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;, i ~~ -_ Public Trust Doctrine ^ A state owns "all of its navigable waterways and the lands lying beneath them 'as trustee of a public trust for the benefit of the people."' ^ The doctrine was imparted from English common law into U.S. state law through the equal footing doctrine. ^ The state holds a generally irrevocable interest in the lands (City of Berkeley v Superior Court). ^ The state may regulate structures or activities that impair navigation and similar trust purposes (People v Gold Run Ditch and Mining Company). ^ The California water code establishes the exclusive method for appropriation of water in the state but does not subsume the public trust doctrine (National Audubon Society v Superior Court). Plaintiffs' strategies ^ Documented the nature and extent of degradation caused by the diversions through extensive use of historical photographs, land surveys, diaries and other records that preceded the 1940 permits; ^ Invested heavily in expert testimony in all scientific disciplines pertinent to evaluating how alternative diversion schedules and other remedies would affect the natural resources of the Mono Basin; and ^ Helped secure public funding to develop a replacement for the water supply lost to Los Angeles as a result of the court and water board decisions Mono Lake, California In 1994, following fifteen years of litiga- tion, the California Water Resources Control Board (Water Board) amended Los Angeles's rights to divert from the creeks that flow into Mono Lake, to restore the natural values of the tributaries and the lake itself. The Mono Lake action is the first time in California history that a city's water diversions have been limited for the express purpose of protecting the public trust values of a navigable lake. History of the Mono Lake Litigation Since the turn of the century, Los Angeles has looked north to supplement its limited local water resources. In 1934, it applied to the Water Board for permits to divert from the five tributaries to Mono Lake, located approximately 350 miles north of the city on the eastern side of the Sierra mountains. In 1940, the Water Board granted permits authorizing diversions in excess of the average natural flows of these tributaries. Los Angeles promptly com- pleted the necessary diversion facilities, although its diversions averaged only two- fifths of the permitted maximum. In 1974, the Water Board finalized the permits as licenses, and Los Angeles expanded the capacity of its aqueduct. Thereafter, until 1979 when the Mono Lake litigation was inititiated, Los Angeles diverted nearly four-fifths of the average flows of the tributaries. These diversions caused significant damage to Mono Lake and its tributaries. By 1979, the lake level had sunk more than forty vertical feet, stranding boat docks and beaches and creating a broad, dusty shoreline. By nature a sink without outlet, the lake became substantially more saline as a result of the diversions, thus endanger- ing its suitability for migratory waterfowl. The diversions also periodically dried up the tributaries, greatly damaging the riparian vegetation and fish habitat. In 1979, the Mono Lake Committee (MLC) and the National Audubon Society sued to enjoin Los Angeles's diversions on the theory that the waters, bed and shores of the navigable Mono Lake are protected by the public trust doctrine. This com- plaint was an unprecedented effort to apply this judge-made or common law doctrine to limit a municipal water diversion in California.