“We see it in rivers like the Taylor River,” Kaimi said. “Someone came in and built a multi-million dollar house and then decided they didn’t want to see the rafters anymore.”
The group Backcountry Hunters and Anglers has been a vocal supporter of Hill. Besides habitat destruction, Tawny said privatization is the biggest threat to members.
“The Fish and Wildlife Service did a survey and one of the things they asked was what was the number one problem that could hinder hunting and fishing? It wasn’t about being taken away, I’m worried about access.”
Defendants have their own backers, including Colorado’s influential Water Lobby. Water scarcity makes water a valuable commodity in Colorado, as it does throughout the West. From ski resorts to marijuana farmers, many water users across the state are wary of potential disruptions.
“The main concern is that Colorado will not open its doors to public trust doctrine,” said Steve Leonhardt, an attorney representing the lobbying group Colorado Water Council. The Public Trust Doctrine, a legal doctrine that states that some resources are too important to be managed for the public, is a long-solved water use problem in California and elsewhere. It has been used to challenge agreements.
“This is what the water industry sees as a threat,” says Leonhardt.
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Colorado’s premier fishing spot, the Wigwam Club, is located in the foothills west of Denver. Founded in 1921 by 60 of the richest men in the state, the club diligently guards his 8-acre sprawl on the South Platte River. On digital message boards, non-members share rumors about customers and stories of sneaking past security guards to catch a 27-inch rainbow.
Costing upwards of $15,000 a year to join, clubs such as these have generated mixed emotions, with even their most vehement critics, and critics of privatization in general, saying that without them the wildlife in the West would be in serious trouble. We admit to being threatened.