Need to pass the water compact

Our family has managed land and water along the Big Hole River in southwestern Montana for more than 140 years. I have personally filed many of the original water rights under Montana’s adjudication process.

This process is essential to protect individual water rights and the state’s claim to beneficially using water within its borders. Water is our most precious commodity, and Montana’s claims are being eyed by the federal government, downstream states and urban areas.

A timely comprehensive and accurate conclusion of the adjudication will be essential to defend our water rights. Approval of the 2015 Confederated Salish and Kootenai Tribes Water Compact by the Montana Legislature and Congress is imperative. Many years of earnest collaboration have gone into this compact to achieve a realistic and workable outcome for all parties in Montana.

If this compact fails, the Tribes are required to file by June 30, 2015 all their claims in Montana, and this will include flows throughout most of Montana’s rivers. This will throw the state’s adjudication process in turmoil, cost millions and consume precious time. The only winners will be those who want our water and the legal profession.

I ask that we all follow the lead of a newly formed group of Farmers And Ranchers of Montana (FARM) in seeking support of the Montana Legislature and its leaders along with Congress to pass this compact. The risk to Montana and all its water users is too high if this compact fails.

Jim Hagenbarth

Dillon