U.S. Appeals Court Backs Water Transfer From Farms To Wildlife Refuge

...A federal appeals court Thursday upheld the state engineer's approval of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's transfer of water from a century-old irrigation project to wetlands and marshes in the Lahontan Valley.
The ruling by a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco upheld a lower court ruling by U.S. District Judge Lloyd George in Nevada allowing the transfers of water rights from willing sellers to parts of the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.
The decision rejects claims by the city of Fallon and Churchill County that the water transfers threaten the public interest and interfere with existing water rights.
"We hold that the state engineer has broad discretion under Nevada law to determine whether a change in place of use of existing water rights will have a detrimental impact on the public interest or whether a hydrological or other study is necessary before approving such a transfer," the court said...

The decision, US v. ALPINE LAND & RESERVOIR CO., No. 01-16694/16789 (9th Cir.September 04, 2003), can be viewed here in PDF format.