Fw: Fw: Update on Utah Lake Boundary Issue Settlment

Dear folks interested in Utah Lake Boundary Issue Settlement and Great Salt Lake Alliance particpants,

The last notes I have indicate that I provided an update regarding the Utah
Lake Boundary issue last October or so. It is definitely time to provide another
update. (Please note: It has been so long since sending out an e-mail, that I no longer have the e-mail list - so there might be some people who are not included who should also receive this update.)

First, see the message below from Joro Walker from Western Resource Advocates. Joro Walker and Cullen Battle have filed two pleadings regarding Utah Lake on behalf of Utah Lake Users. These pleadings/motions will be heard by
the special master on Tuesday, August 31 at 2:30 at the Federal Courthouse
in Salt Lake City - Room 220. You are invited to attend this hearing. I am forwarding the full text regarding the pleadings in a separate e-mail. At the very bottom of this e-mail the two pleadings are provided.

Thanks very much to Joro and Cullen for filing these motions!!!

The following are notes from the Forestry, Fire and State Lands Advisory Council meeting of June 18, 2004 regarding Utah Lake. "Of the 50 unsettled parcels on Utah Lake, eight or nine are in the Powell Slough area: Judge Kimball will address this area himself, and the remainder of the lake will be addressed by the Special Master. we have a couple more months of discovery on Powell Slough; the discovery period on the rest of the lake won't run out until early next calendar year. The Attorney General's Office is trying to get an answer regarding what evidence will be admissable."

During the 2004 Utah State Legislative Session over $200,000 was appropriated to this work for Utah Lake. The money came from the restricted sovereign lands account. This authorization was due to the request and work from the Utah Division of Forestry, Fire and State Lands and it demonstrates that they take very seriously the effort to settle this land dispute in an appropriate manner.

In summary, most of Provo Bay and other parts of Utah Lake were very close to
becoming private lands. Now, there is a much better chance this won't
happen. Furthermore, with what Joro and Cullen have filed, we are looking
towards the possibility that decisions will be made more as they relate to
sovereign lands - those navigable bodies of water below the ordinary high
water mark at the time of statehood.

I would be interested in any questions or comments you might have.

        Wayne Martinson
        Utah Important Bird Areas Coordinator
        National Audubon Society

----- Original Message -----
From: "joro walker" <jwalker@westernresources.org>
To: "wayne martinson" <wmart.dsawyer@aros.net>
Sent: Tuesday, July 27, 2004 1:28 PM
Subject: utah lake

> dear wayne,
>
> attached are two pleadings we recently filed -- first our memo in support
of
> motion to certify state law questions and our reply in further support of
> the motion. the reply is our chance to clarify our arguments and point
out
> weakness in the arguments of others.
>
> already, the court has scheduled a hearing on our motion -- TUESDAY, AUG
31
> at 2:30 -- rm 220. interestingly, the hearing is before the special
master,
> not the judge. anything the special master decides will be reviewed by
the
> judge, so there may be another round of pleadings.
>
> take care -- joro
>
> ** this communication may be privileged, confidential, or otherwise exempt
> from disclosure **
>
> *** XMISSION has generously donated this internet service ***
>
> Joro Walker, Esq.
> Director, Utah Office
> Western Resource Advocates
>   formerly Land & Water Fund of the Rockies
> 1473 South 1100 East, Suite "F"
> Salt Lake City, Utah 84105
> 801.487.9911 (telephone)
> 801.486.4233 (fax)
> jwalker@westernresources.org (email)

The following is an excerpt from the motion submitted by Western Resource Advocates on behalf of Utah Lake Users. The full text is provided in a separate e-mail.

As Utah Lake Users demonstrate, this case presents several questions of Utah law central to sovereign lands boundary determinations that have not been previously addressed by the Utah Supreme Court. Based on the uncertainty of Utah law, and to allow the Utah Supreme Court to fulfill its unique role in delineating and protecting the state?s interest in sovereign lands, Utah Lake Users respectfully request this Court to take advantage of a procedure offered by the Utah Supreme Court to dealwith undecided questions of state law critical to the people of Utah by certifying the following questions to that Court:

1) If the high water mark at statehood cannot be ascertained, or if evidence of the statehood high water mark is otherwise unavailable or not part of the factual record, how should the boundary of sovereign lands be determined, what types of evidence are relevant to this inquiry and what is the burden of proof? For example, to what extent, if any, is evidence of post-statehood use and possession relevant in determining the boundary of sovereign lands?

2) Has the Utah Supreme Court?s adoption and interpretation of the public trust doctrine and the Utah Legislature?s recognition of the unique public importance of sovereign lands since the Jacobsen cases changed the manner in which a determination of the boundary between sovereign state lands and private lands is made?