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<br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br />I <br /> <br />-19- <br /> <br />2395 <br /> <br />Though it has not been unanimously accepted, there has been a <br /> <br /> <br />general assumption since the Supreme Court's decision in Arizona v. <br /> <br /> <br />California that Indian water rights will generally be quanti- <br /> <br /> <br />fied using a method based on the number of PIA acres on a <br /> <br /> <br />reservation, Obviously, such a determination is closely tied <br /> <br /> <br />to the total amount of Indian land, which, as the chart <br /> <br /> <br />demonstrates, is substantial. <br /> <br />Refinement of the PIA standard has brought to it a <br />technical and site-specific meaning based not only on geo- <br />graphic land features but on economic factors as well, It <br />remains to be seen whether this refinement means that less <br />land is eligible for water under the standard than some ob- <br />servers may have previously imagined. In any event, possible <br />water right awards based on a standard which hinges on reser- <br />vation size could be immense. <br /> <br />As large as the PIA rights could be for certain reser- <br /> <br /> <br />vations, in some areas, especially the Northwest, PIA rights <br /> <br /> <br />might be dwarfed by rights based on other theoretical standards <br /> <br /> <br />to, for example, protect fish resources. While fisheries <br /> <br /> <br />do not consume water, they often require substantial mini- <br /> <br /> <br />mum flows to protect fish habitat or maintain spawning <br /> <br /> <br />grounds, For a reservation located substantially downstream <br /> <br /> <br />on a river, this could mean preclusion of many upstream <br /> <br />diversions, <br />