Pine River Irrigation Dist. v. U.S., Civil Action No. 04-cv-01463-JLK.
| Decision Date | 18 September 2009 |
| Docket Number | Civil Action No. 04-cv-01463-JLK. |
| Citation | 656 F.Supp.2d 1298 |
| Parties | PINE RIVER IRRIGATION DISTRICT, a subdivision of the State of Colorado, Plaintiff, v. UNITED STATES of America and United States Forest Service, Defendants, United States of America, Counterclaimant, v. Pine River Irrigation District, a subdivision of the State of Colorado, Counterclaim-Defendant. United States of America, Cross-claimant, v. James W. Kirkpatrick, Lillie Holmes, Ella E. Mull, John F. Kirkpatrick and Any and All Unknown Persons Who Claim an Interest in the Subject Matter of This Action, Cross-claim Defendants. |
| Court | U.S. District Court — District of Colorado |
Daniel H. Israel, Attorney at Law, Boulder, CO, for Plaintiff.
Kevin Thomas Traskos, U.S. Attorney's Office, Denver, CO, for Defendants.
FINDINGS OF FACT, CONCLUSIONS OF LAW AND ORDER
This action is brought by plaintiff Pine River Irrigation District ("PRID") against the United States pursuant to the Quiet Title Act, 28 U.S.C. § 2409a, to quiet title to an alleged right of way or easement for a dam and reservoir located at Emerald Lake in the Weminuche Wilderness in southwest Colorado. The government denies the claimed right of way exists and has counterclaimed against PRID and cross-claimed against four individuals and any and all unknown persons who claim an interest in the alleged right of way, seeking to quiet its title.
The action is before me on the parties' request, pursuant to Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 52, for findings of fact and conclusions of law regarding legal issues raised by the stipulated historical record. These issues, which will either resolve or limit the scope of this action, include: whether PRID filed this action within the applicable statute of limitations; whether the disputed right of way was established as claimed under the Act of March 3, 1891 ("1891 Act"), 26 Stat. 1095 (codified at 43 U.S.C. §§ 946-949) (repealed Oct. 21, 1976); and whether the right of way, if established, was either forfeited by PRID's predecessors-in-interest or later abandoned by PRID. The parties agree that these issues can be decided, without testimony at trial, based on their joint submission of more than 300 historical documents and the stipulated facts they prepared based on this historical record.1
Emerald Lake, also referred to as Big Emerald Lake, is located in the rugged San Juan Mountains at an elevation of approximately 10,000 feet. It is one of the largest natural lakes in Colorado. A smaller lake, Little Emerald Lake, is located just south and downstream of the larger lake. The two lakes are connected by a small channel, which runs through the narrow isthmus that separates them. Water from Big Emerald Lake naturally passes through this channel, into Little Emerald Lake and then into Lake Creek, which joins the Pine River (also known as Los Pinos River) some miles downstream, above Vallecito Reservoir. Both lakes are located on unsurveyed federal land administered by the United States Forest Service as part of the Weminuche Wilderness.
The alleged right of way or easement2 originates with an application submitted to the United States Land Office in August 1895 by an individual, W.T. Kirkpatrick, for a right of way for a reservoir to be located at Emerald Lake. The application, consisting of a map and accompanying materials, reports that the purpose of the "Emerald Lake Reservoir" would be "the storing, collecting and preserving of water for irrigation and other purposes." JE 7 at U.S. 0321 (); JE 10 at U.S. 0325 ().3 The application states the reservoir was to be created by construction of a 5-foot dam at the outlet of Little Emerald Lake that would raise the high water mark of both Emerald Lakes and thus allow water collection and storage in excess of the lakes' natural capacity.
Kirkpatrick submitted his application pursuant to the 1891 Act, which included provisions for granting rights of ways through the public lands and reservations of the United States for irrigation canals, ditches and reservoirs. The 1891 Act provides, among other things, that those seeking to secure the benefits of its right of way provisions must submit a map of the canal, ditch or reservoir for approval by the Secretary of the Interior within twelve months after locating the claimed right of way if the right of way was on land previously surveyed by the federal government, and within twelve months after the federal survey if it was located on unsurveyed land. 1891 Act § 19 (43 U.S.C. § 947). The Act further provided that following the Secretary's approval, the right of way for these improvements would be noted on the relevant plats and thereafter "all lands over which such rights of way pass shall be disposed of subject to such right of way." Id.
In 1894, the Department of Interior issued a circular setting out regulations interpreting the right of way provisions of the 1891 Act and explaining how they would be applied. Department of Interior Circular, "Rights of Way — Canals, Ditches, and Reservoirs" ("1894 Circular"), 18 Pub. Lands Dec. 168 (Feb. 20, 1894) (JE 4). Among other things, the 1894 Circular clarified the application and approval procedures for canals, ditches and reservoirs located wholly upon unsurveyed federal lands, such as the Emerald Lake area. The Circular reported that while maps locating 1891 Act rights of way on unsurveyed lands would be received, dated and placed on file in the local Land Office "for general information," they would "not be submitted to, nor approved by the Secretary of the Interior, as the act makes no provision for approval of any but maps showing the location in connection with the public surveys." Id. § 17, 18 Pub. Lands Dec. at 173. The Department further declared that "[t]he filing of such maps [on unsurveyed lands] will not dispense with the filing of maps after the survey of the lands and within the time limited in the act granting the right of way, which map if in all respects regular when filed, will receive the Secretary's approval." Id.
Consistent with these procedures, the record indicates that after the United States received Kirkpatrick's August 1895 application for a reservoir right of way on the unsurveyed Emerald Lake site, it dated them September 5, 1895, and placed the map of the claimed right of way on file "for general information." JE 8. There is no indication in the record that the map was forwarded to the Secretary of the Interior for approval or that it was in fact approved by the Secretary.
Kirkpatrick and his associates constructed a dam at the outlet of Big Emerald Lake in the fall of 1895, completing it on or about the end of November.4 The dam was constructed with rocks and logs, was approximately five feet in height, and cost an estimated $300 to complete.
In 1895, Kirkpatrick also established Emerald Lake as a fish hatchery. This development followed the stocking of the Lake with cutthroat trout by Kirkpatrick and members of the Durango Rod and Gun Club in 1888.5 The hatchery facility was built at the lower end of the channel between Big and Little Emerald Lakes and was supplied with water via a pipe through the new dam at the outlet of Big Emerald Lake. According to the Colorado Division of Wildlife, the increased water level in Emerald Lake caused by the new dam was necessary to operate the hatchery.
By 1898, Kirkpatrick was producing at least 200,000 trout fry at the Emerald Lake hatchery. By 1900, the number of trout eggs and fry produced had increased to over 1 million. By 1902, hatchery operations had grown to include at least two hatchery facilities and a support cabin, and by the following year Kirkpatrick had acquired the title "Fish King" as a result of the hatchery's production. Some of the trout fry from the hatchery were placed in Emerald Lake to maintain the fishery there. Although Kirkpatrick allowed the Colorado Department of Game and Fish to take over hatchery operations beginning in approximately 1901, it is undisputed that Kirkpatrick treated Emerald Lake as his private property throughout this period and continued to do so until his death in 1930.
Not long after Kirkpatrick submitted his 1895 application for a reservoir right of way on Emerald Lake, citizens in the area began filing protests with the U.S. Land Office against the application, alleging that Kirkpatrick was not engaged in agricultural pursuits and did not intend to use the reservoir for irrigation purposes, but rather solely sought to control Emerald Lake and its outstanding fishery. In subsequent protests filed with the Department of Interior and other federal representatives, local government officials and citizens alleged Kirkpatrick was barring the public from the lake and maintaining it as a private fishing resort. The Department of Interior dismissed the protests on the ground that Kirkpatrick's application would not be approved because the Department lacked authority under the 1891 Act to approve rights of way on unsurveyed lands. Additional materials submitted by citizens in opposition to Kirkpatrick's application indicate that they understood that no right of way would be granted to Kirkpatrick unless and until the land encompassing Emerald Lake was surveyed by the federal government.
Early in 1897, an unnamed citizen applied to the United States Surveyor General for a survey of the township in which Emerald Lake is located. In response, citizens in the area requested that Emerald Lake be excluded from any survey that was conducted in order to prevent Kirkpatrick from obtaining a reservoir right of way at Emerald Lake. These citizens alleged that the waters stored at Emerald Lake were not used or needed for irrigation, as the nearest lands capable of being watered or farmed had no...
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