Conflicts Over The Use Of Water: Examples From The American West By Bradley T. Cullen University of New Mexico

Frontier Worldview  Settlers saw a hostile environment to be conquered and cleared as quickly as possible;  Settlers believed there would always be more!!!

Beginnings of the Federal Role in Resource Conservation ( ) *1872 – Yellowstone National Park  1891 – Forest Reserve Act  1892 – Sierra Club founded  – Theodore Roosevelt President  1905 – U.S. Forest Service established  1912 – U.S. National Park Service created

Gifford Pinchot  “The first great fact about conservation is that it stands for development. There has been a fundamental misconception that conservation means nothing but the husbanding of resources for future generations. There could be no more serious mistake…The first principle of conservation is the use of the natural resources now existing on this continent for the benefit of the people who live here now.”

John Muir  Everybody needs beauty as well as bread, places to play in and pray in, where nature may heal and give strength to body and soul.  One may as well dam for water tanks the people's cathedrals and churches, for no holier temple has ever been consecrated by the heart of man.

Water Problems  Not enough  Not in the right place  Too much

Los Angeles Aqueduct

Federal Water Projects  Carry-over storage reservoirs

Water Law  Perpetual right to use water by capturing it and putting it to beneficial use

Colorado River Aqueduct

Shasta Dam

Central Valley Project

Oroville Dam

California Water Project

Central Valley Agriculture 1911

Central Valley Agriculture Today

Southern California

Las Vegas

Phoenix

Silvery Minnow’s Decline  Water impoundment for agriculture  Decreased and interrupted stream flow  Canalization of the river

Enforcement of ESA  1994 – Listed as endangered  1999 – Designation of critical habitat (FWS)  1999 – Declared arbitrary and capricious  2001 – Issuance of Biological Opinion  2002 – Rio Grande Silvery Minnow vs. Key  2003 – Appeals Court upholds decision

Judge Parker’s Ruling  “If the Court allows the Rio Grande to dry this year (2002) as proposed by the FWS and BOR, the federal agencies will have violated the ESA, and the Court will have failed in its Congressionally-mandated duty to afford injunctive relief to prevent further harm to the species.”

Dissenting Opinion  The ESA, “like Frankenstein, despite the good intentions of its creator, has become a monster.”

Water Restrictions  Spring & Summer Watering Restrictions –No sprinkler usage between 11:00 am and 7:00 pm

State Water Law  Prior appropriation –‘first in time, first in right’

Water Banking System  Water rights can be sold  Few mechanisms for selling surplus water

Land-Use Policy and Water Law  Public utility law –Duty to service all customers in its service area –Service priced at the average rather than the margin  Restrictions on water use