Public Rights at the Headwaters

Abstract

Steadily increasing emphasis on the aesthetic, environmental, and recreational importance of America's water—particularly in the western states—is calling into question the substance of established water policies. In recent years, courts have tended to recognize and apply the public trust doctrine, which requires government protection of publicly important natural resources. One state, Montana, has undertaken major efforts to integrate public rights into its prior appropriation system by implementing water reservations, facilitating stream access, revising water permit requirements, limiting private appropriation, and controlling state water leasing.