Court Opinion

ID: 9797701
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 04:27:28.836393+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T08:57:48.627371
License: Public Domain

Justice WALTERS,
specially concurring in the dissent by Justice SILAK and dissenting separately.
I concur with what has been written by Justice Silak. My own independent legal research and consideration of the positions urged by the parties to this action lead me to the conclusion that the federal government has an implied water right with respect to the three wilderness areas under review. I also agree that the reservation of the waters in the tributaries in the Hells Canyon National Recreation Area Act includes all of the water in those tributaries and that quantification of the amount (which would be a momentous if not impossible undertaking) is not necessary. I will add only a few additional observations.
In this case, Justice Sehroeder, writing for the majority of the Court, has focused upon the question of whether there is an implied reservation of water rights created through the enactment of the Wilderness Act. On the *940other hand, Justice Silak not only disagrees with the conclusion reached by Justice Schroeder as to the effect of the Wilderness Act, but proceeds to take the analysis a step further and considers the language of the statutes that created the wilderness areas in Idaho that are the subject of this dispute. Justice Silak points out that the language in those statutes clearly show an intent to give the federal government the responsibility of protecting the wilderness character of the land through preserving its values for watershed and water quality relationships. This approach does not depend upon the generality of the terms of the Wilderness Act, but is tied directly to the legislation and comments specifically related to the areas set aside in Idaho pursuant to the Act.
I am persuaded that the creation of a wilderness area by the federal government included retaining control over the water needed to maintain the natural state of the environment in such an area. This seems to me logically to be necessary for the benefit of campers, hikers, photographers, kayakers, rafters, boaters and fishers who could utilize and enjoy the existence of streams, rivers, lakes and waterfalls in maintaining the pristine nature of the designated area. It would seem necessary also for the management and protection of big game animals, birds, fish and other wildlife dependent upon the water in the area, in order to preserve the character of the area as a wilderness undeveloped by man. To allow pollution or diversion of those waters by upstream owners of private property would clearly frustrate and essentially destroy the purpose of the wilderness reservations.
It could be argued that without reserved water rights, the areas in question would still remain wilderness nonetheless, albeit perhaps with a more harsh, desolate and less attractive and less desirable character than would be found with responsible management of the water flows within the boundaries of the designated areas. However, I doubt that Congress truly intended to create a “better” wilderness in the nature of an eventual desert in the forestlands of Idaho by ignoring the implied need for a water right.
Finally, I would address another concern sometimes raised with respect to the issues presented to the Court in this case. Fears have been expressed about the amount and nature of control of water that may be exercised by the federal government while the water is located within the boundaries of the Idaho wilderness areas. In my opinion, the authority attendant to an implied water right does not give the government the right to control any part of that water once it flows out of the area. It is not reasonable to suggest that, in its management of the wilderness areas, the government could, for example, impound the water in the area in some great lake in order to later transport the water to another situs, or to otherwise control the use of the water once it has served its purpose within the wilderness area and flows from the area toward the sea. Such an attempted activity by the government certainly would be beyond the authority needed to carry out the objectives either of the Wilderness Act or of the legislation creating the three wilderness areas in Idaho.
Because of the disagreement among the members of the Idaho Supreme Court about the effect of the federally created Winters doctrine, I suggest that the parties seek certiorari to the United States Supreme Court for clarification of the application of that doctrine to this case.