Ernest Schank

Newlands Reclamation Project

Ernest Schank, Nevada Journal

Nevada's current water wars continue impassioned by traditional, historical, and environmental precedents. However, no one has examined this issue from the perspective of private property rights. NPRI has discovered that there is a wealth of legal legacies which support claims by agricultural users of the rural lands in Nevada... legacies which find their grounding within the body of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, popularly known as the "takings clause" ("No Shall private property be taken for public use without just compensation"). Federal "takings" becomes a serious issue especially after review of Supreme Court rulings.