Gathered in the Wind River Hotel and Casino’s large entertainment room, legal practitioners and scholars, water
managers, students and other interested parties convened for the Big Horn General Stream Adjudication Symposium—a landmark event in the world of western
water law. The symposium, which took place September 10-12 with approximately
200 attendees, marked the conclusion of a 37-year adjudication process that
determined water rights in the Wind-Big Horn River basin located in
northwestern Wyoming and encompassing portions of Fremont, Hot Springs,
Washakie, Big Horn, Park, Natrona, and Johnson Counties.
The adjudication—a legal
proceeding in which a court determines the amount, priority and nature of water
rights held by parties along a watercourse—began in 1977, and a final decree
was entered in it on September 5th, 2014. The corresponding
symposium was planned to bring involved parties together to reflect on the
adjudication process and to look to the future.
“The essential goal was to organize
an event that would educate attendees from diverse backgrounds about the Big
Horn general stream adjudication, and to promote dialogue about the challenging
issues posed by the adjudication as well as the future of water management in
the basin now that the final decree has been entered,” said Professor Jason
Robison of the College of Law at the University of Wyoming, and an organizer
for the event.
This adjudication was
particularly complex because of the enormous number of parties and legal claims
involved. The final decree needed to consider Indian reserved rights, federal
reserved rights and the individual water rights of hundreds of irrigators who
depend on the stream system. The Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes,
who reside on the Wind River Reservation adjacent to the headwaters of the
basin, have their own tribal water code, which also came into play during the
adjudication.
The symposium hosted a
variety of speakers and panelists, including federal, state and tribal
officials who participated in the adjudication over the last 37 years. During
the two days of talks and presentations, panelists provided insight into the
complexities of the proceeding, regional perspectives on other adjudications in
the American West, and thoughts on the future
of water management in the basin after entry of the final decree.
“It is profound to have all
these thinkers here... The common thread is water and its associated issues,
including adjudication,” said Northern Arapaho Tribal Liaison, Gary Collins,
about the Symposium.
On Thursday of the Symposium,
Mr. Collins, along with Baptiste Weed and Jim Pogue of the Tribal Water
Engineer’s Office, led a narrated field trip through the Ray Canal system. The
system, which was put in place to irrigate 11,000 acres of tribal land, has
been a source of debate between tribal members and federal agency officials.
According to Collins, the system requires approximately $90 million of
improvements.
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| Symposium participants brave snow and rain to tour the Ray Canal system. |
Yet even with problems
identified and expressed by concerned parties, many saw this event as a success
and a necessary step forward to enhance dialogue.
“Some of the discussion
today, if not most of it the last two days, should have occurred years ago,”
said Collins. “This conference was very appropriate, very informative. It
helped set some of the framework for the future.”
Robison agreed. “I am hopeful
that the event set a precedent for future collaboration among the diverse
stakeholders with interests in the basin's water resources. I'm also hopeful that the event will lead to
additional interdisciplinary collaboration at UW.”
By Manasseh Franklin
Photo courtesy of Liz Nysson
