Metropolitan Water Dist. of Southern Cal. v. United States

OPINION AND ORDER

I. BACKGROUND

This litigation arises out of disputes concerning the boundaries of the Fort Yuma Indian Reservation, the Colorado River Indian Reservation, and the Fort Mojave Indian Reservation. Determination of the boundaries will affect the relative allocations of Colorado River water to the three intervenor Indian tribes and to other users in the States of California and Arizona, including plaintiffs herein. Pursuant to stipulation of the parties, the Court presently is concerned only with the boundaries of the Hay and Wood Reserve of the Fort Mojave Reservation (hereinafter “the Reserve”).

The Reserve portion of the Fort Mojave Reservation was initially surveyed by Lieutenant George Wheeler in 1869 as an addition to the Camp Mojave military fort. The legal description of the Reserve was prepared and adopted by Executive Order in 1870. By an 1890 Executive Order, Camp Mojave and the Hay and Wood Reserve were transferred to the Department of Interior to be held in trust as a reservation for the Fort Mojave Tribe (hereinafter “FMT”). The 1890 Executive Order adopted the 1870 legal description of the Reserve.

After the transfer of these military lands to the…