over the Decree to claim that flows to Walker Lake were in the public interest and to re-open the decree to grant Mineral County rights to minimum flows of per year into Walker Lake. In 2013, the Nevada District Court granted the motion for a hearing. In 2018, the Ninth Circuit court certified questions to the Nevada Supreme Court, including [1] Does the public trust doctrine apply to rights already adjudicated and settled under the doctrine of prior appropriation and, if so, to what extent? and [2] If the public trust doctrine applies and allows for reallocation of rights settled under the doctrine of prior appropriation, does the abrogation of such adjudicated or vested rights constitute a “taking” under the Nevada Constitution requiring payment of just compensation?. The Nevada Supreme Court ruled that the state does have a public trust responsibility and has no statutory authority to re-balance water rights in the system. This has been construed as both a victory for environmentalists in the recognition of the public trust doctrine for Nevada's waters and a major setback to increasing the flows to Walker Lake. Geography Walker Lake is the namesake of the Walker Lane, the geological trough in which it sits that extends from Oregon to Death Valley and beyond. It was named after Joseph R. Walker, a mountain man who scouted the area with John C. Frémont in the 1840s. The lakebed is a remnant of prehistoric Lake Lahontan that covered much of northwestern Nevada during the ice age. Although the ancient history of Walker Lake has been extensively studied by researchers seeking to establish a climatic timeline for the region as part of the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository study, this research has raised many puzzling questions. Recreation and infrastructure The Walker Lake State Recreation Area, now known as Monument Beach, is located along the western shore of the lake. The Hawthorne Army Depot, the world's largest ammunition depot, fills the valley to the south of the lake. U.S. Route 95 passes along the western shore of Walker Lake. See also Pyramid Lake Mono Lake Owens Dry Lake Honey Lake Winnemucca Lake List of drying lakes References External links Disappearing Walker Lake, NASA Earth Observatory USGS: Bathymetry of Walker Lake, West-Central Nevada Endorheic lakes of Nevada Lakes of Nevada Lakes of the Great Basin Lakes of Mineral County, Nevada