THE ARIZONA WATER WOLF

On April 17th, newspapers carried a story about Governor Richardson’s opposition to proposed building of dams on the Gila River in western New Mexico. The Gila River is the last free-flowing river in New Mexico. The Gila’s headwaters originate in Catron county, flows through Grant county to the south and over the state line into Arizona. There is also a ‘proposed’ dam for the San Francisco River in Catron county. The San Francisco also flows into Arizona.

While New Mexico water flows across the border into our neighboring state, Arizona’s thirst for water flows back across the border into Catron and Grant counties. The threat to dam New Mexico’s last wild rivers comes from the NEW MEXICO COMSUMPTIVE USE AND FOREBEARANCE AGREEMENT. This gem of manipulating existing State of New Mexico water law is comprised of several Arizona irrigation districts, the San Carlos Apache Tribe, the Gila Indian Community, Phelps Dodge Corporation and the Dept. of Interior. The State of New Mexico has not signed on to this deal. Hopefully Governor Richardson will come through with his comments to prohibit damming of the Gila and San Francisco rivers. New Mexico State statute: ‘72-1-2. Water Rights’ defines beneficial use of water in New Mexico and clearly recognizes those claims to water filed before 1907, before New Mexico became a state in 1912.
Prior to 1907 the ‘prior-appropriation’ doctrine applied to water rights in the West. Black’s Law dictionary defines the term as: “The rule that, among the person whose properties border on a waterway, the earliest users of the water have the right to take all they can use before anyone has a right to it.”

Prior-appropriation water rights still apply today. The Dept. of Interior and the State of Arizona are betting most New Mexican’s are unaware of prior-appropriations as water law in their state. Or the Dept. of Interior is going cite treaty law with the Indians as having the oldest historical claim to New Mexico water. The problem with Indian treaty law is the tribes reservations fall within the sovereign state of Arizona, and thus are owned not by the tribe, but are federal lands housing a domestic sovereign population who are wards of the federal government, not the State of New Mexico. New Mexico is under no obligation to provide water for Indians living in Arizona. The project will also provide water for Tucson, AZ. Tucson needs water for development.

The New Mexico Consumptive Use and Forbearance Agreement (NMCUFA) states in its ‘Preamble’ that the State of New Mexico has “…notified the Secretary that it has elected to have facilities constructed or developed on the Gila River and the San Francisco River… authorized by sections 304(d) and (f) of the Colorado River Basin Project Act.”

The State of New Mexico has not signed this agreement and is not even a legal third party to it. The Preamble is based on presumption that the intent of the State of New Mexico is to provide water to Arizona by building dams on the Gila and San Francisco rivers. That ‘intent’ is being challenged by Governor Richardson.

Who gives the State of Arizona and the Dept. of Interior to presume to claim New Mexico water? The Global Equity Enforcement Court will entertain challenges and mitigation that might arise. Guess who the Global Equity Enforcement Court is. From the Preamble: “2.24 “Globe Equity Enforcement Court” means the U. S. District Court for the District of Arizona exercising continuing jurisdiction over the Globe Equity Decree.”

In section 12.0: ADMINISTRATION, we find this little gem:
“12.2 Measurements of stream flow and Diversions of surface water of the Gila River or the San Francisco River shall be recorded and transmitted through the use of telemetry equipment to the U.S. Geological Survey, or such other entity designated by the Technical Committee for such purpose.”

The use of telemetry equipment to record diversions of surface flow of the Gila and San Francisco by a federal agency in Catron and Grant counties reminds me of the ground telemetry/wolf-collar controversy with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Is the U.S. Geological Survey team now monitoring stream flow of these rivers using telemetry devices? Is this the reason ranchers in Catron county are denied the channels for their ground telemetry devices for monitoring radio-collared wolves?

I’m against building dams on these rivers. I read what American Rivers had to say about this project and I agree with this organization’s opposition to the project. I also add to my list of agendas to force ranchers out of Catron, Grant and Sierra counties the NMCUFA. Along with wolf reintroduction, the closing of the sawmill to preserve ‘critical habitat’ for the Mexican Spotted Owl; we now have the Arizona Water Wolf.

If they dam up those rivers and flood the canyons, won’t they destroy critical habitat for the owl? We have the Dept. of Interior and the State of Arizona, along with the New Mexico Department of Game & Fish reintroducing wolves in Catron and Grant counties. Since 2005 the plan to dam the Gila and San Francisco has been kicked around by the Dept. of Interior and the State of Arizona. I think this whole thing has always been about water. Capturing water, using legal-fiction or government fraud to intimidate or starve rural communities off their land.




Catron and Grant counties and the Gila and San Francisco rivers highlighted in black.