYPE OF LEADERSHIP.

IT'S NOT A ONE OR TWO PARTY LEADERSHIP.

AND I GUESS I KIND OF GREW UP KNOWING ABOUT THAT AND SUPPORTING IT, SO WHEN I GOT IN THE OFFICE, IT WASN'T A BIG THING TO CONVERT INTO THE TRADITIONAL INDIAN WAY OF PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE AND THE ACCEPTED PRACTICE IN CONGRESS OR THE STATE LEGISLATURE.

- IN ASKING THAT THE SENATE SUPPORT OUR VERSION OF THE ANIMAS- LA PLATA WATER PROJECT BY VOTING TO TABLE A FINE GOLD AMENDMENT.

- THE FACT THAT BEN IS NATIVE AMERICAN HELPED BECAUSE HE UNDERSTOOD THE TRIBE'S COMMITMENT AND THEIR VIEW OF THE WATER RESOURCE AS A LIFELINE.

- 25-08 HAS PASSED.

THE AYES ARE 85.

THE NOS ARE 5.

- HE HAD THE SUPPORT OF THE ENTIRE COLORADO DELEGATION AND BIPARTISAN SUPPORT.

THE 2000 AMENDMENTS TO THE ORIGINAL SETTLEMENT PUT THE DELIVERY SYSTEM ON THE SHELF.

IF THESE FACILITIES ARE EVER TO BE BUILT, THE PROPONENTS WILL HAVE TO COME BACK TO CONGRESS AND GET APPROVAL TO DO SO.

- I'VE ALWAYS SAID IT FIT THE POLITICAL REQUIREMENTS OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT IN WASHINGTON, D.C.

IT REALLY DIDN'T MEET WHAT THE LOCALS NEEDED.

IT WAS JUST BARE BONES, AS BARE BONES AS IT COULD GET.

BUT IT STILL COST, I THINK IN THE END, $500 MILLION, GIVE OR TAKE.

EVERYBODY RECOGNIZES HOW THEY HELD TOGETHER, BEING BOMBARDED ALL THE TIME WITH NEGATIVITY ON IT.

IT'S ONE OF THE BETTER PARTS OF THE PROJECT.

THERE'S A COPPER PLATE WITH EVERYBODY'S NAME ON IT, AND IT KIND OF OVERLOOKS THE RESERVOIR.

THERE'S A CAST OF HUNDREDS TO GET THIS THING GOING OVER THE DECADES.

- YOU KNEW THAT YOU HAD TO GIVE IT ALL THE TIME, AND THE EFFORT, AND THE COMMITMENT THAT WAS REQUIRED.

ALL THE PARTIES DID THAT, AND NOW WE HAVE LAKE NIGHTHORSE.

- TODAY, DURANGO RESIDENTS PRETTY MUCH KNOW THE ANIMAS-LA PLATA PROJECT PURELY AS LAKE NIGHTHORSE, WHICH IS A RECREATION FACILITY.

AND SO MANY IN THE COMMUNITY HAVE MOVED HERE SINCE THE TIME OF THE BIG DEBATE.

AND NOW, IT'S JUST SORT OF AN AMENITY TO BE ENJOYED.

IN FACT, 10, 15 YEARS AFTER COMPLETION OF THE PROJECT, LESS THAN 5% OF THE WATER IS BEING USED.

- OUR WATER HAS BEEN SITTING IN LAKE NIGHT HORSE FOR OVER A DECADE, AND IN THIS TIME PERIOD, WE'VE BEEN IN A 20-YEAR DROUGHT.

OUR PARTNERS HAVE HAD ACCESS TO THEIR WATER.

THEY'VE STARTED DELIVERY SYSTEMS.

UTE MOUNTAIN UTE TRIBE AND SOUTHERN UTE INDIAN TRIBE STILL DO NOT HAVE A DELIVERY SYSTEM.

- AS SOVEREIGN PEOPLE, SOVEREIGN NATIONS, WE HAVE THE ABILITY TO USE OUR WATER HOW WE SEE FIT, BUT NOT ACCORDING TO OUR WATER SETTLEMENT.

AND SO, WHEN WE'RE TALKING ABOUT OUR FUTURE USE, WE KNOW THAT THE ONLY WAY TO PROTECT OUR WATER, TO PROTECT THE SPIRITS OF THE WATER, IS TO USE IT.

ONE THING THAT WE DO KNOW IS THAT WE WILL FIND A WAY TO DEVELOP THAT WATER.

- RIGHT NOW, WE JUST WANT TO HOLD THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABLE FOR THE AGREEMENT WE HAD ON THE ANIMAS LA PLATA.

WE, TOO, ARE SIMILAR TO EVERYBODY ELSE IN THE COLORADO RIVER BASIN, THE 40 MILLION PEOPLE THAT DEPEND ON THIS WATER.

- EVERYBODY TALKS ABOUT CONSERVATION, MAYBE IN DIFFERENT WAYS.

THERE'S A GREATER REALIZATION THAT WATER IS FINITE.

IT IS, IN OUR SOCIETY, NECESSARY TO HAVE ALL THE VOICES HEARD AND NOT JUST THOSE THAT SPEAK THE LANGUAGE THAT YOU SPEAK.

- OUR VOICE IS GOING TO BE VERY, VERY IMPORTANT AS WE GO FORWARD IN THE NEGOTIATIONS, PARTICULARLY WITHIN THE COLORADO RIVER SYSTEM.

WE DO NOT WANT TO RECREATE PAST MISTAKES.

- WE REALLY NEED TO REMEMBER WHO WE ARE AS HUMAN BEINGS AND NOT FORGETTING WHAT IS AROUND US, BUT ALWAYS LOOKING TOWARD THE FUTURE OF OUR CHILDREN AND OUR GRANDCHILDREN, THE ONES THAT ARE NOT HERE YET.

YES, WE'RE TALKING AND ADVOCATING FOR OUR PRESENT TODAY.

WHAT ABOUT 10 YEARS FROM NOW, OR 20 YEARS, OR 50 YEARS?

WHAT'S IT GOING TO LOOK LIKE?