Tribal leaders establish team to formalize water rights in Nevada, Utah

CARSON CITY–Members of the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation (CTGR) Business Council this month met with state officials from Nevada to being the process of formalizing the Tribes’ water rights. The meeting with Gov. Steve Sisolak and State Engineer Adam Sullivan was among many that will likely be needed in the process.

CTGR is located in White Pine County in Nevada and Juab and Tooele counties in Utah and covers nearly 113,000 acres straddling the two states.

In addition to working with Nevada officials, the Tribe will also be working with Utah officials in what it hopes to establish as a Federal Water Team. According to a statement from the governor’s office, the team would “analyze all existing water rights claims, resource availability, and future needs in the process of reaching a mutually agreeable water rights settlement.”

The team will then work with federal officials from the Department of the Interior to resolve Tribal water rights.

“Since time immemorial, we, the Goshutes have lived on this land. In 1863, we had a Treaty of Peace and Friendship, where the United States government acknowledged that we were hunters, chiefs, principle men, and warriors,” CTGR Chairman Rupert Steele said. “Upon creation of our Indian Reservation, the United States government ensured that there were enough resources set aside and protected to fulfill the purposes of the Reservation, which includes water. One of the most important responsibilities for the Confederated Tribes of the Goshute Reservation Business Council is to preserve and protect enough water for the present and future needs of the Goshute people.”