By Mark JaffeThe Denver Post
MONTROSE — A whitewater torrent rushed over the Crystal Dam on Wednesday and coursed into Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
The release marked the end of a 36-year battle by the National Park Service to win an annual spring discharge from a series of dams upstream to cleanse and scour the river through the canyon.
"This has been one of the longest, most complex water-right battles in Colorado," said Drew Peternell, an attorney for the sportsmen's group Trout Unlimited.
