Sam Maynes
Sam Maynes was born in Silverton, Colorado in 1933. He graduated from Durango High School in 1951 and attended Colorado College on a football scholarship, but was forced to quit after a severe concussion. He kept his scholarship by playing basketball instead, and received his undergraduate degree in 1955. Maynes went on to the University of Colorado School of Law and received his L.L.B. in 1958. While there, he met his future wife of 45 years, Jacqueline "Jackie" Stahl. They married Sept. 8, 1957, in Holyoke, Colo.
In 1959, Maynes joined the firm of Larry McDaniel and Byron Bradford and tried his first high-profile case that year. Maynes successfully defended a carnival worker who was charged with assaulting his date, a well-known beautician in town. The man was freed on a technicality and Maynes became the target of outrage, but also admiration. The trial established his reputation as a good lawyer.
In 1960, Maynes declared his candidacy for District Attorney as a Democrat. He had to withdraw a few days later when he discovered he was ineligible; he had not been a registered Democrat for the required 12 months. He remained active in local Democratic politics, but won friends among elected officials in both parties.
In 1964, Maynes was appointed as the attorney for the Southwestern Water Conservation District. At that time, Maynes had little experience when it came to water law. In spite of his inexperience, he quickly became acquainted with water issues and with lawyers in the water law community.
Maynes also was plunged head first into large-scale federal water legislation, not the least of which was the Colorado River Basin Project. Authorized by Congress in 1968, the Act paved the way for five major water projects in Colorado that directly affected Maynes’ new client. Between 1965 and 1968, he spent time in California and other states negotiating the Act’s terms, which involved no fewer than seven states. He also spent time in Washington, D.C., helping lobby for the legislation and preparing witnesses for their congressional testimony.
In 1968, also in connection with the Colorado River Basin Project, Maynes was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. When the Act was finally passed, Maynes came home and told his wife he’d better look for another job. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It took from 1968 until 2003 for construction to commence on the Animas-La Plata Project, which was one of the projects authorized by the Act.
Maynes, was one of the nation's foremost experts on water law, and was the recipient of the Bureau of Reclamation's Citizen Award, the Wayne N. Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award, and the Durango Area Chamber Resort Association's Citizen of the Year award. U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., paid tribute to Maynes in November 2004 on the House floor.
Soon after obtaining the position for the Southwestern Water District, Maynes became general counsel for the little-known Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Like his position with the Water District, this position gave him a unique status among local lawyers, because right away, the governor, senators and congressmen began contacting him with questions having anything to do with "the Indians." Maynes’ legal and political help, together with the leadership acumen of Tribal Chairman Leonard C. Burch, helped the Southern Ute Indian Tribe come back from relative impoverishment to become one of Colorado’s biggest gas producers and one of the nation’s wealthiest tribes.
Following Maynes’ advice, the Southern Ute Tribe took over management of its own energy resources. As a result, the Southern Utes won national management awards and invested their energy revenues in tribal enterprises, which included their own school. Maynes also assisted the tribe in developing an investment portfolio from oil and gas revenue, which will last for generations; helped establish and solidify tribal water rights in connection with the Animas-La Plata Project; and was involved in establishing a college tuition scholarship fund for Indian students. Maynes’ long-time involvement with the Southern Utes included the introduction of tribal gaming and his firm’s appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case about the ownership of coal-bed methane gas.
Maynes was a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission, the Chairperson for the Legal Committee of the Upper Colorado River Commission, Chairperson of the Upper Colorado River Commission, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 1994, he was awarded an honorary Order of the Coif.
Maynes and his wife were vice president and president, respectively, of the Southwest Colorado Multiple Sclerosis Society, which raised money to help people with MS. He was a member of the executive board of the Colorado Water Congress and the Fort Lewis College Foundation.
In his free time, Maynes enjoyed skiing, hunting, making sausage, talking politics and cooking award winning Northern Italian dishes. Maynes passed away July 24, 2005 after a battle with cancer. His wife passed away in 2003 from MS complications. They had four children and eight grandchildren.
In 1959, Maynes joined the firm of Larry McDaniel and Byron Bradford and tried his first high-profile case that year. Maynes successfully defended a carnival worker who was charged with assaulting his date, a well-known beautician in town. The man was freed on a technicality and Maynes became the target of outrage, but also admiration. The trial established his reputation as a good lawyer.
In 1960, Maynes declared his candidacy for District Attorney as a Democrat. He had to withdraw a few days later when he discovered he was ineligible; he had not been a registered Democrat for the required 12 months. He remained active in local Democratic politics, but won friends among elected officials in both parties.
In 1964, Maynes was appointed as the attorney for the Southwestern Water Conservation District. At that time, Maynes had little experience when it came to water law. In spite of his inexperience, he quickly became acquainted with water issues and with lawyers in the water law community.
Maynes also was plunged head first into large-scale federal water legislation, not the least of which was the Colorado River Basin Project. Authorized by Congress in 1968, the Act paved the way for five major water projects in Colorado that directly affected Maynes’ new client. Between 1965 and 1968, he spent time in California and other states negotiating the Act’s terms, which involved no fewer than seven states. He also spent time in Washington, D.C., helping lobby for the legislation and preparing witnesses for their congressional testimony.
In 1968, also in connection with the Colorado River Basin Project, Maynes was admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. When the Act was finally passed, Maynes came home and told his wife he’d better look for another job. Nothing could have been further from the truth. It took from 1968 until 2003 for construction to commence on the Animas-La Plata Project, which was one of the projects authorized by the Act.
Maynes, was one of the nation's foremost experts on water law, and was the recipient of the Bureau of Reclamation's Citizen Award, the Wayne N. Aspinall Water Leader of the Year Award, and the Durango Area Chamber Resort Association's Citizen of the Year award. U.S. Rep. Scott McInnis, R-Colo., paid tribute to Maynes in November 2004 on the House floor.
Soon after obtaining the position for the Southwestern Water District, Maynes became general counsel for the little-known Southern Ute Indian Tribe. Like his position with the Water District, this position gave him a unique status among local lawyers, because right away, the governor, senators and congressmen began contacting him with questions having anything to do with "the Indians." Maynes’ legal and political help, together with the leadership acumen of Tribal Chairman Leonard C. Burch, helped the Southern Ute Indian Tribe come back from relative impoverishment to become one of Colorado’s biggest gas producers and one of the nation’s wealthiest tribes.
Following Maynes’ advice, the Southern Ute Tribe took over management of its own energy resources. As a result, the Southern Utes won national management awards and invested their energy revenues in tribal enterprises, which included their own school. Maynes also assisted the tribe in developing an investment portfolio from oil and gas revenue, which will last for generations; helped establish and solidify tribal water rights in connection with the Animas-La Plata Project; and was involved in establishing a college tuition scholarship fund for Indian students. Maynes’ long-time involvement with the Southern Utes included the introduction of tribal gaming and his firm’s appearance before the U.S. Supreme Court in a case about the ownership of coal-bed methane gas.
Maynes was a member of the Colorado Supreme Court Nominating Commission, the Chairperson for the Legal Committee of the Upper Colorado River Commission, Chairperson of the Upper Colorado River Commission, and a Fellow of the American College of Trial Lawyers. In 1994, he was awarded an honorary Order of the Coif.
Maynes and his wife were vice president and president, respectively, of the Southwest Colorado Multiple Sclerosis Society, which raised money to help people with MS. He was a member of the executive board of the Colorado Water Congress and the Fort Lewis College Foundation.
In his free time, Maynes enjoyed skiing, hunting, making sausage, talking politics and cooking award winning Northern Italian dishes. Maynes passed away July 24, 2005 after a battle with cancer. His wife passed away in 2003 from MS complications. They had four children and eight grandchildren.
