CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) — Defenders of Walker Lake announced this week that they intend to bring a water rights case with broad implications back to federal court after being dealt a blow in the Nevada Supreme Court a week earlier.
After the state court ruled water rights couldn't be reallocated to sustain rivers and lakes long-term, Mineral County and the Walker Lake Working Group want to know if the "public trust doctrine" can be used to mandate alternative water management methods, like conservation incentives.
The fate of Walker Lake could reverberate throughout the U.S. West, where states are balancing laws mandating preservation with already allocated water rights.
