{"id":43244,"date":"2021-12-15T04:13:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-15T11:13:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-future-of-drought-ute-mountain-ute-tribe-looks-at-life-with-less-water\/"},"modified":"2026-03-31T03:12:25","modified_gmt":"2026-03-31T09:12:25","slug":"a-future-of-drought-ute-mountain-ute-tribe-looks-at-life-with-less-water","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/a-future-of-drought-ute-mountain-ute-tribe-looks-at-life-with-less-water\/","title":{"rendered":"A future of drought? Ute Mountain Ute Tribe looks at life with less water"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=ec2c8708-12c4-593e-ab4e-fc2d1edcf52d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" width=\"1600\" height=\"1067\" alt=\"An irrigation ditch carries water to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land on Oct. 20 near Towaoc.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">An irrigation ditch carries water to the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land on Oct. 20 near Towaoc.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>In the Ute Mountain Ute language, <em id=\"emphasis-fe4e6a633cbdea2b673c777f3e70a084\">paa<\/em> is the word for water, <em id=\"emphasis-86aa0f716e1f10f69199be1f46c1f974\">n\u00fcvav<\/em> means \u201csnow,\u201d <em id=\"emphasis-f78fe1c97aa88dc7569ccecb37dc04b3\">uway<\/em> means \u201cto rain,\u201d and <em id=\"emphasis-0108b3e47db7b23bde411b5284dc9399\">t\u00fchpar \u00fcat\u00fcaa<\/em> means \u201cdried up cropland.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>These words weigh heavily on the minds of Ute Mountain Utes in Southwest Colorado because they are missing the critical ingredients of snow in the mountains and rain in the valleys.<\/p>\n<p>Tribal member Wilford Lang drove a tractor for more than 20 years for the tribe\u2019s 7,600-acre alfalfa and corn farm, southwest of Towaoc.<\/p>\n<p>He has seen water supply fluctuate up and down. But when flows in the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir came in at 10% for the 2021 season, he and 20 other workers on the farm suddenly lost their jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was one of the main guys, but no water, no crop no equipment operators needed,\u201d said Lang, 45. \u201cBefore when we had droughts, we managed to keep working. This one was worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Water is sacred for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, and with less to go around, the tribe is searching for ways to augment its supply.<\/p>\n<p>Tribal elders remember water scarcity long before the Colorado Ute Water Rights Settlement of 1988, which provides water for tribal lands from the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir.<\/p>\n<p>Vera Summa remembers the 1950s, when she and her grandmother collected water  from the springs and mesas of Sleeping Ute Mountain. During winter, adults, elders and children collected snow in bundles and hauled it out on their backs, Summa said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGet the snow and melt it, that is how we used to drink water,\u201d she said. \u201cThe snow used to be 3 feet in the mountains. We collected it and stored the water in barrels.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-video wp-block-embed-youtube naviga-video-embed\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/PT-D14gXjOQ\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p>The Mancos River runs through Ute Mountain reservation lands, but it dried up after Jackson Reservoir was built in 1950 to serve the Mancos area upstream, said elder Laverna Summa, Vera\u2019s sister.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe water just quit. It was salty water, and we did not depend on it,\u201d Laverna Summa said. \u201cWe traveled by horse and wagon to fill up containers with water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen I was a little girl, there were a lot of streams that came from springs on the Ute Mountain where we always collected water,\u201d added tribal elder Colleen Cuthair-Root. \u201cWhen I visit those places today, the springs are not seeping any more.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Water shortages are happening again, brought on by a worsening dry spell that started in 2002.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5006b5dd-4e8b-5fe9-8f62-368b9aaa9bfd&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"A center-pivot irrigation system is idle in an alfalfa field on Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land in late October. Fallow, drought-stricken fields have replaced  alfalfa and corn harvests during the worst water year in McPhee Reservoir history.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A center-pivot irrigation system is idle in an alfalfa field on Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land in late October. Fallow, drought-stricken fields have replaced  alfalfa and corn harvests during the worst water year in McPhee Reservoir history.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=af753204-1ec1-5726-b7a9-dde4379f751d&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises near Towaoc on Nov. 10.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises near Towaoc on Nov. 10.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=3ecc4ec1-c774-5de9-a35c-d0a2eb11bf43&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ute Mountain Ute Tribe elders Laverna Summa and Vera Summa pose in front of traditional tribal leaders in Tribal Council. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ute Mountain Ute Tribe elders Laverna Summa and Vera Summa pose in front of traditional tribal leaders in Tribal Council. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jim Mimiaga<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=397f6495-e37e-54ef-9c03-e52e39480e41&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Center pivots sit in an alfalfa field on Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land. Shiprock rises from the horizon in San Juan County,New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation south of Towaoc.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Center pivots sit in an alfalfa field on Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land. Shiprock rises from the horizon in San Juan County,New Mexico, on the Navajo Nation south of Towaoc.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>In 2021, drought-stricken fallow fields have replaced the bounty of alfalfa and corn harvests on the Ute Mountain Farm &amp; Ranch operations, an economic hardship brought on by the worst water year in McPhee Reservoir history.<\/p>\n<p>Marginal mountain snowpack was sucked up by dry ground and whisked away on the warm spring wind.<\/p>\n<p>The runoff from mountain snowmelt never made it to McPhee, where the water level already was low from the previous parched year.<\/p>\n<p>The 2021 deficit caused a 90% water shortage for farmers tied to the Dolores Water Conservancy District, including the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe.<\/p>\n<p>The tribe\u2019s 7,600-acre farm received just 10% of its 24,517 acre-foot allocation.<\/p>\n<p>The water shortage dried out fields and brought financial challenges for the farming and ranching operations. The tribe laid off half its farmworkers, about 20 total, most of whom are tribal members.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat is the hardest part, losing jobs,\u201d said General Manager Simon Martinez. \u201cThe silver lining is we kept our corn mill fully staffed and operational.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Farm operations include the Bow and Arrow mill, a state-of-the-art facility opened in 2014 that sells non-GMO, gluten-free and kosher cornmeal to food manufacturers, grocery stores and distilleries.<\/p>\n<p>The mill\u2019s products are used to make chips, polenta, pasta, grits, cornbread, whiskey and more.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=eb05ad8d-65ba-513c-bb4a-f48bb18af93b&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Simon Martinez, general manager of the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand and Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises, talks Oct. 20 near Towaoc about how drought and reduced irrigation have affected crop production.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Simon Martinez, general manager of the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand and Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises, talks Oct. 20 near Towaoc about how drought and reduced irrigation have affected crop production.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=4363ec78-04a0-5c73-ade9-3706771e2b5c&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"The Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill on Oct. 20 near Towaoc.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">The Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill on Oct. 20 near Towaoc.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e14bca02-0f65-5d07-b919-01d9c06101bb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ethan Summa, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc, prepares a bag of ground corn to be shipped.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ethan Summa, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc, prepares a bag of ground corn to be shipped.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Martinez used most this year\u2019s limited water supply to irrigate the white, yellow and blue corn crops and keep the mill and its staff of 13 going. The tribe\u2019s ranching operation, with a 600 cow-calf herd, has been kept whole.<\/p>\n<p>So far, business has been brisk at the corn mill, but the drought weighs on everyone\u2019s mind.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRight now, we\u2019re busy, but we could run out of corn \u2013 that\u2019s kind of at the back of your mind,\u201d said Aarion Eyetoo, the mill\u2019s quality assurance manager. \u201cWe need these jobs to support our families.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schuyler Jacket, who has worked 12 years in the fields and at the mill, senses the change in climate.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt feels like this is the first time we have been hit this hard by drought. Before, we had a few dry spells here and there \u2013 not like this, though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The modern Ute Farm and Ranch deploys 110 center-pivot sprinklers during normal years. Only 10 operated this year.<\/p>\n<p>Lang operated tractors, combines and swathers on 110 circle farms that usually green up the desert south of Towaoc, at the toe of Sleeping Ute Mountain.<\/p>\n<p>In the late 1990s, he was there when the alfalfa farms became fully developed, thanks to tribal water rights and a steady flow of water from McPhee Reservoir, built in the 1980s.<\/p>\n<p>He experienced development of the Bow and Arrow Brand corn mill, new crop plans, and the transition to satellite technology on tractors, which automatically directs machines along the most efficient crop line to save fuel and time.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are very modern, the farm has been good at adjusting, we control our corn sales now instead of contracting it out. I learned different machines. It all depends on water though,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=0b9f03a5-708f-55b1-b3b2-e11c0fa61f58&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"David Pettigrew, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc, fills a bag with ground corn Oct. 20.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">David Pettigrew, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc, fills a bag with ground corn Oct. 20.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=e7f21f4f-902b-51bd-a0f2-d1e7a022be48&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Simon Martinez, general manager of the Ute Mountain Utes\u2019 Bow &amp; Arrow Brand and Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises, walks past bags of ground corn to be shipped out of the tribe\u2019s mill.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Simon Martinez, general manager of the Ute Mountain Utes\u2019 Bow &amp; Arrow Brand and Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises, walks past bags of ground corn to be shipped out of the tribe\u2019s mill.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Lang said the farm and ranch operation and Bow and Arrow corn mill have been an economic boon for the tribe. They provide well-paying careers for many tribal members and create a deep sense of pride.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe see it on the shelves in stores, and know we are a part of it,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The 2,000-member Ute Mountain Ute Tribe does not have the geologic resources or wealth of its sister tribe, the Southern Utes to the east. Ute Mountain Utes depend heavily on tribal enterprises for revenue, including the Ute Farm and Ranch, Ute Mountain Casino,  Weeminuche Construction Authority., Ute Mountain Tribal Park, the Travel Center and Ute Mountain Pottery.<\/p>\n<p>By contrast, the 1,200-member Southern Ute Tribe is one of the wealthiest tribes in the country, thanks to its oil and gas operations.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">Corn and alfalfa yields down<\/div>\n<p>During normal water years, Martinez said, the farm harvests 2,000 acres of the corn varieties, enough to sell to other farms. But dry conditions this year allowed it to grow corn on only 500 acres, with lower yields per acre, and all it reserved for the Bow and Arrow mill operations.<\/p>\n<p>The tribe has 70,000 bushels of corn in silos from last year, plus this year\u2019s harvest of 100,000 bushels \u2014 a fraction of the 500,000-bushel harvest in normal years.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=6243ce5c-4770-5150-be9f-4ce07d9ad372&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"A truck kicks up dust at Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land near Towaoc.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">A truck kicks up dust at Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises land near Towaoc.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5eade8d9-dc42-5b19-8093-ae60b6011a77&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises tanks store water for land and livestock near Towaoc.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ute Mountain Ute Tribe Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises tanks store water for land and livestock near Towaoc.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5c7b518a-83e9-5e3e-beeb-bfb674fe56b2&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ethan Summa, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill, weighs a bag of ground corn Oct. 20.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ethan Summa, with the Ute Mountain Ute Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill, weighs a bag of ground corn Oct. 20.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Likewise, the tribe this year grew only 1,200 acres worth of its premier alfalfa, which is coveted by Texas dairy cow operations because of its high relative feed value, produced by Southwest Colorado\u2019s warm days and cool nights. That compares with 5,000 acres in normal years.<\/p>\n<p>The drastic drop in crop revenue fell short of the $660,000 in annual delivery costs for the water on the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation\u2019s Towaoc-Highline Canal.<\/p>\n<p>So far this year, Martinez said, the tribe has paid $150,000 of that bill and has asked the Bureau of Reclamation for drought assistance to pay the rest.<\/p>\n<p>The request is being reviewed, said Robert Stump, of the Reclamation office in Cortez.<\/p>\n<p>Martinez and his reduced farm staff still must tend to thousands of acres of fallow fields, and they are discing the soil and controlling weeds to prep the fields for next year.<\/p>\n<p>Long-term forecasts for the Four Corners region of Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona and Utah call for abnormally dry and hot weather.<\/p>\n<p>Ute Mountain tribal member Ethan Summa, who works in the corn mill,  sees the water crisis as motivation for the community to collaborate more on the issue.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are all in the stalemate together, we\u2019ve got to come up with a solution,\u201d he said. \u201cWhen McPhee is low, it is not just a tribal issue. Everyone around us is impacted.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Martinez hustles through every day, managing operations, overseeing deliveries, taking phone calls and crossing items off a large whiteboard in his office.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=24ecd17b-4f90-50ee-9d77-99861ae830d4&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Blue cornmeal grown by the Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises and processed at the Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc. Small bags of the meal are sold by the tribe and distributed to retailers.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Blue cornmeal grown by the Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises and processed at the Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc. Small bags of the meal are sold by the tribe and distributed to retailers.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=9b4b0e87-aa63-59f2-8252-fdcdd57400fb&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Blue cornmeal grown by the Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises and processed at the Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc. The small bags are sold by the tribe and distributed to retailers.\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Blue cornmeal grown by the Ute Mountain Ute Farm &amp; Ranch Enterprises and processed at the Bow &amp; Arrow Brand mill near Towaoc. The small bags are sold by the tribe and distributed to retailers.<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jerry McBride<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>He said Ute Farm and Ranch will adjust to a likely future with less water.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe will decide next year what crops we can grow with the water we do have,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cI am optimistic by nature, but what are the chances we will get our full 24,500 acre-feet from now until March? The weather\u2019s really got to change.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">Senior water rights buffer drought impacts<\/div>\n<p>Ute Mountain Ute water rights have a complex history.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the Colorado Ute Water Rights Settlement of 1988, the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe gave up 1868 rights on the Mancos River in exchange for more junior water rights to the Dolores River in McPhee Reservoir, said Mike Preston, a water consultant for the tribe.<\/p>\n<p>The settlement was made partly in response to the Mancos River going dry through Ute Mountain Ute land after Jackson Lake was built upstream in Mancos.<\/p>\n<p>As original inhabitants, Native American tribes have inherent water rights, which were codified by the Winters Doctrine, a 1908 U.S. Supreme Court decision that mandates that tribal reservations have access to water.<\/p>\n<p>As part of the 1988 settlement, the Dolores Project and McPhee Reservoir satisfied Ute Mountain Ute water rights via delivery from McPhee and the gravity-fed 39-mile Towoac-Highline Canal to Ute Farm and Ranch.<\/p>\n<p>The settlement also created a reliable domestic water line to Towaoc from the Cortez water treatment plant, which gets the water from McPhee.<\/p>\n<p>Ute Farm and Ranch shares  equally with other water district farmers when water supply is below normal.<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, the tribe took a 90% hit this year, along with other ranches and farms. The fish pool, 32,500 acre-feet earmarked for native fish habitat downstream of McPhee Reservoir, also took the cut. Municipalities do not share in the shortage.<\/p>\n<p>McPhee, the Dolores Water Conservancy District and the tribe are more exposed to drought because their water rights on the Dolores River are junior to those of Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co.<\/p>\n<p>In these dry times, the tribe has redoubled its efforts to study and potentially claim all  its water rights, including on the San Juan River, said Ute Mountain Ute Chairman Manuel Heart. The river touches the Ute Mountain reservation while flowing from New Mexico to Utah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe  want to look into and pull back our water rights on the San Juan. Downstream they will say, \u2018It impacts us\u2019 because they have been using it all this time, but not if we have the rights,\u201d Heart said.<\/p>\n<p>Colorado\u2019s prior appropriation water system of  \u201cfirst in line, first in right\u201d can leave more junior water right holders high and dry in extreme drought, a situation that is playing out now.<\/p>\n<p>The practicality and fairness of the system in a new era of aridification and chronic water shortage has been a point of discussion, Heart said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have been here the longest, but don\u2019t have senior status, plus we have O&amp;M costs on the canal to get our water,\u201d Heart said. \u201cWe\u2019re seeing a megadrought. In the future if the drought gets worse, who will get cut short, Montezuma, Cortez or us?\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The tribe has hired additional staff to work on water issues, and Heart encourages leaders to \u201cthink out of the box.\u201d He said the tribe should have looked into buying Totten Lake, which recently was sold to Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. Totten feeds McElmo Creek, which flows through tribal lands.<\/p>\n<p>The tribe still has junior rights on the Mancos River, Heart said, and could put out a \u201ccall\u201d on the river. The process would trigger a tighter accounting of diversions by the state water engineer to see whether the tribe is losing out on any of its water rights.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019d like to talk about adding storage to Jackson Lake, so we could release our share down the Mancos and collect it here,\u201d Heart said. The water could augment water shortages from the Dolores River and McPhee Reservoir.<\/p>\n<p>When Cuthair-Root served a term on Tribal Council and learned about the tribe\u2019s water rights position with McPhee Reservoir, she felt there were benefits, but shortcomings as well.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t like the terms. Whether we receive our allocated water or not, we still have to pay the canal costs,\u201d which are more than $600,000 per year, she said. \u201cThe council should revisit water appropriations, have a discussion and timeline to modify, to see if anything can be done to help out the tribe.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">Montezuma Valley Irrigation Co. has senior rights<\/div>\n<p>Montezuma Valley Irrigation\u2019s senior water rights date to 1888 and 1885 and include the first 795 cubic feet per second of the Dolores River. Anything above that flow mostly goes to Dolores Water Conservation District.<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-scoreboard\">\n<h4 class=\"scoreboard-title\">McPhee Reservoir water serves multiple users<\/h4>\n<p>Water allocations from McPhee Reservoir and Dolores Project are divided among multiple users. At full capacity, the reservoir delivers up to 278,482 acre-feet of water per water season in the following amounts:\u2014 Full-service farmers: 62,267 acre-feet of water for 29,000 acres in Montezuma and Dolores counties.\u2014 Ute Mountain Ute Tribe: 24,517 acre-feet for 7,600 acres.\u2014 Downstream fishery: 31,798 acre-feet. The fish pool is stored in McPhee Reservoir, and releases downstream are managed by Colorado Parks and Wildlife.\u2014 Montezuma Valley Irrigation District: 90,000 to 150,000 acre-feet for  26,300 acres.\u2014 City of Cortez: 2,300 acre-feet.\u2014 Town of Dove Creek: 280 acre-feet.\u2014 Dolores Water Conservancy District: 5,120 acre-feet.\u2014 San Juan River fish and wildlife water: 800 acre-feet diverted for federal mitigation of wetlands and Totten Lake in Cortez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>In normal runoff years, the river flows well above that level and is enough to satisfy MVIC rights and fill McPhee reservoir.<\/p>\n<p>But during extreme dry periods, MVIC\u2019s senior position buffers the impact of drought somewhat for its shareholders because at lower flows, their river rights are more senior and more likely to be filled.<\/p>\n<p>MVIC, which stores water in Narraguinnep, Groundhog and Totten reservoirs, has rights to about 130,000 acre-feet of Dolores River Basin water annually. This year, it  received only 92,000 acre-feet because of the drought.<\/p>\n<p>The poor snowpack caused a 30% shortage this year for MVIC, and the irrigation season was shortened by about 20 days, said MVIC manager Brandon Johnson.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s pretty scary when you look at the long-term forecast, pray for good snow in the Dolores Basin,\u201d he said. \u201cWe made it through this year, but farmers definitely had less water to work with and lower crop yields.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"naviga-element naviga-subheadline1\">Drought brings change to community<\/div>\n<p>After the layoffs, Lang\u2019s restless energy and established work ethic did not allow him to sit by idle for long.<\/p>\n<p>With fields lying fallow, he took a job as a gym coordinator for the tribe\u2019s recreation center, and sees new doors opening if the farm job doesn\u2019t come back.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cOrganizing games and exercise programs for youth and the community is something I\u2019ve often thought about doing. Less money though,\u201d Lang said. \u201cI do miss the farming, it is familiar and comfortable. Here, I\u2019m learning something new.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He has basketball coaching experience and looks forward to the North American Indigenous Games and the Tri-Ute Games, which host competitive events between the three Ute tribes in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Lang said the Ute Farm and Ranch and Bow and Arrow corn mill have been an economic boon for the tribe. They provide well-paying careers for many tribal members and create a deep sense of pride.<\/p>\n<p>He became aware of tribal job opportunities through internship programs when he was a student, and he would like to see that continue and grow.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs a young person, the internship is what got me interested in farming and ranching,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s so important to show our youth the opportunities we have here. They are our future leaders.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He remembers taking student tours with professionals to archaeology sites, the tribe\u2019s Weeminuche Construction company, farms, cattle operations, the casino, Ute Mountain pottery and office jobs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSetting up that interest early is what will lead to our tribal members leading these organizations,\u201d Lang said. \u201cWe need more of those internships.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>He passed on the farming bug to his oldest children, who have also driven tractors on the tribe\u2019s farm.<\/p>\n<p>The drought changed Lang\u2019s life.<\/p>\n<p>The uncertainty has him longing for 10-hour days in the tractor harvesting the tribe\u2019s bounty, but at the same time it might have opened up new career possibilities.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHonestly, I never thought I\u2019d lose my job from drought. I always knew what farms go through, but it was still a surprise when it happened,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=f098ea0e-aaef-5eaa-bba4-4e0b276cc512&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Wilford Lang, of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, was laid off from his farming job driving tractors because of the drought. He took a job as gym coordinator for the tribe's recreation center in Towaoc and hopes to return to farming next year. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Wilford Lang, of the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, was laid off from his farming job driving tractors because of the drought. He took a job as gym coordinator for the tribe's recreation center in Towaoc and hopes to return to farming next year. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jim Mimiaga<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image naviga-inline-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/imengine.public.prod.dur.navigacloud.com\/?uuid=5b25fae8-e81d-530e-b7fd-39c88f972bd5&amp;function=cover&amp;type=preview&amp;source=false&amp;width=2000\" alt=\"Ute Mountain Ute elders Vera Summa, Laverna Summa and Colleen Cuthair-Root are concerned about the ongoing drought's impact on the tribe. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)\" class=\"naviga-image\" loading=\"lazy\"><figcaption><span class=\"caption\">Ute Mountain Ute elders Vera Summa, Laverna Summa and Colleen Cuthair-Root are concerned about the ongoing drought's impact on the tribe. (Jim Mimiaga\/The Journal)<\/span><span class=\"credit\">Jim Mimiaga<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p><p>Cuthair-Root said Ute Mountain Ute ancestors have a story about a future persistent drought.<\/p>\n<p>Her grandmother told of a premonition about the earth getting dry and wildfires ravaging the landscape.<\/p>\n<p>Sleeping Ute Mountain, a sacred mountain range that forms a silhouette of a Ute warrior reclining in full headdress, rises up to save the people, according to the story.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHe scoops up the people by the handful, and whoever he collects are the ones saved. They enter the mountain, and there is enough harvest in there to get them through,\u201d Cuthair-Root said. \u201cOur elders saw this. It\u2019s worrisome, as the years go by, we are seeing less and less water.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-b0fefaec43f246a21f0fa6b4b1404662\">Support for this story was provided by the Colorado Media Project, Water Education Colorado, and the Gates Family Foundation.<\/em><\/p>\n<p><em id=\"emphasis-1cd224e71542a497a734013a6e6b13f4\"><a href=\"mailto:jmimiaga@the-journal.com\">jmimiaga@the-journal.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Limited water supply consolidated to keep corn crop and flour mill operating; jobs lost, canal payment assistance requested<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":43245,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[281,21,80,28,280,445,547,295],"naviga_topic":[],"class_list":["post-43244","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","tag-agriculture","tag-cortez","tag-dove-creek","tag-headlines","tag-mcphee-reservoir","tag-newsletter-lead","tag-ute-mountain-ute-indian-tribe","tag-water"],"acf":[],"author_name":"dh_admin","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43244","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=43244"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43244\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":85630,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/43244\/revisions\/85630"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/43245"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=43244"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=43244"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=43244"},{"taxonomy":"naviga_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dh.durangoherald.com\/tj\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/naviga_topic?post=43244"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}