From the Editors

Welcome to Issue Number Three of the 2006-2007 publication year (Volume 37). The attorney editors and the student board of the Journal endeavor to publish timely and informative articles that are relevant to and assist you in your practice. We appreciate your patience as the Journal continues to recover from
past delays.

In this issue, David J. Klein of Lloyd Gosselink examines the projected increase in population along side a non-increasing supply of water to satisfy the needs of that population, especially in the Rio Grande Region. The Texas Water Development Board predicts that, over the next fifty years, not only will the population of the state at least double, but the demand for water will increase by over twenty-seven percent. The struggle with the limited, but necessary, resource of water is more difficult in the Rio Grande Region,
where booming population growth in the municipalities along the Middle and Lower Rio Grande is projected to increase demand for water by 142 percent over the next fifty years. Creating, applying, and successfully executing many water supply management techniques is paramount in meeting water demands and avoid crises. Marketing of existing surface water rights is one of the strategies to promote the efficient use of existing water rights. Mr. Klein’s article discusses the precedent set in the Presidio Valley Farms amendment applications with respect to water right marketing and considers the effects of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality’s public welfare analysis on future applications to market water rights. The purpose of the Presidio Valley Farms applications was to allow for water marketing by seeking the authorization to transform a right to Upper Rio Grande water for irrigation purposes into a right to Middle Rio Grande water
for municipal purposes. The article also analyzes the TCEQ’s decision on the PVF applications in light of its rules, Chapter 11 of the Texas Water Code, and SB 1 and whether the TCEQ’s authorization is consistent with the Texas Supreme Court’s opinion in City of Marshall. Mr. Klein suggests a rule change that would
clarify the Commission’s rules and facilitate additional water marketing in the Rio Grande Region without affecting other holders of Rio Grade river-based water rights.

Nelia J. Robbi is the author of this issue’s student note. Her note discusses various types of hunting but focuses largely on deer hunting and management practices in Texas. The note explores the history of hunting, both worldwide and domestically, and examines the ethical debates surrounding hunting and
the role of regulations in moderating this debate. The changing face of hunting has brought about a new threat to biodiversity—namely single-species management practices. The note discusses hunting regulation, analyzes property rights in wildlife, and surveys Texas wildlife management practices and reviews the effects of hunting and game management on biodiversity. Ms. Robbi presents recommendations regarding the intersection of hunting and the protection of biodiversity and recommends that the United States ratify the Convention on Biological Diversity, advocating for increased research on the effects of game management on biodiversity, and educating hunters and wildlife managers about the need for a multi-species focus in game management. Deer management practices may be a more biodiversity friendly alternative than a
landowner’s other choices of increasing agricultural activities (which have well-documented negative effects on biodiversity) or selling to a developer. However, she notes that because something might be a better alternative does not mean that it is a good alternative. She believes that it is paramount to strive to ensure
that any and all management practices take into account all species, not just the profitable ones. Hunting has changed over the years, and will continue to change. Regardless of how one feels ethically about hunting, it has been a vital part of our past and will likely remain a part of our future. Ms. Robbi believes that more research on the effects of hunting and management practices on biodiversity will allow our society to prioritize protecting our biodiversity.

Editor-in-Chief

Jimmy Alan Hall

Student Editor-in-Chief

Happy Rahman