Riparian users and pre–1914 appropriators need neither a permit nor other governmental authorization to exercise their water rights. Our holding is, of course, limited to resolution of the facial challenge presented here:  in general terms, the Board has the authority to find unreasonable a diversion of water for frost protection if that diversion is inconsistent with the public trust by creating a significant risk of salmonid mortality. The proposed regulation ․ allows for a business to comply with the regulation at the least cost, therefore it is highly unlikely that land conversion would occur.”   The trial court rejected this conclusion as “unsupported,” criticizing the Board's cost estimates and citing comments by growers who anticipated a substantial impact on their operations. The Sacramento plaintiffs fault the four scientific studies reproduced in the record, arguing none of them directly connects salmonid strandings with water diversion for frost protection. As the Supreme Court held in Audubon Society, no party can acquire a vested right to appropriate water in a manner harmful to public trust interests and the state has “an affirmative duty” to take the public trust into account in regulating water use by protecting public trust uses whenever feasible. at p. 429, fns. In April 2008, when unseasonably cold weather followed an exceptionally dry winter, the National Marine Fisheries Service (Fisheries Service) discovered two episodes of fatal strandings of salmonids in the mainstem Russian River and a tributary stream. The Department of Fish and Game shall recommend the amounts of water, if any, required for the preservation and enhancement of fish and wildlife resources and shall report its findings to the board. Examining data for March through May 2008, the Fisheries Service found an association between near-freezing air temperatures and sudden and substantial drops in the flow of a stream in the system.2. Subsequent judicial decisions have rejected the contention that the judiciary is vested with sole authority over unreasonable use, most forcefully California Trout, Inc. v. State Water Resources Control Bd. It is difficult to imagine what effective relief a court could grant, other than a broad and inflexible injunction against future diversion for purposes of frost protection, a ruling that would be in the interests neither of the enjoined growers nor the public. Existing alongside the rule of reasonableness is a second doctrine imposing at least a potential limit on private uses of water. The Supreme Court has recognized as much, describing the Board's regulatory authority in the broadest terms. Through subsequent legislation and judicial decisions, “the function of the Water Board has steadily evolved from the narrow role of deciding priorities between competing appropriators to the charge of comprehensive planning and allocation of waters.”  (Id. ․ When a court assesses the validity of such rules, the scope of its review is narrow․’  [Citations.] (e).) (b)(1);  see also Gov.Code, § 11342.2 [regulation valid only if it is “reasonably necessary to effectuate the purpose” of the statute it implements].) Although the Board has no authority to require such users to obtain a permit to divert, there is no question it has the power to prevent riparian users and early appropriators from using water in an unreasonable manner. As all parties appear to agree, the hydrology of the Russian River stream system and its impact on salmonid mortality is insufficiently understood to determine what stream level must be maintained to prevent mortality, or even whether a particular level is necessary. Since, as discussed above, the Board's view is supported by substantial evidence, we find no abuse of discretion in the failure of the EIR to consider this issue. 1. (1999) 21 Cal.4th 352, 374.) Amicus curiae California Farm Bureau Federation deceptively characterizes California Trout as declaring “clearly established law” that “ ‘what is a reasonable or unreasonable use of water is a judicial question to be determine in the first instance by the trial court.’   “ (California Trout, supra, 207 Cal.App.3d at p. (c)(5)(E).) As discussed above, the rule of priority dictates that riparian users are satisfied first, but when the supply runs sufficiently short, even riparian users must curtail their beneficial use proportionately. Any change in the Board's position following remand would call into question the validity of our reasoning. Utility Dist. 17. Federal scientists concluded the deaths were caused by abrupt declines in water level that occurred when water was drained from the streams and sprayed on vineyards and orchards to prevent frost damage. The pace of water release from these dams directly affects the level of water in the system. The watershed of the Russian River is home to over 60,000 acres of vineyards, of which 70 percent are within 300 feet of salmonid habitat. We find no abuse of discretion in the Board's decision to proceed by way of a program environmental impact report.24, Finally, the Lights contend the Board's findings were inadequate because they did not explain why alternative methods of frost protection were less harmful to the environment than direct diversions. The study concluded that in the two affected counties, 159 of a total of 21,198 acres of vineyard and orchard land, or less than 1 percent, would be taken out of production. In bringing the two together, the court held the doctrine (1) prevents any party from acquiring a vested right to appropriated water in a manner harmful to the interests protected by the public trust;  (2) “the Legislature, acting directly or through an authorized agency such as the Water Board, has the power to grant usufructuary licenses that will permit an appropriator to take water ․, even though this taking does not promote, and may unavoidably harm, the trust uses at the source stream”;  and (3) “[t]he state has an affirmative duty to take the public trust into account in the planning and allocation of water resources, and to protect public trust uses whenever feasible.” 7  (Audubon Society, at pp.

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