Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes push water compact

Wednesday, March 20, 2013  

The Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes called on the Montana Legislature to approve a water rights compact.

The tribe has been working on the proposed settlement for decades. But the agreement has run into opposition amid complaints from some water users.

“The time for solving the water rights stalemate in western Montana is now,” the tribe said in a statement, Teh Missoulian reported. “We’ve talked through every concern with the state negotiation team, we’ve compromised and sacrificed to see this compact through to completion."

The 1855 Treaty of Hellgate gives the tribe a strong claim to water off the reservation, an attorney for the Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission told the paper.

Get the Story:
CSKT Council: Time for Legislature to approve water compact is now (The Missoulian 3/20)

Some Opinions:
Sen. Jennifer Fielder: The stakes are too high for the state to rush on water rights (The Bigfork Eagle 3/20)
Gene Erb and Skip Biggs: Water compact won’t be good for western Montana (The Helena Independent Record 3/20)