Colorado River
Portions of the Colorado River were determined to be Navigable for Title Purposes under the “U.S. v. Utah” ruling of the United States Supreme Court in 1931.
Consistent with the Equal Footing Doctrine, the State of Utah claims ownership over the beds and banks of reaches of the Colorado River. The ownership boundaries of sovereign land on the Colorado River are defined by the river’s ordinary high water mark at the time of Utah Statehood, in 1896.
Since 1896, Western practices of water diversion and storage over many years have had significant human-caused impacts on water flows and on the location and appearance of the Colorado River’s ordinary high water mark.
The Division actively manages the Colorado River by issuing authorizations for public and private infrastructure and for commercial uses of its sovereign lands. The Division also implements river restoration projects to reduce the impacts of invasive species and improve wildlife habitat and other public trust objectives.
Colorado River Management Plan
Below are links to the first-ever Green River and Colorado River Comprehensive Management Plans and an update to the Green and Colorado Rivers Mineral Leasing Plan. Records of Decision for the Final Green River and Final Colorado River Comprehensive Management Plans and for the Final Green and Colorado Rivers Mineral Leasing Plan have been executed by the Division. Your administrative appeal rights can be found in the Records of Decision or in Utah Administrative Code R652-9.