A Comparative Guide to the Western States' Public Trust Doctrines: Public Values, Private Rights, and the Evolution Toward an Ecological Public Trust

Authors

Robin Kundis Craig, The Florida State College of Law

Document Type

Publication

Journal/Book Title/Conference

Ecology Law Quarterly

Volume

37

Issue

1

Publisher

University of California

Publication Date

1-1-2010

First Page

53

Last Page

198

Abstract

In the arid West, balancing private needs for fresh water to consume against the public values-recreational, aesthetic, and ecological-served by leaving fresh water in situ has tended to favor the private use side. Evidence of this result is both massive and minor, ranging from California's multi-billion-dollar water transportation system,¹ to the routine de-watering of the Colorado River so that little to no water reaches the Sea of Cortez,² to water-related Endangered Species Act lawsuits in dozens of watersheds. ³

Recommended Citation

Craig, Robin Kundis, "A Comparative Guide to the Western States' Public Trust Doctrines: Public Values, Private Rights, and the Evolution Toward an Ecological Public Trust" (2010). All In-stream Flows Material. Paper 16.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/instream_all/16