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f 0043 . - 2 - . 11. bAC~GROUND In brief, th~ proponent~ of the federal non-reserved rights theory assert that by enactment of various land use statutes "Congress authorized the United States to appropriat~ unappropriated water available on the public domain" implicitly, without regard to the substantive provisions of state water law,il and that such "federal non-reserved water rights are not dependent upon the substantive contours of state water law."!!/ Tne Prior Opinion asserts that, since the Federal i,overnmenr has never granted away its right to make use of unap?ropriat..d water on federal lands, ". . . the United States has retained its power to vesr. in itself water rights in unappropriated waters and llIay exercise such power independent of substantive state law."ll Sucn water rights wete assetted to be available to fulfill authorized congressional purposes on the public domain, r~served and acquired lsnds, could be consumptive and could be used for "fish and wildlife, scen1"c values, and areas of critical environmental concern."~/ The priority date was said to be the dste of initial use, and the quantity of the right determined by the requirements necessary to carry out "congressionally authorized management objectives on federal lands. ":!J The Supplemental OpinlOn amended and modified the prior Opinion by concluding that neither the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 197t> (fLPKA) !2.1 nor the Taylor Grazing Act of 1934 11/ authorized the bureau of Land Management (SLH) to claim water rights under the expansive "non-reserved" rights theory. The Supplemental Opinion did not, however, uniformly deny the existence of a federal "non-reserved" wat~r right. The concept of the "non-reserved" wster rights has b~en the subject of continu- ing debate and controversy. ill State officials have stridently criticized federal control of state water resources. There is great uncertainty concern- ing the practical application, if any, of the non-reserved rights theory by ~./ 8& I.D. at &15. ~ 8& I.D. at 577. Jj 8& I.D. at 571. 81 8b 1.U. at 615. 2.1 8& 1. D. at 574. 10/ 43 U.S.C. i 1701 et seq. (197&). ll/ 43 U.S.C. i 315 et seq. (l97b). ~I !!!' D. Freudenthal, Federal Non-Reserved Water Rights, 15 Land and Water L. kev. 6b (1980); Simms, National Water Policy in the Wake of United States v. New Mexico, 20 Nat. Resources J. 1 (198U); Gould, Solicitor Issues Opinion on Federal Water kights, 1, Rocky Mtn. Min. L. Fdn., Water L. Newsletter 1 (No.3 1979).