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existing legal and institutional systems for controlling instream flows of inter- and intra-state waters. 5. A Regional Problem Analysis conducted by the Water Resources Research Institutes of Washington, Oregon, and Idaho stressed the need for improved coordinative mechanisms among State and Federal agencies for determining instream flow needs and effecting their enforcement. Historically, water rights could be obtained in the West only through a State appropriation for the purpose of applying the water out of the stream to some "beneficial" use. What constitutes a beneficial use is defined by State law. Beneficial uses historically included only municipal, industrial, stock watering, agricultural, and mining. However, there has developed a widespread recognition of the necessity for maintaining water in the stream for such uses as recreation, fish and wildlife production, and aesthetic enjoyment. This recognition has grown both in public opinion and in water administration. Such recognition is particularly critical in the face of increasing water demands for energy development and expanded agricultural production. Indeed, recent legislation and court decisions point to the need to identify instream flow requirements and to quantify their magnitude. By 1974 it was clear that a national program of sufficient scope and funding depth was needed to address the issue in a comprehensive, coordinated (i.e.,