Tipton bill to stop USFS seizures of water rights passes committee

WASHINGTON I Last week, the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee passed Rep. Scott Tipton’s (R-Colo.) Water Rights Protection Act (H.R.3189) with bipartisan support, clearing the effort to protect privately-held water rights from federal takings for a vote in the House of Representatives.
Over the years, the Forest Service has engaged in numerous attempts to require the transfer of privately-held water rights as a permit condition, amounting to an outright federal taking. During an Oct. 29…