Department of Ecology v. Acquavella

¶1 This case concerns the adjudication of water rights in the Yakima River Basin. The parties, as appellants and cross appellants, bring various challenges to the conditional final order of the trial court determining the parties’ water rights. The Court of Appeals transferred the case to this court for direct review.

¶2 We affirm the trial court’s determination that the decision in United States v. Ahtanum Irrigation District, 330 F.2d 897 (9th Cir. 1964) was an adjudication of nontribal water rights, but we reverse the trial court’s decision concerning the quantification of irrigable land on…