A historic bill giving conservation fishing groups the right to lease private water rights from willing owners in order to save fish has been given the stamp of approval by a state legislative task force.

On Thursday morning, the Water Issues Task Force agreed to adopt the bill with only one dissenting vote. The adoption means the bill is likely to be one of the first considered in the January legislative session, and is a boost which gives the bill a good chance of becoming law.

Proposed by Trout Unlimited, the bill "allows people near headwaters of rivers to enter into a partnership with Trout Unlimited, or other fishing groups, to designate some of their water shares to be used to flow down the river to benefit fish," said Rep. Brad King, D-Price, a member of the task force.

The bill is necessary because under current Utah law, any farmer or rancher who leaves water in a river, as opposed to taking it for irrigation, is considered to be wasting the water and their right to the water can be taken away, he said.

"Today was a huge win, a ringing endorsement for what we are trying to do," said Timothy Hawkes of Trout Unlimited. "It is only the first step in a long process but that endorsement from this committee is critical."

The bill has "gained traction" with task force members in hearings since June because "the basic point is consistent with Utah values and when people understand it, they support it," he said. "It promotes the free market, limited government and private property rights and those are principles that resonate with Utah citizens."

Any bill that makes changes to Utah water law is historic, King said, but if the bill passes, it would be the first time in state history a private conservation group has ever been given such rights.

After myriad hearings during which "every seat was filled," the bill has been rewritten many times to narrow its scope and ensure that existing water rights cannot be damaged, King said. The bill is so narrow that only conservation fishing groups would be allowed the special water leases.

If passed, the bill would allow only for a 10-year test program, and would automatically expire after 10 years unless the Legislature renews it, he said.

King said getting the task force stamp of approval was a "dramatic" move for the state, and the bill has had a long journey so far.

"I was a little bit skeptical at first until I heard about the experience of Montana" which adopted a similar bill a decade ago, he said.

Hawkes said that if the bill becomes law, Trout Unlimited would begin negotiating to lease water rights from willing owners near just a handful of what he called "critical" streams that are dry or have very low water flow at least part of the year. The group has yet to compile a priority list of streams where they would seek to lease water first if the bill passes.

Caleb Warnock can be reached at 443-3263 or cwarnock@heraldextra.com.

This story appeared in The Daily Herald on page D5.