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<br />
<br />Idaho in the negotiations, says talks on the in-stream
<br />V.' flows have not yet started. However, he expects an agree-
<br />ment could be in place as early as 1992.
<br />The broader adjudication, however, is proceeding
<br />less rapidly, "I guess it would be fair to say that we have
<br />the paperwork done now, and we're heading into the
<br />substantive issues," says Strong. The paperwork alone
<br />has taken three years. The rest of the project is set to be
<br />completed by 1996.
<br />
<br />WYOMING ENGINEER REFUSES TO
<br />RECOGNIZE INDIAN WATER CODE
<br />
<br />A:ier almost 70 years of watching virtually unlimited
<br />diversions of water from the upper reaches of the
<br />ind River in west -central Wyoming, the
<br />Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes have tried to reduce the
<br />flows that had long been going to non-Indian irrigators.
<br />But, despite a U.S. Supreme Court ruling backing the
<br />tribe's water rights, state officials have refused to en-
<br />force the Indians' demands.
<br />Last summer, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
<br />Wind River Reservation's right to 500,000 acre-ft of
<br />water a year from the river, with an 1868 priority date
<br />. (see WATER RIGIITS August 1989). That put the tribes
<br />far ahead of other users on the river, in terms of both
<br />water quantity and seniority, In May, the tribes took
<br />steps to begin managing their newfound entitlement. In-
<br />dians on the reservation, located at the headwaters of a
<br />watershed that contributes an average of 1.2 million acre-
<br />
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<br />I}~~'<:/,:,," _,' " ,- ' _",~ - I
<br />~;CoDsultlng Editor ::.. . . . ;
<br />
<br />rvafP~~~~ .....2~~~,<1
<br />,.". ContributOrs .'d'
<br />: Mill)' DeTurris, Todd Sugent .
<br />~: Editorlai Bo8rd .
<br />,~_" 1.aiJy Bcddome;. !
<br />['. Salt RMr PI!lied,
<br />" Water RiP" Division, I'IIoeiu..
<br />Paul A. R<cbanl, . . , .
<br />Western WaterConsuItan... Laninic; w,o.
<br />Leonard Rice, . . .
<br />, Leonard Ria: ConsuItan... ncn..r.
<br />{.. B.....t E. Spronk, . .
<br />, Sptont Water EDgiDcers, DeIMr. ,.
<br />. . ,
<br />
<br />WATERRIGIITS is publi&bcd lIIOIItb!ibytIte Americ:ait
<br />Society 0( 0viI Bogin..... 34S E. 47th St., New York, NY
<br />10017, Di=t ""'apondence to: Rowan! SmaUowil%,
<br />Editor, Water RiP'" P.O. Box 8496, AuotiD, TX
<br />'l871~%. 019110, American Society 0( CMI Eogjneels. .
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<br />2 JUNE 1990
<br />
<br />0220
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<br />ft of water a year to the Missouri River basin, adopted
<br />an interim Tribal Water Management Code in April and
<br />dedicated part of their 1868 priority water rights to en-
<br />hance in-stream flows along a SO-mi stretch of the river
<br />above Boysen Reservoir.
<br />Kate Vandemoer, !noal water engineer for the
<br />Shoshone and Arapahoe tribes, says that in most years
<br />there are sufficient flows in the Wmd River to meet the
<br />needs of both irrigation districts and senior !noal rights,
<br />What is at issue, she said, is coordinated administration
<br />of water rights along the stream system. She says that the
<br />U.s, Bureau of Reclamation and state officials have en-
<br />couraged the overappropriation of water rights
<br />downstream from Diversion Dam, a BuRec project on
<br />reservation land.
<br />"This is a historic turning point for Indian tribes in
<br />the West," she says, "Now that federal courts have
<br />decreed water rights to meet the purposes of the reserva-
<br />tion and have authorized the tribes to administer those
<br />rights, it is only proper that those senior water rights be
<br />put to use to benefit the tribes."
<br />Yet computerized tribal-monitoring stations have
<br />shown frequent unauthorized water withdrawals by non-
<br />Indian irrigators in the Midvale Irrigation District. As
<br />the irrigation season began at the beginning of May,
<br />stream-flow levels in the main stem of the river dropped
<br />about 100 cfs below those requested by the tribes.
<br />Under Wyoming stale law, irrigators are allowed to
<br />divert 1 cfs per 70 acres of land and 2 cfs per 70 acres if
<br />surplus conditions exist. However, tribal officials say that
<br />in the past, Midvale irrigators have diverted substantially
<br />more than 2 cfs per 70 acres water duty. Records from
<br />the U ,S. Geological Survey confirm the Indian claims.
<br />Tribal officials say that in the past, the state engineer
<br />and BuRec officials have had little incentive to regulate
<br />closely the flows from Diversion Dam to the Midvale
<br />District. Now, they say, that has to change.
<br />In mid-May, the !nOes, in conjunction with the U.s.
<br />Fish and Wildlife Service, released about 50,000 brown-
<br />trout fmgerIings in the river as part of a plan to rebuild
<br />the prime fIShing habitat of the region, which has been
<br />degraded due to diversions for livestock forage and
<br />other crops. Irrigation practices by non-Indian irrigators
<br />frequently leave little flow in the W"md River during the
<br />spring and late summer. The practice of flushing silt
<br />deposits from area canals has also degraded water
<br />quality in the river. Tnoal officials say that they need
<br />more consistency in the flows to guarantee the integrity
<br />of the fisheries.
<br />"These are the kinds of fIShing conditions that other
<br />people in the West strive to attain. The streams and
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