Yesterday, was a day well spent defending the liberty of Idaho ranchers who are protecting their stock water rights from the federal government’s unlawful bid for control. Mountain States attorney Ivan London, in his remarks, accurately said that the government’s argument “lacked basic sense” and I couldn’t agree more. I sat with Mountain States supporters and watched in disbelief as the federal government condemned the actions of Idaho as unconstitutional. Idaho’s attempt to protect its resources and steward them wisely apparently offends the government so much they consider it illegal. A major premise of the government’s argument was that the new Idaho stock water statutes were discriminatory towards the federal government because the law forced them to jump over extra hurdles other water rights holders don’t have to. The reality is that “extra hurdle” is a law all water right holders must abide by, and the government is no exception. That law is called beneficial use and requires ...