On November 22, 2000, Congress passed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act of 2000, which directed the National Park Service to obtain a state appropriative water right for the purpose of "maintaining ground water levels, surface water levels, and stream flows on, across, and under the national park and preserve, in order to accomplish the purposes of the national park and preserve and to protect park resources and uses." In December 2004, the US Department of Justice, with the National Park Service (NPS), filed a water right claim with the State of Colorado for Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve (GRSA). A trial to address protests to the NPS claim is scheduled to begin in 2008.