Conservation Alert from Montana Trout Unlimited

12 December 2012

Dear Flathead Valley Trout Unlimited Members and Friends,

Weigh in today on crucial tribal water accord affecting instream flows across Western Montana!

The State of Montana, federal government and Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes have reached a draft agreement that quantifies long-held tribal water rights on and off the Flathead Indian Reservation, including for the Clark Fork, Bitterroot, Swan and Kootenai River basins. The draft results from years of negotiations, benefits native bull and cutthroat trout on the reservation, and will help protect fisheries important to TU members in some of western Montana’s best trout streams.

It is critical that TU members comment by December 17!

Please tell the State’s negotiating team, the Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission, that you support the draft agreement. In your own words, tell the commission:

The tribes have dropped many legitimate claims to ensure that current non-tribal water users are protected. Please point this out, thank the tribes for doing so, and ask the Commission to commend the tribes for this action.

The agreement furthers economic development by providing certainty for necessary water development in the Flathead region. For example, it establishes a water rights system and identifies measurable instream flow objectives on the reservation.

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Instream flow proposals on the reservation for the Jocko River watershed, the Flathead River system, and lakes and streams from the Mission Mountains, will improve fisheries and ensure current tribal and non-tribal water users benefit from investments in water conservation.

Instream flow protections off-reservation for the Kootenai, Swan and Clark Fork Rivers will help ensure streamflows hold steady as the climate gets warmer.

The draft proposal for co-ownership between Montana FWP and the tribes of the former 2,000 CFS Milltown Dam water right needs to be improved. The amount of water that should be protected for instream flows should be 1,300 CFS instead of 1,200 CFS, with 700 CFS from the Blackfoot and 600 CFS from the Clark Fork. This is the most important element in the agreement affecting fish off-reservation.

The Milltown instream water right can be met with minimal impacts to existing upstream water users because the State of Montana will be investing millions of dollars of Clark Fork restoration funding into flow improvement.

Opponents of the draft agreement are hammering the State and Tribes, many citing wild and inaccurate conspiracies. It is really important for TU members to comment. The Compact Commission will weigh what you have to say, consider modifications, and decide on December 19th whether to forward the agreement to the Montana Legislature, which is the first step in ratification of this important accord.

Contact Chris Tweeten, Chairman, Montana Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission at dnrrwrcc@mt.gov. Send a copy of your comments to Rob McDonald of the Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes at rmcdonald@cskt.org.

For more information, contact Bruce Farling at bruce@montanatu.org or 406-543-0054.

For more background click here for an article regarding the compact in our latest Trout Line.