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Show DECLARATIONS OF POLICY 3 Table 2. Establishment of Territorial Status in the West (States alphabetically arranged) Alaska August 24, 1912 37 Stat. 512 Arizona February 24,1863 12 Stat. 664 California None Colorado February 28,1861 12 Stat. 172 Hawaii June 14,1900 31 Stat. 141 Idaho March 3,1863 12 Stat. 808 Kansas May 30, 1854 10 Stat. 277 Montana May 26,1864 13 Stat. 85 Nebraska May 30,1854 10 Stat. 277 Nevada March 2,1861 12 Stat. 209 New Mexico September 9,1850 9 Stat. 446 North Dakota March 2,1861 12 Stat. 239 Oklahoma May 2, 1890 26 Stat. 81 Oregon August 14, 1848 9 Stat. 323 South Dakota March 2,1861 12 Stat. 239 Texas None Utah September 9,1850 9 Stat. 453 Washington March 2,1853 10 Stat. 172 Wyoming July 25, 1868 15 Stat. 178 the riparian doctrine varies from "underlying and fundamental" in some jurisdictions to quite limited in others. This is not to imply that in a dual-system State one water rights doctrine applies in the more arid portions and a different doctrine where the precipitation is greater. Whatever water rights laws prevail in a State, these laws operate uniformly within its boundaries.6 DECLARATIONS OF POLICY The Place of Water in the State's Economy Constitutional Declarations Declarations with respect to the essential part played by the utilization of water in the State's economy are found in several of the fundamental laws of the West. Thus, the constitution of Wyoming, which was formed by the people before admission to the Union, established for the State a system of centralized control over the appropriation and distribution of water and adjudication of water rights. The foundation for this was laid in the Declaration of Rights, wherein it is de- clared that because water is essential to industrial prosperity, its control must be in the State, the duty of which is to guard all the interests involved.7 6 The earlier water appropriation statutes of Texas were by their terms applicable only in the parts of the State where rainfall was inadequate for agricultural purposes-the boundaries of such regions not being defined by statute-but the 1913 and succeeding statutes were made effective throughout the entire State. Tex. Gen. Laws 1889, ch. 88, § 1; Laws 1895, ch. 21, § 1; Laws 1913, ch. 171, § 1. 7Wyo. Const, art. I, § 31. |