U.S. v. U.S. BD. OF WATER COM'RS

Nos. 15-16316, 15-16317, 15-16319, 15-16321, 15-16323, 15-16489.

890 F.3d 1134 (2018)

UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner, Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff, and Nevada State Engineer, Respondent-Appellant, v. UNITED STATES BOARD OF WATER COMMISSIONERS, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees, and Nevada Department of Wildlife; California State Water Resources Control Board; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents, Walker Lake Working Group; Walker River Irrigation District, Defendants. United States of America, Plaintiff, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner, Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff, and Nevada Department of Wildlife, Respondent-Appellant, v. United States Board of Water Commissioners, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees, and Nevada State Engineer; California State Water Resources Control Board; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents, Walker Lake Working Group; Walker River Irrigation District, Defendants. United States of America, Plaintiff, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff, Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff, and National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner-Appellant, v. United States Board of Water Commissioners, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees and Nevada State Engineer; Nevada Department of Wildlife; California State Water Resources Control Board; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents Walker Lake Working Group; Walker River Irrigation District, Defendants. United States of America, Plaintiff, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner, Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff, and Walker River Irrigation District, Defendant-Appellant, v. United States Board of Water Commissioners, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees, and Nevada State Engineer; Nevada Department of Wildlife; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents, Walker Lake Working Group, Defendant. United States of America, Plaintiff, Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner, and Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant, Walker Lake Working Group, Defendant-Appellant, v. United States Board of Water Commissioners, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees, and Nevada State Engineer; Nevada Department of Wildlife; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents, Walker River Irrigation District, Defendant. United States of America, Plaintiff, National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Petitioner, Mineral County, Intervenor-Plaintiff, and Walker River Paiute Tribe, Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant, v. United States Board of Water Commissioners, Participant-Appellee, Backtrack, LLC; Bale Counter, Inc.; Gary M. Berrington; Berrington Custom Hay Hauling & Trans., Inc.; Damian, Ltd.; Peter A. Fenili; GDA Degree, Inc.; Gary G. Garms; Gary J. Garms; Kari D. Garms; Toni Garms; Garmsland Limited, LLC; High Sierra Garlic; Jackaroo, LLC; Settelmeyer-Rosse Ranch Management, LLC; Six-N-Ranch, Inc.; Straggler, LLC, Objectors-Appellees, and Nevada Department of Wildlife; Nevada State Engineer; California State Water Resources Control Board; Mono County, California; Lyon County, Nevada, Respondents, Walker Lake Working Group; Walker River Irrigation District; Joseph Landolt; Beverly Landolt, Defendants.

United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit.

Filed May 22, 2018.


Attorney(s) appearing for the Case

Don Springmeyer (argued) and Christopher Mixson , Wolf Rifkin Shapiro Schulman & Rabkin LLP, Las Vegas, Nevada; Jamie Morin , Mentor Law Group PLLC, Seattle, Washington; for Petitioner-Appellant National Fish and Wildlife Foundation.

Micheline Noel Nadeau Fairbank (argued) and Bryan L. Stockton , Senior Deputy Attorneys General; Adam Paul Laxalt , Attorney General; Office of the Attorney General, Carson City, Nevada; for Respondent-Appellant State of Nevada.

Gordon DePaoli (argued) and Dale E. Ferguson , Woodburn and Wedge, Reno, Nevada, for Defendant-Appellant Walker River Irrigation District.

Simeon Herskovits (argued), Advocates for Community & Environment, El Prado, New Mexico; Sean A. Rowe , Mineral County District Attorney, Hawthorne, Nevada; for Plaintiff-Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant Mineral County and Defendant-Appellant Walker Lake Working Group.

Wes Williams Jr. , Law Offices of Wes Williams Jr. P.C., Schurz, Nevada, for Intervenor-Plaintiff-Appellant Walker River Paiute Tribe.

Karen A. Peterson (argued), Justin M. Townsend , Kyle A. Winter , and Willis M. Wagner , Allison MacKenzie Ltd., Carson City, Nevada, for Participant-Appellee United States Board of Water Commissioners.

Elizabeth Ann Peterson , David L. Negri , Andrew "Guss" Guarino , Katherine J. Barton , David C. Shilton , and William B. Lazarus , Attorneys; John C. Cruden , Assistant Attorney General; United States Department of Justice, Washington, D.C.; for Amicus Curiae United States of America.

Jan Zabriskie , Deputy Attorney General; Annadel A. Almendras and Tracy L. Winsor , Supervising Deputy Attorneys General; Robert W. Byrne , Senior Assistant Attorney General; Office of the Attorney General, Sacramento, California; for Amicus Curiae California State Water Resources Control Board.

Before: A. Wallace Tashima, Raymond C. Fisher, and Jay S. Bybee, Circuit Judges.


OPINION

Water was plentiful when the first settlers arrived in northwestern Nevada ten thousand years ago. Massive Lake Lahontan spread from the Sierra Nevada to the Carson Sink, the Black Rock Desert, and as far as California and Oregon. "The world," they said, "was...

Let's get started

Leagle.com

Welcome to the leading source of independent legal reporting
Sign on now to see your case.
Or view more than 10 million decisions and orders.

  • Updated daily.
  • Uncompromising quality.
  • Complete, Accurate, Current.

Listed below are the cases that are cited in this Featured Case. Click the citation to see the full text of the cited case. Citations are also linked in the body of the Featured Case.

Cited Cases

  • No Cases Found

Listed below are those cases in which this Featured Case is cited. Click on the case name to see the full text of the citing case.

Citing Cases