Water compact a dangerous ‘Kool-Aid’
Hey savvy news reader! Thanks for choosing local.
You are now reading
3 of 3 free articles.
Editor,
How do you fool some of the people all of the time? What flavor Kool-Aid do you use? Must take a special kind of magic. At what point might any of them realize the hook has been set so deep in their throat, that they have no choice but to continue the illusion or be exposed for the fools they are?
Considering the shroud of pomp and circumstance used by our illustrious Montana State Reserved Water Rights Compact Commission in their illusion of “going public” after 10 years of back-room, closeted deal-making termed “negotiating” in their slang verbiage, I’d say they’ve been drugged with raspberry Kool-Aid.
These folks are about to push forward the largest perpetration of a “taking” recorded to date and 350,000 sleeping Western Montanans will wake and wonder where their water went. Of course, their property values will have been flushed as well, but hey, who cares? As long as we have settled those nasty, boring water rights issues once and for all, why should I care that the State of Montana has sold me down the river? Why should I be interested when they keep telling me that I’ll be protected; just go back to sleep?
Well, maybe because it’s not true; you and your children and your grandchildren will not be protected. Maybe you should find out what they are not telling you before they flush the valley, along with your “junior” water rights, closing the basin and preventing future development of any kind. Maybe they are giving away more water in the settlement than currently exists in the basin.
Maybe this whole affair is intended to drive you out of the valley, eventually. Maybe what they’ve done far exceeds their mandate and could be extremely unconstitutional while supported by the governor and Attorney General’s Office, making it appear okie-dokie. Maybe. Might be worth actually looking into; didn’t take much effort on my part over the past eight months. It’s kind of right in your face, if you’re interested.
But then, why bother? What’s the point? Everything’s corrupt now anyway.
Michael Gale
Ronan
