Arizona Game & Fish Department v. Arizona State Land Department

OPINION

HOWARD, Chief Judge.

Appellant applied for a permit to appropriate the waters which flow intermittently in Papalote Wash, a tributary of the Sopori Wash which is in turn a tributary of the Santa Cruz River. The waters were to be used to construct a reservoir and store water for wildlife and recreational purposes. Washes like the Papalote and the Sopori form the principal source of recharge to the upper Santa Cruz Basin.

A hearing was held on appellant’s application. Evidence at the hearing revealed that the Upper Santa Cruz Valley is economically the most significant groundwater basin in…