Chapter 5 – Assessment of Current Tribal Water Use and Projected Future Water Development 5.1 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (Ute Indian Tribe) 5.1.1 Introduction The Ute Indian Tribe is located on the Uintah and Ouray Reservation (Reservation) in northeastern Utah, approximately 150 miles east of Salt Lake City, Utah. The Reservation lies within the drainage of the Upper Colorado River Basin. The Ute Indian Tribe consists of three bands: Uintah, White River, and Uncompahgre. They once lived in an area from the Wasatch Front all the way to the Colorado Front Range – from present-day Salt Lake City to Denver. The Uintah Band is indigenous to what is now known as the State of Utah and has lived in the area since time immemorial. Under the early federal government policy of removing Indian tribes from their homelands for white settlements, the original 2,080,000-acre Uintah Valley Reservation was established for the Uintah Band by President Abraham Lincoln by Executive Order of October 3, 1861, and ratified by the United States Congress in 1864. The Uncompahgre Reservation was approved by the United States Congress by the Act of June 15, 1880, and was set apart as a reservation by President Chester A. Arthur’s Executive Order of January 5, 1882. Commissioner of Indian Affairs Eugene E. White characterized the Uncompahgre Reservation as a desert, with the exception of small areas of farmland on the White River and Willow Creek. The White River and the Uncompahgre Bands were moved by the federal government from what is now Colorado to the Uintah Valley and Uncompahgre Reservations, respectively. In 1934, the three Bands organized pursuant to the provisions of the Indian Reorganization Act of June 18, 1934 (48 Stat. 984, as amended), and formed the Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation. Federal policy shifted to assimilating the Indian tribes into the mainstream culture with the Indian General Allotment Act of February 8, 1887. The Act promoted Life on the Uintah Valley Reservation, circa 1874 Used by permission, Utah State Historical Society the breakup of Indian reservations into individual allotments (that is, Indian homesteads) on which Congress expected the Indians to farm and become self-sufficient. Following the distribution of allotments to members of the Indian bands, the Commissioner of Indian Affairs described the conditions on the reservations in his annual report for 1905: The future of these Indians depends upon a successful irrigation scheme, for without water their lands are valueless, and starvation or extermination will be their fate. December 2018 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation 5.1-1 See the Disclaimer and Introduction to Chapter 5.0. Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study Today, the Reservation is the second largest Indian reservation in the United States, covering more than 4.5 million acres. The Ute Indian Tribe has a tribal membership of almost 4,000 individuals, a majority of whom live within the exterior boundaries of the Reservation. The Act of Jun 7, 1897, first opened the Uncompahgre Reservation for location and entry to non-tribal settlement on April 1, 1898. In 1905, the federal government opened the Uintah Valley Reservation to non-tribal settlement. Land ownership within the boundaries of the Reservation, therefore, is complicated due to both the checkerboard surface land ownership and differing sub- surface ownership (for example, mineral rights). Figure 5.1-A presents a general location map with Reservation boundaries, communities, and other important features. 5.1-2 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation December 2018 See the Disclaimer and Introduction to Chapter 5.0. Chapter 5 – Assessment of Current Tribal Water Use and Projected Future Water Development FIGURE 5.1-A Ute Indian Tribe Map December 2018 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation 5.1-3 See the Disclaimer and Introduction to Chapter 5.0. Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study 5.1.2 Physical Setting The Uintah Valley portion of the Reservation lies within the Uinta Basin, a bowl-shaped basin framed by the Uinta Mountains to the north and the Wasatch Range to the west. The Uncompahgre portion of the Reservation also lies within the Uinta Basin and the Green River drainage, extending south and east from the Uinta Valley to the Utah-Colorado border. The terrain of the Reservation varies from high alpine forest in the north and west to fertile agricultural land between about 5,000 and 6,500 feet in the center to remote semi-arid Desert valleys in the south of the Reservation near the Green River. desert hills and canyons in the south. The Source: Ute Indian Tribe elevation of the Reservation varies from 4,400 feet at the southern tip to over 13,000 feet in the northern mountains. Tribally-owned lands on the Reservation encompass a variety of geographic regions, as shown in the photographs on this page. These include the lower alpine forests of the Uinta Mountains, fertile floodplains of the Duchesne River and its tributaries, arid highlands south of the Strawberry River, and desert canyons and drainages stretching east along the White River and south along the Green River. 5.1.2.1 Watersheds Agricultural lowlands below the Uinta Mountains. The northwestern area of the Reservation Source: Ute Indian Tribe consists of five major river drainages with seven contributing rivers that generally flow southeast and east into the Green River. The Duchesne River system to the west drains from the Wasatch and Uinta Mountains through major tributaries that include Rock Creek, the Strawberry River, the Lake Fork River (with its major tributary the Yellowstone River), and the Uinta River (with its major tributary, the Whiterocks River). The White River and other desert tributaries, including Willow Creek and Bitter Creek, drain the southeastern area of the Reservation into the Green River. The Uinta River flowing in a glacial valley of the Uinta Mountains. Source: Ute Indian Tribe 5.1-4 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation December 2018 See the Disclaimer and Introduction to Chapter 5.0. Chapter 5 – Assessment of Current Tribal Water Use and Projected Future Water Development 5.1.2.2 Hydrogeology The shallowest aquifers in the Uinta Basin are the alluvial aquifers. Much of the alluvium in the stream valleys is too thin, narrow, and discontinuous to be considered a major aquifer; however, some of the larger alluvial deposits in the Uinta Basin are locally important sources of water, providing an estimated safe yield of approximately 32,000 acre-feet per year (AFY). The quality of water in the alluvial aquifers is generally better than the other aquifers in the region because of its primary origin as snowmelt and relatively short residence time in the aquifer. In addition to alluvial aquifers, three principal aquifer systems of regional extent are present in the Uinta Basin: the Uinta-Animas Aquifer, the Mesaverde Aquifer, and the Dakota-Glen Canyon Aquifer system (Table 5.1-A). Safe yield from the Uinta-Animas Aquifer is estimated to be about 207,062 AFY. Groundwater in the aquifer generally contains high levels of salinity, ranging from 500 to over 6,000 milligrams per liter (mg/L), and reaching 10,000 mg/L in some of the deeper areas. Yield and storage in the Mesaverde Aquifer has yet to be quantified. Water quality in the aquifer is extremely variable, with dissolved solids ranging from about 1,000 mg/L in narrow basin-margin areas of the aquifer that are recharged by infiltration from surface-water sources to more than 35,000 mg/L in the central part of the Uinta Basin. The State of Utah performed a water balance for the Uinta Basin and estimated approximately 630,000 AFY of groundwater recharge, with roughly 21,060 AFY being withdrawn from wells and springs. TABLE 5.1-A Groundwater Basins in the Uinta Basin Useable Capacity Basin Name (AF) Safe Yield (AFY) Alluvial Aquifers 200,000 (est.) 32,000 (est.) Uinta-Animas Aquifer Not Quantified 207,062 (est.) Mesaverde Aquifer Not Quantified Not Quantified Dakota-Glen Canyon Aquifer Not Quantified Not Quantified 5.1.2.3 Climate The climate on the Reservation varies geographically. Average annual precipitation varies from less than 10 inches in the central and southeastern parts of the Reservation to upwards of 30 inches in the high mountains of the northwestern part of the Reservation. Temperature varies similarly, with average annual highs ranging from 52 °F near Moon Lake to 64 °F in Ouray and average annual lows ranging from 24 °F near Moon Lake to 34 °F near Bonanza. Extreme temperatures vary from a low of -43 °F, measured at Ouray in January 1979, to a high of 108 °F, measured at Ouray in July 2001. December 2018 Ute Indian Tribe of the Uintah and Ouray Reservation 5.1-5 See the Disclaimer and Introduction to Chapter 5.0. Colorado River Basin Ten Tribes Partnership Tribal Water Study Drought has been a common occurrence on the Reservation throughout history, and the future impacts of climate change present concerns for the future livelihood and health of the region. Tribal lands suffer during frequent drought cycles that reduce available water supplies, especially since tribal water storage has not been developed. Due to current and expected future water shortages, significant changes in water storage and use practices will become critical, as increased regional temperatures would raise crop The Uinta River flowing in a glacial valley of the Uinta irrigation requirements and alter precipitation Mountains. cycles. Source: Ute Indian Tribe 5.1.3 Historical Use and Cultural Importance of Water 5.1.3.1 Early Tribal Water Use (to 1906) Prior to the Reservation’s establishment, the Ute Indian Tribe’s ancestors utilized water for all purposes necessary to sustain their nomadic hunting and gathering-based lives.