A federal appeals court has handed the U.S. government a major victory in a fight over water rights in Idaho, Courthouse News reported.
In a ruling with broad implications for public lands and water policy across the West, the Ninth Circuit determined that Idaho could not use its livestock-related water rules to strip the federal government of rights it already held.
Here's what to know
A three-judge Ninth Circuit panel overturned part of a lower-court decision, concluding that Idaho's stock water amendments were unconstitutional.
The panel found that the amendments ran afoul of the Supremacy Clause because their practical effect targeted federal water rights.
At issue was stock water, meaning water used for livestock. Under Idaho's rules, a rights holder could lose those rights without proving that livestock were actually using the water or that the holder had an "agent" — such as a rancher — who would.
Because the federal government owns more than 60% of Idaho's land but does not raise livestock itself, the rules threatened its water rights unless ranchers were allowed to use them.
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Writing for the unanimous panel, U.S. Circuit Judge Jennifer Sung said the rules looked neutral only on the surface and were actually "part of a statutory scheme that is designed to divest" the federal government of its water rights.
U.S. Circuit Judges John Owens and Holly Thomas joined the opinion.
More background
The decision grew out of a broader and longer-running fight over water in Idaho, including the Snake River Basin Adjudication, which Courthouse News described as a major legal battle that confirmed federal water rights in the state.
Idaho put the challenged stock water rules in place after a state court determined that the federal government held extensive water rights in Idaho.
In 2022, the Justice Department sued to stop those rights from being forfeited, arguing that the federal government owned no livestock that would use the water beneficially.
In 2024, U.S. District Judge David Nye rejected those arguments and gave the government a five-year window to put its water rights to productive use before forfeiture could apply.
The Ninth Circuit's decision undid key parts of that ruling.
What's being done?
The ruling prevents Idaho from enforcing the challenged stock water amendments against the federal government.
The panel also left in place a lower-court ruling that struck down a law governing transfers of grazing permits and stock water rights.
Representatives for the parties provided no immediate comment, Courthouse News reported.
The Ninth Circuit said Idaho's rules were "part of a statutory scheme that is designed to divest" the federal government of its water rights.
Where can I learn more?
Fights over water rights and public resources aren't limited to Idaho. These stories cover efforts to curb water speculation, shifts in public-lands policy, and state clean water enforcement.
• In Congress, lawmakers pushed to prevent water speculation from worsening scarcity for communities.
• At the Interior Department, officials scrapped a public lands rule that strengthened clean water safeguards.
• In Missouri, agriculture-backed lawmakers advanced limits on clean water enforcement over runoff pollution.
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