Document Type

Article

Publication Date

12-30-2014

Abstract

The State of Wyoming's general stream adjudication in the WindBig Horn Basin ÔÇ£Big HornÔÇØ adjudication effectively concluded in September 2014 after thirtyseven years Lengthy costly and often contentious this proceeding addressed diverse water rights claims submitted by over 20000 parties Perhaps most notable were claims for reserved rights asserted by the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribes on the Wind River Indian Reservation ' claims that when considered by the US Supreme Court in Wyoming v United States raised salient issues regarding the practicably irrigable acreage PIA standard and related sensitivity doctrine then espoused by certain members of the Court Drawing mainly on primary sources in a digital archive created for the Big Horn adjudication this Article offers a comprehensive survey of the proceeding It initially situates the adjudication within the WindBig Horn Basin and the jurisprudential backdrop of western water law and it subsequently chronicles the adjudication's three distinct yet interconnected phases The narrative offers many insights into the composition of general stream adjudications and their relative value as mechanisms for resolving claims of federal state and tribal sovereigns to water resources Also illuminated is the precedent set by the adjudication for water allocation and management within the WindBig Horn Basin ' a precedent it is hoped will foster collaboration and innovation in the future

First Page

243

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