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The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) intervened in a U.S. Supreme Court Case regarding stream bed and riparian land ownership in Montana. In March of 2010 the Montana Supreme Court ruled all definitions of stream bed and riparian land ownership are subject to future “judicial takings” without compensation. This ruling essentially states that a state court can ignore over 75 years of Federal Court precedent and, on its own motion, declare streams or rivers navigable for purposes of title and declare their beds to be state property without meeting the former federally mandated test of finding that a river had to be used in commerce at statehood in order to make a finding that the beds were state property.
You might ask why CCA would intervene in such a case. Colorado has a vital interest in the reversal of the Montana Supreme Court’s decision, which threatens to upset long-established titles to riverbeds, not only in Montana but ultimately in other states like Colorado, where numerous rivers have long since been considered non-navigable.
Riparian landowners in Colorado depend on the ownership of riverbeds for their livelihood. Farmers, ranchers, public and private water utilities, power companies, ski areas, and other commercial and industrial interests have constructed storage and diversion facilities to supply much-needed water to their operations. Other landowners have installed structures in riverbeds to improve in-stream habitats for fish. Local governments have installed kayak opportunities for their residents and visitors; and the list goes on. In each of these cases, landowners have relied on their right to use the riverbeds as their own property, which increases the value and utility of riparian lands.
Reversal of the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling is necessary to protect vested private property interests in Colorado and elsewhere. Thousands of property owners in Colorado, Colorado municipalities, and the federal government, hold title to lands abutting Colorado rivers and streams that include the submerged riverbeds. If Montana’s decision is allowed to stand it could ultimately upset private property rights in Colorado – rights that were thought to be beyond dispute. In 1912, the Colorado Supreme Court expressed the contemporary understanding that, at the time Colorado attained statehood and adopted its constitution in 1876, “the natural streams of this state are, in fact, non-navigable within its territorial limits.” Stockman, 129 P. at 222.
If Montana were to be successful, the State of Colorado could seek to assert ownership over numerous stretches of riverbeds long thought to be owned by private landowners or the United States. Colorado could attempt to use its newly discovered riverbed ownership to enforce rights against riparian landowners. The result would be a destabilizing and radical transfer of property rights from landowners to the state of Colorado, threatening to strip property owners of a range of rights on which they have relied since Colorado gained statehood 135 years ago. If riparian landowners were suddenly regarded as trespassers on state lands, or required to pay rent to the state to maintain riparian and streambed structures, it would cause financial hardship for those currently maintaining them, and would create a serious disincentive for voluntary private protection of riparian lands and waters.
The mission of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association is to promote the interests of Colorado’s beef industry and protect Colorado’s land, water and forage resources. This is why CCA joined forces with the Creekside Coalition to intervene in the ruling by the Montana Supreme Court - a ruling that made all definitions of streambed and riparian landownership subject to future “judicial takings” without compensation.
For more information on the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association visit www.coloradocattle.org or call (303) 431-6422.
The Colorado Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) intervened in a U.S. Supreme Court Case regarding stream bed and riparian land ownership in Montana. In March of 2010 the Montana Supreme Court ruled all definitions of stream bed and riparian land ownership are subject to future “judicial takings” without compensation. This ruling essentially states that a state court can ignore over 75 years of Federal Court precedent and, on its own motion, declare streams or rivers navigable for purposes of title and declare their beds to be state property without meeting the former federally mandated test of finding that a river had to be used in commerce at statehood in order to make a finding that the beds were state property.
You might ask why CCA would intervene in such a case. Colorado has a vital interest in the reversal of the Montana Supreme Court’s decision, which threatens to upset long-established titles to riverbeds, not only in Montana but ultimately in other states like Colorado, where numerous rivers have long since been considered non-navigable.
Riparian landowners in Colorado depend on the ownership of riverbeds for their livelihood. Farmers, ranchers, public and private water utilities, power companies, ski areas, and other commercial and industrial interests have constructed storage and diversion facilities to supply much-needed water to their operations. Other landowners have installed structures in riverbeds to improve in-stream habitats for fish. Local governments have installed kayak opportunities for their residents and visitors; and the list goes on. In each of these cases, landowners have relied on their right to use the riverbeds as their own property, which increases the value and utility of riparian lands.
Reversal of the Montana Supreme Court’s ruling is necessary to protect vested private property interests in Colorado and elsewhere. Thousands of property owners in Colorado, Colorado municipalities, and the federal government, hold title to lands abutting Colorado rivers and streams that include the submerged riverbeds. If Montana’s decision is allowed to stand it could ultimately upset private property rights in Colorado – rights that were thought to be beyond dispute. In 1912, the Colorado Supreme Court expressed the contemporary understanding that, at the time Colorado attained statehood and adopted its constitution in 1876, “the natural streams of this state are, in fact, non-navigable within its territorial limits.” Stockman, 129 P. at 222.
If Montana were to be successful, the State of Colorado could seek to assert ownership over numerous stretches of riverbeds long thought to be owned by private landowners or the United States. Colorado could attempt to use its newly discovered riverbed ownership to enforce rights against riparian landowners. The result would be a destabilizing and radical transfer of property rights from landowners to the state of Colorado, threatening to strip property owners of a range of rights on which they have relied since Colorado gained statehood 135 years ago. If riparian landowners were suddenly regarded as trespassers on state lands, or required to pay rent to the state to maintain riparian and streambed structures, it would cause financial hardship for those currently maintaining them, and would create a serious disincentive for voluntary private protection of riparian lands and waters.
The mission of the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association is to promote the interests of Colorado’s beef industry and protect Colorado’s land, water and forage resources. This is why CCA joined forces with the Creekside Coalition to intervene in the ruling by the Montana Supreme Court - a ruling that made all definitions of streambed and riparian landownership subject to future “judicial takings” without compensation.
For more information on the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association visit www.coloradocattle.org or call (303) 431-6422.
