The Northern Arapaho Tribe and the Eastern Shoshone Tribe are siding with the federal government in a water permit case that resulted in the conviction of a non-Indian.

The tribes, based on the Wind River Reservation in Wyoming, filed a brief with the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals. They support the conviction of John Hubenka, who built several dikes on the Big Wind River that cut off access to 300 acres of the reservation.

Hubenka built part of the dikes on tribal land. He faces up to nine years in prison and a $750,000 fine but says the government has no authority to prosecute him.

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Tribes, conservation group slam appeal (The Jackson Hole Star-Tribune 9/26)