Clearing Up the Cloudiness: Water Rights on Public Lands

The Courts have determined that the States have the authority to allocate the rights to unappropriated waters on the National System of Public Lands. The Public Lands Foundation (PLF) advocates public ownership of the rights to waters on public lands to ensure that the water will remain on the land for livestock, wildlife and the other multiple uses that occur within the National System of Public Lands. The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) should actively pursue a program of acquiring the rights to waters on public lands by filing applications with the appropriate state water agencies, and through negotiations with the holders of existing water rights on the National Public Lands.

Continued;

http://www.publicland.org/14_position_statements/PLF_2010_05_water_rights_nspl.html