"Wyoming’s water laws have often been an example to other western states for their

ability to keep order in the use of all the varied water supplies within her borders.

Although somewhat of a latecomer among the western states to have her water supplies

undergo widespread development, Wyoming was a frontrunner in pioneering concepts

for the innovative handling of the complex process of bestowing the use of her water to

her citizens. From the time of the initial creation in 1868 of the separate western territory

now called Wyoming, her streams and rivers have been the lifeblood of her economy and

growth. Indeed, the progression of water laws enacted first by territorial legislatures and

then by the state legislature for using and allocating her waters can reflect the history and

development of the State itself. The names of individuals found on Wyoming water right

documents comprise a fascinating “who’s who” of the founding figures in the State’s

progress from territorial times to the present.

Water is often looked at as a “free” resource, responsible for man’s continued presence

on earth, and consequently the inherent property of every living thing. Still, the history

of mankind shows it to be one of the commodities over which wars for its control have

been fought. Such contention has engendered, at least in the American west, the vesting

of water control and distribution in responsible, neutral and knowledgeable quarters

authorized to manipulate its use for the good of all. In Wyoming, that responsibility has

been shared by the citizens of the state, through the legislature and offices of territorial

and state government, employing, either intentionally or accidentally, many of the

greatest water minds in the country.

Numerous individuals are responsible for the existence today of a water use system that

meets the present needs of Wyoming residents and provides confidence in adequacy of

supplies for the future. In The Conquest of Arid America published in 1899, William E.

Smythe, journalist and chairman of the National Irrigation Congress, observed

“Wyoming’s place as the [water] lawgiver of the arid region is due neither to

geographical location or to superior natural resources; certainly it is not due to large

population. It owes its commanding position solely to the character and ability of a few

public men who happen to have found in this line of work their best opportunity for

usefulness.” That comment is just as prudent today, over 100 years after its writing, as

the list of those “few public men” has lengthened with the passage of time."

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