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Representative David Schweikert Highlights Tombstone Case

November 14, 2014

On the same day that Goldwater Institute attorneys appeared before the Ninth Circuit in Tombstone v. United States, Representative David Schweikert (R-Ariz) highlighted the case on the House floor. 

A devastating combination of wildfires and monsoons ravaged Tombstone’s water supply in 2011, leaving only three of 25 springs in operation. Yet despite a declared state of emergency, the U.S. Forest Service still refuses to let the town repair its water lines, which originate in federal wilderness area, with anything besides horses and hand-tools, for fear of disturbing the emerging habitat of the Mexican Spotted Owl. 

“This town is older than my state, [and its water rights are] older than my state, yet the Forest Service is restricting the town from 87 percent of its water supply,” said Schweikert. “Is there an adult in the Forest Service who has a lick of sense?”

A clip of Schweikert’s remarks can be viewed below.

Schweikert Defends Tombstone (video)

Video courtesy of CSPAN

 

 

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