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Environmental Issues During the two decades following World War II. development of California's water was virtually unimpeded. It was not until the 1970s that environ- mental considerations were factored into the water supply equation. Legislation was enacted to protect the environment as environmental awareness grew. Attention also was focused on "in stream uses" of water to benefit fish and wildlife, recreation, water quality and aesthetics - uses to which price tags cannot easily be attached. By 1990. these uses rivaled such traditional benefits as irrigation and navigation in importance. Such instream uses are recognized by the state constitution and Water Code as beneficial and must be considered in administra- tive decisions and in issuing water rights permits. The past two decades have seen few major water development projects, because of costs and passage of strict state and federal environmental protective legislation. California has been a leader in environmental protection since the 1970s. It instituted some ot the toughest state environmental legislation. The California Legislature was the first in the country to protect rare plants and animals through passage ot mm!.mII The change in values over time is reflected in the case of Mono Lake, a strangely beautiful saline body of water located west of Yosemite National Park in the Sierra Nevada. In 1940, the city of Los Angeles was granted permits to divert water from four of the seven tributaries feeding Mono Lake. It was acknowledged that these diversions would lower the lake's level. However, at that time a higher value was placed on urban water supply than on environmental uses. Forty years later, the water level of the lake had dropped more than 40 teet. The decline in the lake level and simulta- neous increase in salinity jeopardized the basin's unique shrimp and bird population. The lowered lake also uncovered stretches of the lake bed which contains high levels of alkali. When exposed to the wind dust storms are created that are harmful to the respiratory system. In 1979, the National Audubon Society joined with the Mono Lake Committee in a lawsuit against the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP), charging that the state, as supervisor of the public trust, was obligated to protect navigable bodies of water against diversions caus- ing environmental damage. In a 1983 landmark decision, the California Supreme Court held that the public trust doctrine applied to Los Angeles' rights to divert water from Mono Lake's feeder streams. It held that the state retains jurisdiction over these rights and may reconsider the impact on public trust, which in addition to commerce, navigation and fishing, includes wildlife habitat. The necessity of protecting the public trust was to be determined by balancing the value and cost of instream water needs against the benefits and costs of diversions. In response, an injunction was issued in 1991 by a superior court halting LADWP's water exports. Concurrently, an appellate court in a 1989 ruling and follow up decision held that LADWP's licenses must be modified to allow sufficient flow to rees- tablish tisheries. The litigation over Mono Lake continued until October 1994 when the State Board amended Los Angeles' water rights to pro- tect and restore the lake and its tributary creeks. In 1998, the State Board adopted additional restoration plans for Mono Lake. Currently about 6385 feet above sea-level, the lake is expected to meet the State Board mandated height of 6,392 feet above sea-level in about 10-15 years. Eighty-three miles ofrhe Tuolumne Ri\'er iI/Horrellm of Nell' D01l Pedro Dam (Ire prorecIedfromfitrrher d(Te/opmelll by srate a1ld federal/mi's presen'illg \vild and scenic ri\'ers. ~~ = 19