In April, the four Upper Basin States, Colorado, New Mexico, Utah, and Wyoming, through the Upper Colorado River Commission, along with the six Upper Basin Tribes, Jicarilla Apache Nation, Navajo Nation, Southern Ute Tribe, Ute Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and Shivwits Band of Paiutes, signed a historic MOU solidifying the Tribes-States Dialogue between the UCRC and the Tribes. At that meeting, Chairman Manual Heart from the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe outlined the “Four U’s” of Tribal water rights: Unused, Uncompensated, Unquantified, and Undeveloped. The Upper Basin Tribes submitted a letter to the Commissioner of Reclamation, Camille Calimlim Touton, asking for Reclamation to work with the Tribes and States to mitigate these concerns. The Upper Basin States, through the UCRC, submitted a companion letter in support of the Upper Basin Tribes to derive benefits from their settled but unused and undeveloped water rights. These letters illustrate the continued and deepening collaboration between Tribes and States in the Upper Basin to address critical Colorado River issues.
Both letters are linked/attached below.