V. Conclusions
When Congress designated Crater Lake National Park it reserved sufficient water for Park purposes, which include domestic and administrative uses, fire protection, preservation of the Park’s scenic, natural and historic conservation uses, and preservation of wildlife, with a priority date of 1902. Later additions to the Park reserved water for all Park purposes as of the date of the later acquisitions.
Notes
1 This “Executive Order” is a one-page hand-written document with no apparent citation.
2 See, e.g., Statement and Proof of Claim to the Use of Surface Waters of the Klamath River and Its Tributaries (Claimant: United States of America, National Park Service), Claim #591 at 2 (hereinafter Claim #591).
3 See, e.g., claim to “Mainstem of Sun Creek,” List of Priority Dates for Crater Lake and All Stream Reaches (Exhibit App.-7), at 8.
4 See, e.g., Claim #591, paragraph 7.
5 Winters v. United States, 207 US 564, 577 (1908).
6 Cappaert v. United States, 426 US 128, 141 (1976).
7 United States v. New Mexico, 438 US 696, 715 (1978).
8 Id. at 700.
9 New Mexico, 438 US at 700.
10 The United States Supreme Court cases establishing federal reserved rights have described such rights as arising when the federal government reserves land “from the public domain.” See, e.g., New Mexico at 698; Cappaert, 426 US at 138. From that it could be argued that no reserved rights attach to acquisitions from private ownership. The Ninth Circuit, however, has held that acquisitions from private ownership do carry reserved water rights. United States v. Anderson, 736 F2d 1358, 1361-1362 (9th Cir. 1984).
11 Act of May 22, 1902, ch. 820, §§ 1-2, 32 Stat. 202 (1902).
12 Act of Aug. 25, 1916, ch. 408, § 1, 39 Stat. 535 91916).
13 Based on Congress’s stated intent to leave the park “unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations”, the Colorado water court stated “it appears that Congress * * * intended to reserve all of the unappropriated water in the park for park purposes. * * * The fact that the entire flow is needed is sufficient quantification of the right.”Concerning the Application for Water Rights of the United States of America for Reserved Water Rights in Rocky Mountain National Park, No. W-8439-76, at 8-9 (Colo. Dist. Ct. Water Div. 1, Dec. 29, 1993) (memorandum of decision and order) (emphasis added).
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