GREEN RIVER - Ranchers and farmers have long known the real golden rule of the West: Water rights are gold, and you don't give them up.

You could, however, lend them for trout fishery purposes under a proposed bill discussed here Monday at a meeting of the Legislature's Joint Agriculture, State and Public Lands and Water Resources Interim Committee.

The draft "Landowner flexibility and fisheries protection and restoration" bill would legislate the right to acquire temporary water rights for trout fishery purposes under a new, pilot program to be overseen by the state engineer's office.

The proposed bill would allow landowners to either leave the direct flows of a natural waterway undiverted, or to introduce previously stored water into a creek or stream, to benefit trout populations.

Under the draft bill, the purchase, gift or lease of the temporary water right - for a period of up to 10 years - would only be granted if there will be no loss, abandonment or impairment of other water users' rights.

Additionally, the temporary water right couldn't result in more water leaving Wyoming than the amount of water that is allocated by interstate water compacts or court decree for downstream uses outside of the state.

The draft bill, offered by Rep. Rosie Berger, R-Sheridan, would create a strictly voluntary pilot program that would give landowners another tool to both help trout fisheries and conserve water.

Berger called the draft bill a "work in progress." The measure would sunset, or expire, in July 2019 unless extended by lawmakers.

"The basic intent is to encourage the conservation of water …. and at the same time maintain irrigated acreage while providing public benefits including (helping with) trout fisheries," Berger said.

"We have found that landowners do have excess water occasionally and don't want to lose it … and this would give them an opportunity not to," she said.

Under the draft bill, a holder of a water right who conserves water may retain the right to the conserved water if it is voluntarily and temporarily transferred for a fishery purpose.

Lot of opportunities

Scott Yates with Trout Unlimited said the proposed program aims to restore flows in trout streams and creeks using privately held water rights.

The pilot projects could be of particular benefit to such species as the Colorado River and Bonneville cutthroat trout and could help in keeping the two species from being listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

He told the committee that allowing private landowners to temporarily dedicate water from streams "has never been utilized" to benefit trout fisheries in Wyoming before. "This is a different animal … but there are a lot of opportunities," Yates said.

Under the draft bill, the state engineer's office and the Wyoming Game and Fish Department would conduct a study of each pilot project application before approval, and upon completion.

The studies would look at length of stream reach, expected fishery benefits during the term of the temporary right change, conditions needed to ensure the temporary change doesn't injure other appropriators, and methods of monitoring use of water under each lease.

Yates said conducting the study before granting a permit should help "avoid unintended consequences" to downstream water users and other appropriators.

He said there will be no abandonment or forfeiture of a landowner's water rights if a rancher or farmer participates in a pilot project.

"There's no change in the use … it reverts back to its original use," Yates said. "We want to make sure other water-rights holders are not injured … and we don't want to change the overall way water is being used."

Lawmakers showed little enthusiasm for the draft bill. Rep. Mark Semlek, R-Moorcroft, wondered if the landowners who granted the temporary water rights could be exposed to liability based on a possible federal listing of the Colorado River or Bonneville cutthroat trout.

"We've got to be careful where we're going with these unintended consequences," Semlek said.

Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, said he would like to speak with a landowner or two who have specific projects in mind before he would consider backing the bill. "Find me some people … maybe then you can get enough votes to pass," he said.

The joint committee meeting resumes at 8 a.m. today in the Green River City Council chambers.

Southwest Wyoming bureau reporter Jeff Gearino can be reached at 307-875-5359 or at gearino@tribcsp.com.